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#26 |
laying low
![]() Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Searcy, Ark. USA
Posts: 13,200
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
Here is some interesting facts about GMC and General Motors history.
http://www.dailynewarticles.com/arti...Grabowski.html http://www.motorpoint.com.au/rapid-vehicle-motor.asp
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Boog 69 Chevy stepside, 358/T350, 4.11 posi, 4.5/4 drop, rallys, poboy driver primer is finer 91 Chevy sportside, Tahoe, Yukon & GMC Crewcab All GM..'nuff said. I stand for the flag and kneel at the cross Last edited by Boog; 04-17-2013 at 07:33 PM. |
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#27 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 1,018
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
Quote:
Story has it that at one time Henry Ford approached General Motors and offered to join the company and head up the tractor division, and that they essentially laughed him out of the office, to which Ford set his sights on trying to destroy GM and that this objective was responsible for much of his early drive. Ford did aggressively go after the tractor market, GM never really did. Chevrolet on the other hand has so much significants within General Motors because it represents Durant's plan to build up the company to execute what amounts to a leveraged buyout of General Motors after the Bankers who backed the original General Motors Company voted him out of the company. Durant teamed up with a race car driver (Louis Chevrolet) who had name recognition to build up a new competitor while he was secretly acquiring shares in GM, he offered to merge into GM to which he would get a value of additional shares for Chevrolet then when he produced the "other" shares he had acquired it gave him control of the company again. Note that neither David Dunbar Buick or Louis Chevrolet are significant characters in the grand picture of the early automotive industry or even GM for that matter, other than they contributed their names as GM brands, and for that they get mentioned. In the end Durant was ousted again and anything Durant touched, those who took control were going to make sure it did better without him, so this is the brand that GM decided was to be the volume leader. Had Durant simply rolled over after being kicked out the first time we'd probably be asking why both GMC and Buick build almost identical trucks. It is interesting to note that since Louis Chevrolet was really being used by Durant for a grander sceme Chevrolet himself was gone by the time the company joined GM, and was off running another company making high performance racing parts for Fords, go figure. Last edited by skorpioskorpio; 04-18-2013 at 05:16 AM. |
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#28 |
Active Member
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Location: Centrally located between Houston, Austin and Waco. BCS area.
Posts: 7,947
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is government involvement and "anti-trust" laws. Many years ago, a lot of companies had competing groups of wholly owned subsidiaries to stay ahead of government anti-trust laws. IBM was one of them. They had divisions that in some cases competed against each other.
In the automobile industry this may have played a role in the past but these days it may be a way for corporations to assess their wholly owned subsidiaries to see if they're profitable. If they're not, they can eliminate them. Another possibility is customer loyalty and perception. To this day, I still hear people say that GMC vehicles are slightly better. Same with Mercury vs Ford, Plymouth vs Dodge. Most of these are pretty much identical but perception keeps the customers buying.
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68 GMC 250/3 speed Saginaw p/b p/s 69 Chevy 350/350 currently in pieces still lookin for a cab 06 Trailblazer I just want a vehicle that I can work on, that won't talk to me, leave error msgs or keep track of how I drive... |
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#29 |
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Gardnerville Nv No Mo Cali!!
Posts: 869
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
I'm curious...I always thought GMC trucks were suppose to be slightly more refined or had better upgrades than Chevy trucks. Lately, I have been told that the opposite is true, ie, Today, GMC is a notch lower than Chevy. Which, if any, is true?
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#30 | |
Boosted Member
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Mackinaw, IL
Posts: 2,200
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
Quote:
I think GMC is the "upgraded" brand, with the Denali line. My brother has a new Sierra Denali, and I'd take it over a Chevy, with the styling and comfort features that aren't or weren't available with a Chevy.
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1972 2wd K/5 Blazer Turbocharged 370 LSx - 941 rwhp / 1093 rwtq 1969 Chevy K-10 L33 5.3 / 4L80E / NP241 / 4" lift 1964 Buick Skylark Twin TURBO 383 LS pro-touring project 2014 VW Passat TDI - Daily Driver Turbo diesel 2015 Sierra Denali HD Duramax Turbo diesel 2016 Ford Explorer Sport - Twin Turbskis 2017 Polaris RZR Turbo 2014 Nor-Tech Center Console - Twin Supercharged Outboards TURBO ALL THE THINGS!! |
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#31 |
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Redondo Beach California
Posts: 146
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
GMC trucks had more heavy duty options for the chassis, had more interior options in the deluxe series and often more expensive than some Chevys for their more options than Chevys. But both are better than FORD!!!! Haha!!!
Posted via Mobile Device
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343 NEVER FORGET 9-11 FIGHT ON!!! GO USC!!! PROUD OWNER OF A 1970 ![]() |
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#32 |
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Lyman, SC
Posts: 734
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
It's funny you said this. In the 90's, my dad bought a new S-10 Blazer that had a GMC horn button. We didn't even notice for a few days and eventually the dealership replaced it for him with a bowtie one.
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Matt Criswell - Lyman, SC 1972 Chevy Cheyenne SWB - Build: Porterbuilt State 1 Front & Rear, Bolt in Notch, McGaughys 2.5 Drop Spindles, Boyd Welding Fuel Tank UPSTATE SC GM TRUCK CLUB: FACEBOOK WEBSITE |
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#33 |
Carpe manana
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Location: Eau Claire, WI
Posts: 12,372
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
Good stuff here.
So back in 67-72, would an equivalent Chevrolet truck cost more, less, or the same as a GMC truck? Curious is one had a sales advantage in terms of cost over the other.
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1972 K5 CST Highlander Blazer: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=708547 1972 K20 Cheyenne Super: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=528308 ![]() |
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#34 | ||
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 1,018
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
Quote:
Interestingly, what GM did in it's latest down sizing, brand reduction was less about what was profitable individually and more about reducing self competition. Pontiac was their 2nd best selling mark when they eliminated it, but was the greatest reduction in the distribution network aside from Chevy. I suppose GM felt they could steer loyalty either towards Chevy or Buick. A lot of the stronger performing Pontiac dealerships became one or the other. Quote:
The real problem is that there is heavy brand loyalty with both these marks, and trucks are a big seller. I think if GM tried to market Chevy trucks at non-Chevy dealerships the sales would severely tank. The sales may increase some at Chevy dealerships but probably not enough to recover the loss. In the same vein reducing the truck operations to simply a corporate wide GMC product would seriously upset Chevy loyalists. I doubt either case would send buyers running for Ford, but it may make them think about Toyotas and Nissans. List, nearly the same, but if you wanted 20 of them with utility boxes on the back, it would have probably been cheaper and easier from GMC. Like I said before, I bought my '91 Suburban from a GMC only dealership, and they dedicated more of their showroom space to heavy duty dealer installed options then they did to the vehicles themselves. They instantly knew how to order trucks for towing, plowing, heavy duty electrical systems, power take off pumps and such, the Chevy dealerships knew none of this stuff then. The Suburban needed to have 3 different options to get a mounted spare tire, a cover over it and a jack. Also the Chevy dealership didn't know how to order a solid color Suburban with a cloth interior or dual batteries on a non-diesel truck. |
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#35 |
Special Order
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Location: Mt Airy, MD
Posts: 85,859
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
With all this talk about GMC being the fleet oriented brand makes me wonder how the government/military ended up buying Chevys when going with the lowest bid. Verizon and many other huge fleets use Chevys,too. I never noticed one over the other in fleets.
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"BUILDING A BETTER WAY TO SERVE THE USA"......67/72......"The New Breed" GMC '67 C1500 Wideside Super Custom SWB: 327/M22/3.42 posi.........."The '67" (project) GMC '72 K2500 Wideside Sierra Custom Camper: 350/TH350/4.10 Power-Lok..."The '72" (rolling) Tim "Don't call me a redneck. I'm a rough cut country gentleman" R.I.P. ~ East Side Low Life ~ El Jay ~ 72BLUZ ~ Fasteddie69 ~ Ron586 ~ 67ChevyRedneck ~ Grumpy Old Man ~ |
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#36 |
Hittin E-Z Street on Mud Tires
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Location: Greenville, SC
Posts: 23,090
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
Because everyone loves twins!
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Jesse James 1967 C10 SWB Stepside: 350/700R4/3.73 1965 Ford Mustang: 289/T5-5spd/3.25 Trac-Loc 1968 Pontiac Firebird: Project Fire Chicken! 2015 Silverado Double Cab 5.3L Z71 2001 Jeep Wrangler Sport 4.0L 5spd 2020 Chevrolet Equinox Premium 2.0L Turbo 2011 Mustang V6 ~ Wife's ride ![]() American Born, Country by the Grace of God ![]() 1967 CST Shop Truck Rebuild! My 1967 C-10 Build Thread My Vintage Air A/C Install Project "On a Dime" Trying my hand at Home Renovation! 1965 Mustang Modifications! |
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#37 |
Registered User
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Location: Newhall CA
Posts: 1,195
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
my 69 GMC has coil rear suspension, i this rare?
has 1 piece driveshaft too. 250 /6
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69 SWB 780hp Hellcat powered, manual 6 speed, currie 9 |
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#38 | |
Special Order
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Location: Mt Airy, MD
Posts: 85,859
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
Quote:
I just wish they made cool hi-performance GMC stuff like valve covers from back then. I have a set of those M/T fined aluminum valve covers that had black wrinkle finish. I stripped then to bare aluminum and in that long flat blank area (always wondered why they did that. Kills the look) I'm going to have "Sierra Grande" cut,just like the bedside emblems. There's a knock-out with "Chevrolet" I need to address,either replace or just stick a GMC medallion over it.
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"BUILDING A BETTER WAY TO SERVE THE USA"......67/72......"The New Breed" GMC '67 C1500 Wideside Super Custom SWB: 327/M22/3.42 posi.........."The '67" (project) GMC '72 K2500 Wideside Sierra Custom Camper: 350/TH350/4.10 Power-Lok..."The '72" (rolling) Tim "Don't call me a redneck. I'm a rough cut country gentleman" R.I.P. ~ East Side Low Life ~ El Jay ~ 72BLUZ ~ Fasteddie69 ~ Ron586 ~ 67ChevyRedneck ~ Grumpy Old Man ~ |
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#39 |
Active Member
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Location: Centrally located between Houston, Austin and Waco. BCS area.
Posts: 7,947
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
Most government and civilian purchases for the most part are bid on by different companies. There are strict requirements by these purchasing entities but it still boils down to who gives them the best service and product for the money.
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68 GMC 250/3 speed Saginaw p/b p/s 69 Chevy 350/350 currently in pieces still lookin for a cab 06 Trailblazer I just want a vehicle that I can work on, that won't talk to me, leave error msgs or keep track of how I drive... |
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#40 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 1,241
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
Quote:
![]() The other weird thing about when I was looking for another GMC is that all of the ones I looked at in a month period had coils on the rear.
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Bud |
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#41 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 1,018
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
Quote:
I do know that in the old Bell System days AT&T was bound by trust order to buy vehicles based on market share, so they would have to buy what ever percentage of their vehicles from each manufacture that that manufacture sold in the previous year to the general public. AT&T also was not allowed to contribute more than 25% of any one companies business, the idea was that if they ever canceled a project they wouldn't single handedly bankrupt a company, I'm sure government is the same sort of thing. |
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#42 |
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Hoytsville, Utah
Posts: 3,365
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
My dad always said the GMCs were Chevys with the bolts all tightened up
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'68 Panel Project Boogie Chillin' '68 C-10 Ol' Green |
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#43 |
Registered User
![]() Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 4,989
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Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?
I like both...Interesting to learn the Difference, always wondered
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1971 GMC Sierra 1959 GMC 100 |
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