GMC Envoy

History

Model 25 One ton chain drive – 1915

GMC truck, from a 1919 advertisement

GMC traces its history to the 1902 founding of the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company in Pontiac, Michigan. In 1909 William C. Durant gained control of Rapid Motor Vehicle Company and made it a subsidiary of his General Motors Company. In 1908 Durant gained control of Reliance Motor Car Company, another early commercial vehicle manufacturer. In 1911 General Motors formed the General Motors Truck Company and folded Rapid and Reliance into it. In 1912 the Rapid and Reliance names were dropped in favor of “GMC.” All General Motors truck production was consolidated at the former Rapid Motor Plant 1 in Pontiac, Michigan.

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 and taxicab manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois which was founded by John D. Hertz. The company was renamed Yellow Truck & Coach Manufacturing Company (YT&CMC), an affiliated subsidiary of General Motors. All manufacturing operations of General Motors Truck Company were placed under YT&CMC. In 1928 Plant 2 opened and all headquarters staff moved to the administration building at 660 South Boulevard E in Pontiac, MI. In 1943, GM purchased the remaining interest in YT&CMC and renamed it GMC Truck and Coach Division.

In 1981, GMC Truck & Coach Division became part of GM Worldwide Truck & Bus Group.
Bus production ended in May 1987 and the division name was changed from GMC Truck & Coach to GMC Truck Division. 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 1998, GMC’s official branding on vehicles was shortened from “GMC Truck” to simply “GMC”.

In 1996, GM merged GMC Truck Division with the Pontiac Motor Division in order to “give the combined division a brand image projecting physical power and outdoor activity”. This coincided with many GMC dealerships merging with Pontiac dealerships, allowing a single dealer to offer both trucks and entry-to-mid-level cars. 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.

In 2002, GMC celebrated its 100 anniversary and released a book entitled GMC: The First 100 Years, a complete history of the company.

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 on December 23, 2008.

In 2009, GMC ended production of medium-duty commercial trucks after over 100 years. In the same year, GMC introduced the Terrain, a mid-size crossover SUV based on the GM Theta platform shared with the Chevrolet Equinox. It replaced the Pontiac Torrent after the brand’s demise.

GMC currently manufactures SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and light-duty trucks, catered to a premium-based market. In the past, GMC also produced fire trucks, ambulances, heavy-duty trucks, military vehicles, motorhomes, transit buses, and ; the latter to become exclusive to Chevrolet with the launch of the 4500HD/5500HD Silverado in 2018.

Внедорожники GMC

В 1991 году дебютировал полноразмерный внедорожник GMC Yukon, получивший на американском рынке огромный успех. Вскоре начался выпуск внедорожника рамной конструкции Jimmy, отличившегося большим разнообразием модификаций. Его производство прекратили в 2001 году. С 1992 года выпускался внедорожник GMC Typhoon, позиционирующийся как люксовый вариант Jimmy.

В 1995 году в производственный план GMC включили средние грузовики Top Kick, которые после модернизации составили капотную серию «С» с двигателями мощностью до 304 л.с. Сотрудничество с компанией Isuzu позволило пополнить модельный ряд бескапотными сериями «Т» и «W».

В 1998 году объем производства грузовых автомобилей концерна General Motors составил почти 2,5 миллиона – второе место после Ford. 518 тысяч машин выпустило подразделение GMC.

В 1999 году на детройтском автосалоне был представлена модель GMC Sierra ACE – пикап с двойной кабиной, рассчитанной на шестерых человек. Особенности его дизайна – сочетание круглых и прямоугольных передних фар, мощные 18-дюймовые колеса и большое количество хромированных деталей.

В новом тысячелетии компания выпустила внедорожник GMC Envoy, удостоившийся звания «лучшего внедорожника 2001 года». В 2003 году встал на конвейер среднеразмерный пикап GMC Canyon, аналогичный по конструкции Chevrolet Colorado, но с собственным дизайном. Canyon комплектовался двумя версиями двигателя: объемом на 2,8 л с мощностью в 175 л.с. и объемом на 3,5 л с мощностью в 220 л.с. Максимальная скорость этого пикапа – 160 км/ч. Через три года линейка двигателей Canyon пополнилась новыми моторами – на 2,9 л с мощностью в 185 л.с. и 3,7 л с мощностью в 242 л.с.

GMC Terrain Denali 2013 год

В 2007 году дебютировал спортивный кроссовер GMC Acadia c шестицилиндровым V-двигателем на 3,6 л  мощностью в 279 л.с. Acadia может буксировать прицеп с массой чуть больше двух тонн. Отличие этого кроссовера от обычных внедорожников заключается в более низком центре тяжести, устойчивости к переворачиванию и лучшей управляемостью.

На нью-йоркском автосалоне 2009 года была представлена модель GMC Terrain – пятиместный среднеразмерный кроссовер, построенный на основе Chevrolet Equinox. При вполне доступной цене Terrain имеет очень широкий список опций и очень популярен в США. Обновленный в 2012 году GMC Terrain считается едва ли не самым роскошным в своем сегменте. Комплектуется он двумя вариантами двигателя – четырехцилиндровым на 2,4 л с мощностью в 182 л.с. и шестицилиндровым на 3,6 л с мощностью в 301 л.с.

Вековая репутация марки GMC не требует подтверждения, а владельцы этих автомобилей, как правило, не собираются менять своих «коней» – пусть тяжелых, но мощных, комфортных и прекрасно управляемых.

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GMC models

A 1972 GMC HM-7500 truck carrying a medium-sized excavator.

Buses

GM P-series bus, made in the late 1950s, still working in Conchillas, Uruguay (2011).

Vans

SUVs

Sedans

External links

Platform sharing with Chevrolet

1919 GMC Tanker

1920 Chevrolet tow truck

1946 Chevrolet Pickup

1941 GMC Model 9314

2008 GMC Sierra

2010 Chevrolet Silverado

Beginning in 1920, GMC and Chevrolet trucks became largely similar, built as variants of the same platform, sharing much the same body sheetwork, except for nameplates and grilles – though their differences, especially engines, have varied over the years. GMC advertising marketed its trucks to commercial buyers and businesses, whereas Chevrolet’s advertising was directed towards private owners. From 1939 to 1974 GMC had its own line of , first the inline sixes known as “Jimmy’s” from 1939–1959, and then their own Vee-six from 1960–1974, of which a V8 and a V12 version also existed. Additionally, from 1955 through 1959, the less than 2-ton, domestic GMC gasoline trucks were equipped with Pontiac, Buick, and Oldsmobile V8s—whereas the Canadian models used Chevrolet engines.
New Chevrolet vehicles are sold exclusively at Chevrolet dealerships, GMC vehicles are sold alongside Buick and Cadillac dealerships (Pontiac and Oldsmobile branded dealerships also had a similar arrangement). Stand alone GMC franchises exist for sales of the entire GMC line up and includes 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, trucks, and SUVs by offering GMC’s trucks and SUVs. Between 1962 and 1972, most GMC vehicles were equipped with quad-headlights, while their Chevrolet clones were equipped with dual-headlights.

In 1971, GMC marketed their version of the Chevrolet El Camino, which was based on the Chevrolet Chevelle. Called Sprint, it was virtually identical to the El Camino, and a sport version, the SP, was equivalent to the El Camino SS. 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.[citation needed]