GMC Automotives Industry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
GMC
Type
Division
Industry
Automotive
Founded
1912
Founder
William C. Durant
Headquarters
Detroit, United States
Area served
North America
Middle East
Products
Automobiles
Commercial vehicles
Trucks
Services
Vehicle financing
Vehicle insurance
Owner
General Motors
Website
gmc.com
GMC, formally the GMC Division of General Motors LLC, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM) that primarily focuses on trucks and utility vehicles. GMC sells pickup and commercial trucks, buses, vans,military vehicles, and sport utility vehicles marketed in North America and the Middle East by General Motors.
History:
GMC truck, from a 1919 advertisement
General Motors was founded by William C. Durant on September 16, 1908, as a holding company for Buick. In 1909, GM purchased theRapid Motor Vehicle Company, forming the basis of the General Motors Truck Company, from which the “GMC Truck” brand name was derived. (Rapid was established on December 22, 1901, by Max Grabowsky. The company developed some of the earliest commercial trucks ever designed, and utilized one-cylinder engines.) The Reliance Motor Car Company (another independent manufacturer) was also purchased that same year by GM. Rapid and Reliance were merged in 1911, and in 1912 the marque “GMC Truck” first appeared on vehicles exhibited at the New York International Auto Show. Some 22,000 trucks were produced that year, though GMC’s contribution to that total was a mere 372 units. GMC had some currency within GM referring to the corporate parent in general. Later “GMC” would become distinct as a division brand within the corporation, branding trucks and coaches; in contrast, the abbreviation for the overall corporation eventually ended up as “GM”.
GMC maintained three manufacturing locations in Pontiac, Michigan, Oakland, California, and Saint Louis, Missouri.
In 1916, a GMC Truck crossed the country from Seattle to New York City in thirty days, and in 1926, a 2-ton GMC truck was driven from New York to San Francisco in five days and 30 minutes. During the Second World War, GMC Truck produced 600,000 trucks for use by the United States Armed Forces.
In 1925, GM purchased a controlling interest in Yellow Coach, a bus manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois which was founded by John D. Hertz. After purchasing the remaining portion in 1943, GM renamed it GM Truck and Coach Division. The Division manufactured interurban coaches until 1980. Transit bus production ended in May 1987. The Canadian plant (in London, Ontario) produced buses from 1962 until July 1987. GM withdrew from the bus and coach market because of increased competition in the late 1970s and 1980s. Rights to the RTS model were sold to Transportation Manufacturing Corporation, while Motor Coach Industries of Canada purchased the Classic design.
In 2002, GMC released a book entitled, GMC: The First 100 Years, a complete history of the company.
GMC currently manufactures SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, light-duty trucks, and medium duty trucks. In the past, GMC also produced fire trucks, ambulances, heavy-duty trucks,military vehicles, motorhomes, and transit buses.
Similarity to Chevrolet:
2006 GMC Sierra
2010 Chevrolet Silverado
1946 Chevrolet Pickup
1941 GMC Model 9314
1919 GMC Tanker
1920 Chevrolet tow truck
Starting in 1920, GMC and Chevrolet trucks are virtually identical except for the grilles and nameplates, though their differences have varied over the years. From 1955 through 1959 small (less than 2 ton) GMC trucks with gasoline V8s were equipped with Pontiac V8s. Chevrolet trucks were marketed towards private ownership, while GMC was focused towards commercial uses. New Chevrolet vehicles are sold exclusively at Chevrolet dealerships, GMC light trucks have recently been made available to Buick and Cadillac dealerships with previous Pontiac and Oldsmobile dealerships also having similar arrangements, and separate franchises exist for medium and light-duty commercial models as well. This crossover allowed GM dealers that did not sell Chevrolets to offer full lineups of both cars and trucks by offering GMC’s trucks alongside “non-truck” divisions. Between 1962 and 1972, most GMC vehicles were equipped with quad-headlights, while their Chevrolet clones were equipped with dual-headlights. In 1973, with GM’s introduction of the new “rounded line” series trucks, GMC and Chevrolet trucks became even more similar, ending production of GMC’s quad-headlight models, and setting the standard for the Chevrolet/GMC line of trucks for over thirty years. During this period, the companies’ sister models (Silverado/Sierra, Blazer/Jimmy,Tahoe/Yukon, etc.) shared everything except for trims and prices. GM has recently begun a divergence in design between the two lines with the 2007 model Silverados and Sierras, which have some differences in sheet metal and style.
In 1996, GM merged GMC with the Pontiac division in order to give Pontiac dealerships a line of trucks mainly to allow Pontiac dealers to compete with Chevrolet, which offered a full lineup of vehicles. While many GMC and Chevrolet trucks are mechanically identical, GMC is positioned as a premium offering to the mainstream Chevrolet brand, with luxury vehicles such as the Denali series. The profitability of the GMC brand helped its survival in 2009 during the General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization, and after the discontinuation of the Pontiac brand, many Buick franchises also sell GMC light-duty vehicles in the United States and Canada.
In 2007 GMC introduced the Acadia, a crossover SUV, which was the division’s first unibody vehicle whose predecessor, the GMT-360 based Envoy, was discontinued with the closure of GM’s Moraine, Ohio plant on December 23, 2008. In 2009 GMC introduced the Terrain, a mid-size crossover SUV based on GM’s Theta platform which slots below the Acadia as GMC’s smallest crossover, replacing the Pontiac Torrent and sharing no sheetmetal with the Chevrolet Equinox.
GMC models:
Light-duty trucks:
Model
Introduced
Discontinued
Notes
C and E series
1941
1947
Little difference with the Chevrolet Art Deco trucks
New Design series
1947
1955
Little difference with the Chevrolet Advance-Design trucks
Blue Chip series
1955
1959
Pontiac Powered, similar to the Chevrolet Task-Force trucks
C and K Series
1960
1998
half–, three-quarter– and one-ton trucks, with Sierra, Sierra Grande, High Sierra, and Sierra Classic trim lines
Sprint
1971
1977
Coupe utility – GMC version of the 1971 to 1977 Chevrolet El Camino
Caballero
1978
1987
Coupe utility – GMC version of the 1978 to 1987 Chevrolet El Camino
S-15
1982
1990
Became the Sonoma in 1991
Sonoma
1991
2004
Formerly the S-15 1982-1990
Syclone
1991
1991
High performance version of the Sonoma
Sierra
1996
current
GMC version of Chevrolet Silverado medium- and heavy-duty pickup
Canyon
2004
current
GMC version of Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup
Medium-duty trucks:
Model
Introduced
Discontinued
Notes
Varies, first letter denotes production year:
A=1939-1940, C=1941-1945, E=1946, F=1947-1950, Z=1954, Y=1955, X=1956, T=1957, S=1958-1959, N=1960;
Second letter denotes cab style:
C=cab behind engine, F=cab over engine
1939
1959
Line sold to Navistar, now marketed under the WorkHorse brand.
L-Series
1960
c.1984
Steel Tilt Cab
TopKick
1980
1996
C-Series
1960
2009
Forward
1980s
2010
W-Series
late 1980s
2010
Rebranded Isuzu Elf
T-Series
1994
2010
TopKick
2003
2009
Model used for Ironhide in the Transformersfilm series
Heavy-duty trucks:
A 1972 GMC HM-7500 truck carrying a medium-sized excavator.
Model
Introduced
Discontinued
Notes
DLR/F/“Crackerbox”
1959
1968
Aluminium Tilt Cab
B-Model
1960
1966
7500
1963
1978
9500
1966
1978
Astro 95
1968
1988
General
1977
1988
Brigadier
1978
1988
Buses:
Model
Introduced
Discontinued
Notes
P-series
1940s
1980
“Parlor” (highway) coaches
“Old Look”
1940
1969
transit
“New Look”
1959
1986
transit
RTS
1977
1987
transit
Classic
1982
1987
transit
B-series
1966
2003
school bus
S-series
1986
1989
school bus (forward control)
Vans:
Model
Introduced
Discontinued
Notes
Handi-Van
1964
1970
Handi-Bus
1964
1970
Rally
1970
1996
Vandura
1970
1996
Safari
1985
2005
Savana
1996
current
SUVs:
Model
Introduced
Discontinued
Notes
Suburban
1937
current
Jimmy
1969
2005
S-15 Jimmy
1983
2005
Tracker
1989
1991
Canada only
Typhoon
1992
1993
High performance version of the S-15 Jimmy
Yukon
1992
current
Envoy
1998
2009
Yukon XL
2001
current
Envoy
2002
2009
Acadia
2007
current
Terrain
2010
current
Motorhomes:
Model
Introduced
Discontinued
Notes
GMC motorhome
1973
1978
Military vehicles:
Model
Introduced
Discontinued
Notes
CCKW/CCW
1941
1945
AFKWX
1941
1945
Cab over engine
DUKW
1942
1945
Amphibious
Gallery:
1947 GMC cabover truck
A 1966 GMC K1500 converted for railroad service in Pennsylvania.
New York City Omnibus 2969 is an “Old Look” TDH-5101 built in 1949.
A 1968-vintage Suburban-type New Look bus.
A 1948 PD-3751 bus built forGreyhound Lines.
CCKW 353
AFKWX-353 C.O.E.
DUKW Amphibian
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