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:

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  Poor performance and value - 2011 GMC Terrain
  By Diane S - November 2 - 2:19 pm

  In 2 years of ownership, I had a total of 7 major warrantied parts replaced. This included emissions, both catalytic converters and timing belt before the truck even had 50K miles on it. Service at Winegardener GMC of Brandywine was horrible. Truck was held for a week at a time, with no loaner or rental offered. Truck eventually became too costly to own as I lost many hours off work waiting for repairs and finding rental vehicles while waiting for truck to be fixed. Gas mileage was not the 32 MPG promised, even at 55 MPH I still only got about 23 MPG HWY.

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  Do not buy this car - 2010 GMC Acadia
  By Erica - October 9 - 6:09 pm

  I searched for an suv to fit our family, looked at 14 different models, Acadia had it all. However, a week after I bought mine, one owner used, 108k miles, the alternator went out at $300 bucks. Two days later, it left us stranded when the timing chain guide broke, another $1800 and a month at the shop. I got it back and drove it 2 months before the engine blew because oil was not getting to the top of the engine. Had to borrow $4k, 5 months in the shop, got it back a week ago and currently have a check engine light, we are 4 hours from home. In addition to a recurring tire pressure Guage light, stabilitrack, and abs lights. Im beyond upside down in this ridiculous thing. And is not at all dependable. These are just the big things, the DVD player quit 3 days ago, among other little things. Do not buy this car.

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  Buyer Beware - 2010 GMC Yukon
  By Karen McAlpin - September 25 - 4:15 pm

  I am a Ford girl. My last GM roduct was an S10 Blazer in 1987. Ive been driving Ford Explorers since 91. My current 99 Explorer has over 260,000 miles, never had any problem until 3 months ago the alternator went out 2 miles from home. No problem, drove it home, put on an alternator good to go in 45 minutes. My wonderful husband was concerned about me driving it on the 160 mile round trips twice a week to help care for my Daddy who was dying, so he convinced me to switch to a used 2010 Denali with only 85,000 miles on it. Sounds great, looks great, no accidents, beautiful SUV, so we bought it from an individual. I drove it 2 days and as I approached a stop sign the check engine light came on, the engine went to low power, the positive traction warnings came on. It has a bad lifter. Its been at our mechanic almost 2 weeks while he and my husband contacted GM trying to get some help with the repair costs. GM has refused because the time limit ran out in February. My 16 year old Ford never left me stranded! If I can fix this piece of junk and get rid of it, Ill be buying a Ford. Ill NEVER BUY GM PRODUCTS AGAIN!!!!!! And I intend to share my story with anyone who will listen.

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  BEWARE!!! STAY CLEAR OF THIS VEHICLE!! - 2012 GMC Terrain
  By Gina Lehigh - September 21 - 7:52 am

  After reading numerous complaints it is totally insane that GM is not backing THEIR product!! I have a 2012 GMC Terrain, 4 cylinder. I am also experiencing a lot of what others have written on here. I am going through oil like crazy and my favorite part is the "dummy" light is not even coming on to tell me. I am checking my oil weekly and having oil changes every 2,500 miles with Penzoil Full Synthetic. The only code that has ever appeared is the cam shaft sensor, which I replaced, but I still continue to have oil consumption issues. It is ridiculous that GM will not investigate this issue after numerous complaints. I also experience the shifting issues (jerking when taking off from a stop). This car is total garbage and I will continue to just put oil into it and I refuse to replace an engine on a car that is 3 years old that I have documentation that I have properly maintained. COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS UNTIL THIS PIECE OF JUNK IS PAID OFF!!!!

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  piece of garbage - 2010 GMC Terrain
  By miss p - September 11 - 4:48 am

  This car was put in the shop every other week. As a single mom I had came down To feed the family or fix car. I want or need To give this one back to GM. I will take a huge loss I had to replace major parts in this car. I only had it less than Two years! DO NOT PURCHASE A TERRIAN...

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  Save a life! Stay away! - 2011 GMC Terrain
  By Disgusted Terrain owner - September 7 - 7:22 pm

  Bought the 2011 Terrain used last month with 39k miles. It has stalled numerous times in traffic and check engine light is always on. I had to the GM service department and they cant figure it out. It uses 4 quarts of oil in 2k miles. GM tells me that is normal under their standards. I just pray this doesnt cause an accident with my kids in the back. GM prefers to not acknowledge this death trap.

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  ugh...cant afford to keep American - 2010 GMC Acadia
  By cheryl - September 7 - 5:36 pm

  Dont buy this car! I will say I love the look of the crossover and the capacity as we are a very active family. It is roomie and can fit a a lot of everything and that is where my love ends. I was just quoted over $5600 in repairs! I have had numerous repairs, water pump, airbags, seat belt were the only items covered under recalls. I now have my A/C out, steering rack gear leaking, timing cover gasket and rear main seal all needing repair and the vehicle is 5 years old! Name me one Toyota, Honda or Nissan that would need that much work 5 years? My VW didnt even need that much in 15 years! Customer care is a joke. They hook you up with your dealer that you have already become intimate with because you are ALWAYS there. Nothing else. I think the foreign cars to learn from the cargo design of the Acadia and they would have a best seller. I know that I would buy it. As for GMC, General Motors and buying American...my family cant afford a substandard product and therefore will never purchase again. I tried...

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  Absolute garbage - 2011 GMC Terrain
  By Bill - September 3 - 1:53 pm

  I couldnt imagine owning this car out of warranty. It has spent so much time at the dealer that although I owned a Terrain, I spent much of my time behind the wheel of various Buick rental cars from the dealer. The transmission was replaced 3 times, not to mention a host of other issues. How does GM have repeat customers???? Our first and last GM product ever.

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  STAY AWAY FROM GMC ACADIA!!!! - 2008 GMC Acadia
  By Erin Amerson - August 21 - 11:58 am

  This car has been nothing but headaches since weve owned it. I bought my 2008 GMC Acadia from a GM dealership as a used vehicle with 50,000 miles on it. Less than one year later all hell breaks loose. During a rain storm while driving, water started pouring into the interior through the seatbelts, airbags and sunroof. The next morning, all of the computers in the car went crazy and the car wouldnt turn on. Had it towed to the dealership, and come to find out there is a water leak issue due to faulty drain tubes in the sunroof. Although a recall for some vehicles, my vehicles VIN was not included in that recall, even though it was the SAME PROBLEM. Called GM, that was a joke. They said there was nothing they could do and basically that it wasnt their problem. $1500 later and the leaks are supposedly fixed and so I drive away with my smelly car. A few months later, the engine started running hot. Brought the car back to the dealership and apparently there was an issue with the transmission. Another $500 dropped. The mechanic also informed us of a leak into the master cylinder which he then told us was a common problem he had seen with the Acadia. He said it didnt need to be repaired right at that moment, but would eventually need to be repaired in the near future for a mere $1500. Over the next 2 years in which I owned this car I had nothing but issues. Oil leak (also another common problem with Acadias according to the GM service tech), engine not turning off occasionally even when I took the key out, when I would get gas, I would have to leave the car running because if I turned it off, after I finished pumping the gas it would be very difficult to start the car. Usually took about 4-5 tries. The last and final straw was this past week. I was driving home one afternoon and sure enough, water started pouring into the interior of the car from the headliner. It came in through the airbags, sunroof and top of the windshield. You could also hear the water sloshing around in the headliner as I drove. I cant afford to keep fixing the same issue that the dealership should take responsibility for in their faulty design on this car. Traded it in on a Hyundai yesterday and we have so much negative equity in the acadia that my car payment is ridiculously high. Not to mention I have 6 people in our family and so we all do not fit in the car together and will have to drive 2 vehicles whenever we go anywhere as a family. Because we were so upside down trading in the acadia, we couldnt afford to buy an SUV or a minivan. But, at least I know I have a good, reliable car that will not leak that I can feel is safe enough to drive my children in. If you want a vehicle that does more than just look pretty in the driveway then stay away from this one. We will NEVER buy another GM vehicle again. NEVER.

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  Do not buy... - 2011 GMC Terrain
  By KPG - August 17 - 12:01 pm

  Horrible!!! I have a 2011 GMC Terrain, its been in the shop NUMEROUS times. I was just told the motor needs to be re-built. 3 years old and the motor needs to be re-built. It runs terrible, constantly knocks and is never fixed. Its been in the shop a total of 5 weeks since Ive owned it. If you want a good, reliable vehicle, do NOT purchase a terrain. The service department tells me they keep most parts in stock because of so many problems. Not a good vehicle AT ALL.