Hold Onto Your Socks for the Most Exciting Post Yet!

GMC has had a very interesting history.  GMC has been making high-quality trucks for the past 110 years, and has been a supplier of trucks to the U.S. Government.  GM is a large automotive corporation with companies underneath GM.  The companies are:  GMC, Chevrolet, Buick, Isuzu, and Opel.  Pontiac, Saturn and HUMMER all are in the history books now. 

On December 22^nd, 1901, Max Grabowsky started the “Rapid Motor Vehicle Company”, which made some of the earliest commercial trucks ever built.  Those trucks used one-cylinder engines!  Fuel efficient, yes, 0-60, 6 hours…   I’d rather push a wheelbarrow…  My lawn tractor has a bigger engine!  In 1909, General Motors bought the company, and renamed it “General Motors Truck & Coach Builder.”  In 1912, there were 22,000 trucks made by GM, 372 of them were GMC Trucks.  Out of those 372 GMC Trucks, 6 of them were chosen to be part of the GM display at the New York International Auto Show. 

In 1916, a GMC Truck crossed theUS in only thirty days. Quite a feat for a truck in 1916.  Ten years later, a two-ton GMC Truck drove fromNew York CitytoSan Franciscoin five days, thirty minutes!  WOW!  Those trips were taken as publicity stunts for GMC!  GMC hired people to drive those trucks across theU.S.

During WWII, GMC produced over 600,000 trucks for the U.S.military.  During the war years of WWII, GMC bought a controlling part of Yellow Coach; a bus maker.  In 1943, GMC purchased the remaining bit of Yellow Coach for about $100,000.   Because of increased competition in the bus market, GMC has been out of the bus business for over20 years. 

Being virtually identical to Chevy trucks, the only differences are: different grilles, more features, and better options.  Even though GMC’s are typically sold at Buick dealers, you can also find many GMC’s at a Chevrolet dealership near you.  Even though Chevy trucks usually sell better, GMC’s do sell in very large numbers. 

GMC’s lineup currently includes:

Sierra 1500

Sierra 2500

Sierra 3500

Canyon

Acadia

Yukon

YukonXL

Terrain

Savanna.

The Sierra 1500, when equipped with the right options, can tow up to 10,000 pounds.  It can also haul up to 1 ton.  There is a luxury version of the 1500 that is called “Sierra 1500Denali.”  It comes with: GM’s Quadrasteer (a system that uses all four wheels to steer), AWD, Navigation, Six-Speed Automatic, and a 6.2 liter, 403 horsepower V8. 

The Sierra 2500 shares only the GM 6-Speed Automatic with the 1500.  The 2500 has the option of GM’s “Duramax” Diesel engine, mated to an Allison Six-Speed Automatic Transmission with an overdrive.  The 2500 also can be equipped with a 6.0 liter, 360 horsepower gasoline V8 mated to a GM Six-Speed Automatic.  Recently, the “Denali” trim line was added to the model lineup for the 2500 and 3500’s alike.

The 3500 comes with the “Dually” option.  The “Dually” is has 4 rear wheels, instead of 2.  The “Dually can only come with the Duramax and Allison.  The 3500 can tow up to 17,500 pounds with a bumper trailer or 5^th wheel trailer. 

The Canyon is GMC’s light-duty pickup truck.  It comes standard with a 2.9 liter, 185 horsepower four-cylinder and five-speed manual.  The other two engines that it can be optioned with are a 3.7 liter, 242 horsepower 5-cylinder, or a 5.3 liter, 300 horsepower V8.  The only automatic transmission is a four-speed automatic. 

The Acadia is GMC’s replacement for the aged Envoy SUV.  The Acadia is part of GM’s new “Lambda” SUV platform.  TheAcadiais GMC’s version of the Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave.  TheAcadia, Enclave and Traverse come standard with a 3.6 liter, 288 horsepower V6.  That engine is mated to a Six-Speed automatic.  TheAcadiacan be optioned with AWD and 8 seats. 

TheYukon and Yukon XL are GMC’s versions of the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban.  They come with the same engines and transmissions.  The popular engine/transmission choice is the 5.3 liter, 315 horsepower V8 with the 6-Automatic.  They can be optioned with 4WD or 2WD. 

The Terrain is GMC’s first compact SUV.  It comes standard with front-wheel-drive and a 2.4 liter, 182 horsepower four-cylinder.  A six-speed automatic is standard across the whole trim line.  If you need to tow, but don’t want to have to step up to the Acadia, then the 3.6 liter, 264  horsepower V6 is a good choice.  You can then tow 5,000 pounds with the V6. 

The GMC Savanna is GMC’s only van.  That doesn’t mean, however, that the Savanna is badly optioned.  You can choose between rear-wheel-drive and AWD.  The Savanna’s top engine choice is a 6.6 liter, 365 horsepower Duramax Diesel V8.  That engine gets to enjoy a six-speed automatic with an overdrive.  You can choose between many packages and options.  The top two packages/options are the: Ambulance Package with all the Ambulance options and the Camper Package, which has any option that a hardcore recreation family can enjoy. 

As you can see, GMC offers a lot for the money; it just depends on what truck, SUV or van you want to buy.  Here is a list of the awards given to GMC’s over the years:

IntelliChoice Best Value Award 2008

Vincentric Best ¾ ton truck award 2011

2011 USNews good truck award

Internetautoguide.com Best truck award (2500 model)

Truck Trend Best Truck 2011 Award (tied with Chevy Silverado)

Coulter Motor Company Best Truck/SUV/Van maker award.

As you can see, GMC has a lot of awards under its belt.  (I hope that their pants don’t fall down [that is with the belt on]). 

GMC has also published a book; GMC; the First 100 Years.  

http://www.gmc.com/

GMC has also published a book; GMC; The First 100 Years