QOTD: What's the Best GM Vehicle of All Time?

Timothy Cain
by Timothy Cain

Aztek. Cimarron. Le Mans. General Motors has gotten it wrong more than once.

But General Motors, in business for nearly 110 years — and eight years in its current post-bankruptcy iteration — also gets it right. Sometimes GM gets the styling right. Sometimes GM perfectly meets the segment’s needs. Sometimes the performance bargain is unbeatable. Every now and then, those factors merge together and General Motors introduces a thoroughly impressive vehicle.

You could make a case for the C7 Chevrolet Corvette. A 1960 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham is a stunning example of GM knowing precisely what Cadillac should be. A mid-90s Chevrolet Impala SS represents GM boldly thumbing its nose at conventional performance. Cars such as the Pontiac GTO, Buick Regal GNX, and Chevrolet Nomad hold a special place in the hearts of many.

But what do you believe is the best General Motors vehicle of all time?

We’ll narrow our purview to vehicles sold in the United States, eliminating the Holden HSV Maloo and Vauxhall VX220 from contention. Ignore concepts like the Chevrolet Code 130R and Cadillac Sixteen. Don’t latch onto the choices our AutoGuide colleagues made without making a strong argument yourself. Other than that, it’s a free-for-all. We bet that the list of potential candidates is much longer than your F-150-loving, Camry-driving soul assumes.

For me, it’s easy. The Chevrolet Suburban.

While virtually any Suburban will do, I’ll be specific and nominate the GMT900 Suburban of 2007-2014. GM moved the body-on-frame, people-carrying game far forward from its GMT800 predecessor with the 2007-2014 Suburban, a game that didn’t make the same kind of leaps and bounds when the GMTK2XX version debuted for 2015. The 2007-2014 Suburban nails the style, produces plentiful power and is a very efficient — yes, it’s true — way of moving up to nine people. At 21 miles per gallon on the highway, the nine-seat 2014 Suburban is rated at 189 pMPG, or people miles per gallon, compared with 150 pMPG in a 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

Durable, relatively inexpensive to maintain, suited for weathered terrain, capable of towing 8,000 pounds, capable of swallowing 46 cubic feet of cargo behind the third row, and free from the pretentiousness of Yukon XL Denalis and Escalade ESVs, the 2007-2014 Chevrolet Suburban is the best GM vehicle of all time.

Or do you dare disagree?

[Image: General Motors]

Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars and Instagram.

Timothy Cain
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  • Conslaw Conslaw on Sep 29, 2017

    Although I've never bought a new GM car, I have to say that right now, from top to bottom, Chevrolet's CAR lineup is about as strong as it's ever been in the 45 years I've been looking at cars. (I don't pay much attention to trucks.) I have rented Cruze and Malibu, and found they both had lots of things to like and nothing drastically wrong. The Impala is said to also be a good car, though I have never driven it. The Corvette - I always wanted one, I still do. I'd have to say the Corvette is the best model GM has ever come up with. The GM model I am most likely to buy though is the Volt.

  • Namesakeone Namesakeone on Oct 02, 2017

    My nomination goes for the 1970-81 Camaro and Firebird. They had their weak points (can you say upper door hinges?) and the Z-28s and Trans Ams had a following at times that can be best described as "immature", but they were undoubtedly a styling masterpiece. Even if the Camaro was a Ferrari ripoff.

  • Dukeisduke Is the Volvo EX30 even on sale yet? It was pulled from the NACTOY awards because they were having software problems with the vehicle.
  • Wjtinfwb If you've only got 5k to spend on transportation, I cannot imagine a worse way to spend it than on a GM orphan from Sweden that's 15 years old with 150k on the clock and limited plus expensive parts availability and dwindling techs who'd even want to work on it. Go find a similar vintage Camry or Accord with 150k miles or even a Ford or a Chevy, whatever. Hell, even an old Jaguar is less of a crapshoot than a Saab. At least you can still get parts.
  • Kwik_Shift Brands that were considered from China include BYD, Dayun, Great Wall Motors, Maxus, Nio, Omoda/Chery, Seres, XPeng, and Zeekr. KG Mobility from South Korea also made the list of candidates.That's a lot of car companies from there ready to head here.
  • Analoggrotto Clean sweep and unanimous victory for the world affluence engine of 22nd century : Hyundai/Kia/Genesis. Toyota and Lexus, for 120 years of history have not been able to capture the zenith superlative status of Hyundai Motor Corporation the most awarded, decorated and revered automotive corporation in the history of historical. Featuring best ever, first ever and greatest ever e-ATPs the Hyundai Genesis Kia lineup is posed to become the envy of every country club, ivy league college and fortune 500 corporation in the world. I've been taking a roadtrip in my loaner Elantra N, visiting colleges from east to west, elite universities of higher learning to inspect their parking lots. WHat did I find? Leagues of Genesis models, outnumbering Lexus 3 to 1. When I interviewed faculty and staff at these places of greater learning, their response was unanimous : they chose HMC for the ATPs.
  • Mikey 2019 Chevy Impala Premier FWD with 20 inch factory Bridgestones. I'm looking at replacing tires at the 65,000 KLM's (40,000 miles ) mark ....It doesn't thrill me .. I'm pricing Michelin Cross Climate 2 tires ouch !! ..Up here in Canuckastan ....Big $$$$$
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