Question of the Day: Are GMC's Days Numbered?
When word that GMC wouldn't be bothering with a 2nd Gen Acadia hit, I was a bit shocked. But only a bit. The world needs more CUVs like I need a hole in my head. That said, of the three four Lambda based crossovers, I've always liked the Acadia's styling the best. As does the rest of The General's public; it's the best-selling of the bunch. Even weirder, GM is planning some Lambda-based SUTs (4-door pickups) and GMC, the truck division, ain't getting any. The General pulled a similar weird move a few years back when they neglected to kick down an Avalanche to their "Professional Grade" division. The elephant in the room seems to be saying GMC's about to be put out to pasture. Chevrolet is fully capable of handling GM's truck needs. Furthermore, with gasoline cresting $143 per barrel this very morning, an all-truck brand must be screaming "red ink!" into the accountants' ears. You think GMC has a future? Really?
Cleanup driver for Team Black Metal V8olvo.
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INTRODUCING THE ALL NEW GMC EL CAMINO. use car platforms. with I4's or V6's
TEXN3 said "jolo: GMC stands for General Motors Corp. And is the only marque to use the company brand, it used to be GMC Trucks (starting in 1912)." But interestingly, I've seen a truck (from the late 40's, I'd guess) that had a big chrome badge on the hood that said simply "General Motors Truck".
GM permanently screwed GMC when they created more truck brands and models. There was no good reason Cadillac should have a truck for sale, let alone three models. And by creating Hummer, GM shifted the focus of hard core trucks away from GMC. Now, consumers don't know what to think about GMC. Are they luxury trucks? No, that's an Escalade. Are they super capable off road vehicles? No, those are Hummers. So what is a "GMC"? Are they a one-stop truck shopping superstore? Is GMC the place to go when you need a tough work truck? Yeah, this is more what GMC should be. If you want a truck to do truck-like things, you buy a GMC. There is no reason for Chevy to sell the same product. Chevy does not need 1-ton chassis cabs and 4-door duallies. That should be GMC's domain. Chevy should not sell anything more than a 3/4 ton 4WD truck. Anything more serious should be a GMC. Let Chevy sell mainstream products like 1/2 ton extended cab "family" trucks or a 4WD model for those who do light towing and hauling. Pull the luxo models from Cadillac and keep the GMC Denali concept. GMC could use a little glamour and Cadillac has no business selling anything resembling a truck. The Hummer brand is permanently tainted so shift their capabilities back to GMC without the attitude and styling. By refocusing GMC as "GM's Truck Division", it will be a shot in the arm for the Buick-Pontiac dealers its teamed with. Small towns that can't support a Buick-Pontiac-GMC Truck store can sell GMC with Chevy, making those stores Chevy & GMC Truck dealers so sales aren't lost to the Ford dealer across town. In short, GMC becomes GM's truck brand while Chevy is refocused to be GM's all-American mainstream brand that also sells a couple truck models for those who must have a Chevy logo on the nose. Instead, what will happen is GMC will die, Hummer is practically dead now, Cadillac will lose their truck models sooner rather than later, and only Chevy will be selling trucks, driving another nail into Buick and Pontiac by giving their Chevy rivals even more exclusive product.
To say that GMC should be shuttered is to not understand the truck market. Take Canadian truck sales as an example. GMC Sierra sells at 90-95% of the Chevy Silverado's numbers. Is GM going to gamble that consumers will decamp en masse from GMC to Chevrolet? In this (mostly U.S.) hysteria accompanying the sales drops in trucks, let's not get too hasty in calling for the demise of truck-based divisions that are keeping the lights on at General Motors.