Overview & Reviews

GMC is a division of General Motors that focuses on producing SUVs, trucks and vans. Though GMC's vehicles are mechanically similar to related Chevrolet products, they are typically differentiated by unique features, trim levels and minor styling tweaks. The automaker's full-size pickups and SUVs are the most compelling offerings in its lineup; in many cases, its products in these categories are class-leading.

The marque's roots lie in the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, a truck manufacturer that was founded by Max Grabowski in 1902. The outfit was purchased by General Motors in 1909 with the intention of having it serve as a division dedicated to building tough and capable trucks. The brand came to be known as GMC Truck; early models include the T16 and T20. Most of the manufacturer's trucks were very utilitarian in nature and functioned as dump trucks, fire trucks and military vehicles. GMC Truck's 3/4-ton Model 16 saw duty in World War I, serving mostly as a battlefield ambulance.

Sales continued to climb in the 1920s. After switching to a six-cylinder Buick-built motor, GMC Truck's 1- and 2-ton trucks earned the distinction of being the fastest in their classes. By the '30s, the line had grown to include everything from half-ton pickups to 10-ton trucks and buses. New models included the popular 1936 Suburban, which was essentially a truck-based station wagon that paired a truck's utility with a car's creature comforts.

World War II was a time of expansion for GMC Truck, thanks to its acquisition of Yellow Truck & Coach. Once again, the automaker's vehicles were tapped for wartime duty. New models like the Jimmy and the DUKW (nicknamed the Duck) were widely used by American troops.

Postwar, GMC Truck models became more consumer-oriented, and many were revamped to offer styling that more closely resembled passenger cars. The 1950s and '60s witnessed an upswing in sales, thanks to the popularity of recreational vehicles like GMC-based motor homes and pickup campers. The Jimmy name was revived and assigned to the brand's first ever sport-utility vehicle in 1970. That decade and the next saw a continued rise in the brand's popularity. The early '90s saw the brief appearance of the Syclone and Typhoon. The former was a small street pickup that burned up the asphalt with its turbocharged V6 and all-wheel drive. The latter was essentially a two-door SUV based on the same platform. Either one of these oddball speedsters could rip through a quarter-mile in around 14 seconds flat, making them among the quickest vehicles ever offered by General Motors. Also, by this time, GMC Truck had trimmed its moniker; the brand is now known simply as GMC.

In the past few decades, GM has consolidated its products and GMC's trucks have become less individualistic as a result. Today, most of GMC's vehicles are virtually identical to those sold by Chevrolet. The main differences lie in minor features and design tweaks that give GMC's offerings a more upscale image.

User Reviews:

• 

  Good investment on this Envoy - 2002 GMC Envoy
  By Hoa Nguyen - October 10 - 12:54 pm

  I purchased gmc envoy in 2004 through Certified dealer and it last me until now. The car have 178.000 miles on it and still push out power very strong, I used this car for trailer every summer and it done great, the Dash board light start to fade out but it an easy fix.

• 

  I would not recommend to a family or friend - 2017 GMC Acadia
  By Jason - July 19 - 8:21 am

  I agree with all the negative reviews. The issues I’m having and have had are in the sensors. I’m having a couple of sensors go out on me every year and the repair is very costly. For example, recent sensor issue was with the emergency brake. Cost to fix over a thousand. Two weeks prior to that radiator fan sensor went bad. Cost close to a thousand to fix. Prior to that shifter sensor. That went bad twice. First time replacement was on the shifter. The second time went bad and the they replaces the harness shifter. It’s been a nightmare. My wife and I share a car. We have seen a lot of loaner cars since we purchased this car. Other issues, passenger number rusted. Onsar sensor went bad and they had to replace the entire housing unit. Had issue with the roof flapper. They changed the clip on that. I’m sure there’s couple more issues, I just can’t remember what they are without going through my service maintenance history. This is a GMC Acadia 2017 Sport Denali. So it doesn’t matter what trim you get, the cheap trim or very expensive trim like mine, you’ll have problems either way. We decided to buy the expensive trim because my wife and I decided to share the vehicle and didn’t want to have problems with the car for this reason. The only thing I have to say is the dealership has been good to us in regards to giving us loaners and shuttling me back and forth from work when needed. I don’t know why these sensor fixes are costing thousands of dollars to fix? Can it be due to the loaner car costs being baked into the overall fix? I’m just not sure. I did buy a car warranty for $3k but I’m finding out the dealership is charging so much money that the warranty is only covering about 50 percent of the bill. This is adding up to be a lot. Looking back I made a big mistake buying this car. I’m now looking at trading it in. I’m looking at companies that are giving 100,000 mile warranties. I’m just tired and wish these sensor were better designed and more reliable.

• 

  Help - 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid
  By Ashley Abarca - April 13 - 12:57 am

  I just purchased from a used car dealer and about a week after falling in love with my vehicle, it will lock up while using the head lights and the message on dash says “power steering locked” “check hybrid system”. After being towed twice, seen by GMC, broken promises made by the dealership it was purchased from, I couldn’t be more aggravated with what may be causing this to happen. It only cuts off and jerks when head lights are on. Come to find out, they are not factory headlights and a bulb is missing out of each one. Would this be throwing off the system? Can anyone help. I love my truck but I need it to be reliable and safe and right now it’s neither of those things.

• 

  PAINFUL!!! Thank to bad seats - 2015 GMC Acadia
  By Katarina - December 12 - 6:46 pm

  No matter how I adjust the headrest it kills me. Im 59" my other passenger 6 & we are both Extremely uncomfortable. My neck and upper back used to hurt every time I sat in the car, since it throws me off SO BAD now my muscles near and around cervical area hurt and my muscles and upper thoracic area kill! These seats were designed for obese people with back fat. Something that my passengers and I are not!

• 

  Turn on the theft-deterrent alarm system - 2008 GMC Acadia
  By Ismael - November 30 - 12:04 pm

  The acadia turn on the theft-deterrent alarm system and I follow up the instruction of manual many times, but the alarm no turn off, I had to change the fuse (2amp) and the alarm turn off and I can turn on my car, now the alarm turn on one time by day, change the fuse and and go, any body to know what happen with this and how I can fix. thanks!!

• 

  Thought I had a good car. - 2011 GMC Terrain
  By Tracy - November 16 - 7:29 am

  Bought this used 3 months ago. Had a problem with a timing belt and something else a month ago and it was repaired under warranty. My warranty went out last week. Yesterday, my check engine light came on so I had Onstar run a diagnostic check and they said it had something to do with the car not starting and I need to get it fixed within 7 days. This morning, I had to turn the heat up to 78 to feel any kind of warm air. Last week 75 was too hot. Also, mpg is not what they claim and that was one of the main reasons I purchased this vehicle. Very disappointed!

• 

  Did not realize what i was getting into - 2010 GMC Terrain
  By Chris Little - November 6 - 2:47 pm

  i bought the SLE 2.4l AWD in 2014, the vehicle was already 4 years old with 80k miles on it. before i drove it off the lot, noticed the utility charging plug in the front storage compartment did not work, and the USB port in the center console did not work. told the dealer and they said they would handle it, no one ever called me. as the year progresses that i have the vehicle, i start smelling small amounts of exhaust in the cab and think nothing of it. this week, 11/2/15 - 11/6/15 the check engine light came on and gave a P0011 code, took it to the dealer and found it was crank shaft alignment sensor, the dealer recommended replacing the actuator for it and also doing the exhaust sensor and actuator. $900 later, because the extended warranty that i purchased would not cover the work performed, the exhaust i smelled in the cab became 10 times worse. took it back to the dealer and had them look at it free of charge. i now have a cracked exhaust manifold. this crack does not show up over night, which means when i bought it, the manifold probably had a small fracture in it. and yet again, my extended warranty will not cover this repair either. dealer wants over $500 to fix this, sorry.. i got my complementary inspection, im going somewhere else for the repair. dont get me wrong, the fuel economy on this vehicle is great and it is a good looking car. i, however, do not like having to fork out this much money on a vehicle when i have only owned it for a year now and still making payments on it. my 2002 GMC Sierra has given me less trouble, and its 13 years old now.

• 

  Leaks! - 2015 GMC Acadia
  By Laura Fairchild - November 3 - 12:06 pm

  We recently purchased a 2015 GMC Acadia, my second GMC Acadia. Previously we owned a 2008 GMC Acadia that had a sun roof. With my old car we had an instance where the car had issues with electrical panel shorting out. We were told the drains on the sun roof caused the problem. Filed an insurance claim and that was that. With my 2015 GMC Acadia which we purchased in May 2015, I specifically said my only problem with my other car was leak from "blocked sun roof drain". Imagine my distress when last Monday my car was soaked again. There is no sun roof to leak. The service department said because there was leaves and acorns under the hood....????? What the heck does that mean? To me it means a serious design flaw. The service rep asked if I parked under a tree...no I do not. Do they have trees in my neighborhood yes.

• 

  GMC broke my heart and my bank - 2011 GMC Acadia
  By ana mata - November 2 - 7:25 pm

  Worst vehicle I have ever own and I have had different types from a chevy to a ford to a BMW. Never had the problems or recalls, I have with gmc. I bought it because I always heard how good GMC is, very disappointed. My ford KA(found on road dead) probe had better maintenance expenses and has been more reliable than GMC. Not planning on getting anymore GMCs in my life time even if they are gifts.

• 

  If you want true Voice Nav, DO NOT buy this SUV - 2015 GMC Acadia
  By Alf Peterson - September 29 - 3:05 pm

  GMC is selling this vehicle as a voice navigation capable SUV. The GMC Intellilink Voice Navigation system is supposed to recognize expressions such as: “Intersection”, “Where am I”, “Points of Interest”, “My Location”, or “Current Position”. These features do not work. Several trips to the dealer have produced the service tickets with the comment, “functioning as designed.” Apparently GMC is advertising and selling vehicles that do not function as described in their sales brochures and owners manual. In addition, I have had several GMC case numbers, all of which are not resolved. Dont buy a GMC Acadia with the advertised Voice Navigation. The on-screen portion works but you have to stop the vehicle to make changes. The whole purpose of Voice Navigation is to speak a phrase like "Find me the nearest hotel" or "find me the nearest restaurant." These features DO NOT WORK. The vehicle is very comfortable and quiet. The rear bucket seats do not fold flat. The mileage is worse than my Tahoe. The acceleration is fair. Not satisfied with this vehicle at all.