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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  Malfunctions - timing change, noise, oil pouring out - 2010 GMC Terrain
  By dlatour - June 9 - 3:32 pm

  At 35,000 miles the timing change had to be changed. At 51,000 miles I brought it in for engine noise that was extremely loud and an oil film on the undercarriage. Told that the noise and oil was normal. Today at 54,000 miles it appears all of the oil drained out of the motor. Beside the huge puddle on the driveway there is oil from the front of the car to the rear of the car.

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  *Caution 2009 Yukon - 2009 GMC Yukon
  By lemonyukon - June 2 - 10:21 pm

  I am the unfortunate owner of a 2009 Yukon XL, it currently has 49,500 miles on it and in the last 6 months has been in at least once with problems. This is the short list: 1) Door module of course as you see that many times 2) hot air coming out of drivers side vents and a/c on passenger. 3) oil sensor model and remember this one it enabled us to find out that bulletins exist concerning oil consumption. The valve covers do not allow the oil to drop back down to the engine 4) after we got that done and the repair did not work it tossed another code about emission module and it then had metal in the oil 5) the valves rings had to be replaced. 6) 3 more codes in shop today! 5)

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  BAD BAD FUEL ECONOMY - 2012 GMC Terrain
  By aray5 - May 28 - 6:15 pm

  Do not "presume" that you will get anywhere near the sticker mpg with your Terrain. You wont. Our sticker showed 22-32 and we get 23.8. GMC is not "playing fair" by having EPA conduct the fuel tests so that lawsuits are avoided. Apparantly the only way to get close to 32 mpg is by driving between 48-60mph on a flat or slightly sloping downward road...If you are plagued by poor fuel economy with your Terrain, I urge you to call GMC and your GMC dealer and voice your complaint!

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  Dont do it - 2011 GMC Acadia
  By merbeamish - May 17 - 3:34 pm

  Purchased a used (28k miles) 2011 Acadia in April 2012. Test drove and was tempted to buy a Toyota Highlander or VW Touareg but loved the body style and features of the Acadia. DVD player broke after a week of owning it. Fortunately it was just barely covered under warranty. A couple months later, at 300 miles past warranty the back hatch broke (wouldnt open manually or remotely). $600 to fix. May 2013, a year after buying the vehicle were on our 2nd time fixing the air conditioning (approx $1000/time), and theres an oil drip.

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  Transmission/power stering/water pump/hvac - 2007 GMC Acadia
  By dtafilaj - May 9 - 11:06 pm

  My Acadia is 2007I was very exited about this new suv back in 2007 when I bought it. At 28000 water pump died/at 42000 transmission died at 60000 ac and power strng died for every single issue i went to the dealer that I bought it and mostly of the issues were not fixed and what ever was fixe I had to pay for it trnsmission was not able to figure out. engine light was on i dropped to the dealer and for days and weeks and would work for couple of the months and again same story would not shift to higher gear.power steering saves me money to dont use the fitness center because I work out by steering my acadia thats how bad it is. I own tahoe Hummer and cadillac srx but acadia was bad choice

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  Review of 2009 Acadia @ 75k - 2009 GMC Acadia
  By dgin - May 3 - 10:29 pm

  Were the 2nd owners of this car we picked it up at around 63k. In the last 1.5 years, weve definitely had a few things go wrong with it that were out of the norm. 1) Ignition coils 3 & 3 went bad and had to be replaced along with corresponding spark plugs. 2) 2 of the 3 seat belt housings in the 2nd row seats broke. Seat belt mechanism still worked though. 3) Rough idle due some minor sludging this was remedied with a good fuel injector cleaning and oil change. 4) Catalytic converter kicked back a low performance code and was subsequently replaced. Good thing we bought it from to include an extended warranty which covered it all. Sad, but we really like the car otherwise.

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  2008 Transmission Broke!! - 2008 GMC Acadia
  By sarah60 - April 25 - 7:02 pm

  Dont be deceived by its good looks! I loved the 2008 GMC Acadia when I saw it and test drove it. Had I known it would run so bad only after a few years we bought it, I would have never purchased the car. I have had several problems but recently the TRANSMISSION breaking has made me never, ever, ever, ever want to buy a GMC again!

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  Worse vehicle I have ever had! - 2010 GMC Terrain
  By texas322 - April 7 - 9:31 pm

  We have never had so many problems with a new vehicle as we have had with this one. They had to replace timing chain, a rattling noise is still very loud but they tell us there is nothing wrong, drive the car to work and back and no engine light turned on or anything just a loud knocking noes in the motor every time we pressed gas.. Little did we know that the car had no engine oil... But it still showed it had 40% oil life. Dont know where the oil is going. This is the second time its happened to us. We have to check oil at least every 2 weeks.. This is a 2010 car. Mileage is not what it says it is..

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  Money Pit - 2001 GMC Jimmy
  By ramdaddi - March 15 - 11:58 am

  Yes, very reliable OVER SIZED STATION WAGON. Awesome in the snow with the original Good Year Wrangler tires but a very expensive vehicle to maintain. Sealed front wheel bearings and brakes always seem to fail and are costly repairs. Ive had mine for 10 plus years and I just put $2,000 into the breaks, bearings and idler arms or some crap like that and honestly, Im glad I did. This "truck" is a great work horse, 144k miles, and I love to beat the hell out of it off roading at the farm. Maintain it and the mechanic said I can go another 100k miles easy. beats a car payment and insurance on a new vehicle!

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  Steering and rear tail door - 2013 GMC Acadia
  By mfd33 - February 26 - 3:21 pm

  Turn the wheel all the way to either side and it clunks, they say its normal. It scared the heck out of me first time. This is not normal. Im sure therell be a recall in the future, there should be. Beware til they fix this problem, if they fix it. Metal to metal coming from rear hatch area when I go over bumps. Four days theyve been trying to figure that one out, they still have it. I wouldnt recommend it at this time. I should have stuck with my Yukon. 2013 has not been a good year for the Acadia, looks good but looks aint everything.