Badge Engineering at its Finest

Although GMC has been around for a really long time, I always wonder why GM didn’t use the guilotine in the company during its liquidation of its automakers. To me, GMC is not needed. It is as confusing as Chevy killing the Camaro back in 2002. I mean, let’s face it. GMC is pretty much a carbon-copy of Chevy trucks and SUVs. Is it a “what came first, the chicken or the egg” situation or is GMC so good, there is no comprehensible reason to kill it? Well here’s my take.

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I’ll start with why I think it should be dead. First, this is basically badge engineering at its finest. By the way, I am a extremist hater of badge engineering. I can understand using bits of other cars to make a new one but completely using one model, copy and pasting it to a new one and slapping a new badge on it confuses me. A Sierra is a Silverado, Yukon a Tahoe and Suburban, Acadia a Traverse or Enclave and so on. Besides a few differing parts and badges there is no difference. One could say, Denali’s are different but the LTZ trim is Chevy’s Denali. I just feel as if the funding and R&D that goes into GMC could be sent to the other automakers in GM’s stable.

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Secondly, my last remark. The amount of money that goes into an automaker is astronomical, but spending that number on a solely truck automaker is simply pointless. One could say Jeep could be thrown under that label but Jeep has its off-road legacy. GMC could be axed and the money could go into other companies allowing them to produce and develop the existing or new cars more.

Take Ford for example. There is only one set of trucks. The F-Series. Lincoln isn’t trying to manufacture pick-up trucks and their last attempts proves to be tragedies. The Blackwood was cool but didn’t catch on and the Mark-LT was a F-150 Platinum with a higher price tag. Truth be told, if GMC is supposed to be the luxury versions of Chevy, there isnt a point.

That still leaves the question. Why is GMC still alive and surviving? Well here you go.

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GMC is only still around due to two things…history and profitability. Lets face it, GMC has been around more 100 years plus and have sold sucessfully as alternatives to Chevys. It is a weird formula but it has worked. It allows Cadillac and Buick dealers to also offer trucks at their dealers and due to the similarities to Chevys, the aftermarket is too large. So while I don’t understand why they are still around, I see the point and purpose.

Don’t get me wrong, I do like the offerings from GMC. Even though they are literally cut and paste Chevys, they are still strong. GM managed to find a way keep GMC around. While it is confusing, as long as people keep buying, GMC ain’t dying.

While I dislike badge engineering and think that GMC is unnecessary, the reason that keeps GM from pulling the plug is the fact that they are still relevant. It’s just like the old saying goes…”if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In this case, don’t kill it. GM isn’t beating a dead horse, they are simply refusing to kill an alive and well horse.

Just one more question? How many GM recalls does it take for us to get a Typhoon/Syclone again?

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