OUR FIVE FAVORITE GMC TRUCK AND SUV DESIGNS OF ALL TIME! | MCLARTY DANIEL BUICK GMC 

ushered in a whole new era of GMC truck design, building on over a century of beautiful, powerful, capable GMC trucks that truly earned the brand the motto: Professional Grade. 

GMC has always been about pushing the envelope when it comes to what American drivers can expect from their trucks. That relentless push for excellence has resulted in some truly beautiful and groundbreaking truck and SUV designs over the years, and many of us here at McLarty Daniel Buick GMC have got our favorites. Seen below, check out our top five favorite GMC truck and SUVs. And when you’re ready to check out the next chapter of GMC’s never-ending push to build the best trucks on the road, stop in…

at McLarty Daniel Buick GMC and check out the all-new 2020 GMC Sierra 1500, the all-new 2020 GMC Acadia AT4, the burly 2020 GMC Sierra 3500HD, or any of the rest of the GMC family of trucks and SUVs. 

5) 1975 GMC Sierra Grande Duallie — General Motors turned the page on styling for 1973 with the introduction of the C/K series. A totally new design from the ground up, the trucks featured a much cleaner and more angular look than previous generation GM trucks, which is why GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado trucks built between 1973-1987 are now known as “Square Body” pickups. For our money, none looked better than early heavy-duty GMC Sierra Grande models with a dual-tire rear axle. Featuring burly fiberglass fender flares to cover the rear tires, great two-tone paint combos and a choice of either single cab or crew cab configurations, the GMC Sierra Grande was the dawn of a whole new era of ultra-capable heavy duty trucks.  

4) 1955 GMC Suburban Carrier — Seeking a more sophisticated pickup for wealthier buyers in the 1950s, GMC’s rare 1955 Suburban Carrier — a companion to the Chevrolet’s slightly less-rare Cameo pickups built between 1955-59 — was all about refinement and style, including a bed that featured sleek fiberglass outer fenders, sedan-style taillights and rear bumper, and a fold-down rear compartment to hide the spare. Paired with the dagmar-style grille and bold styling found on GMC’s “Blue Chip” series trucks that began production in 1955, the Suburban Carrier made for a striking and beautiful package that predicted the rise of modern luxury trucks by decades. Never a big seller due to the increased cost of those luxury upgrades, today they’re very sought-after by collectors.    

3) 1970 GMC “Jimmy” K5 — After the turmoil and social upheaval of the late 1960s, the early 1970s found many Americans just wanting to get away from it all to find adventure and self-reliance in the remaining pockets of great American wilderness. Helping them get “back to the land” was the first-generation GMC Jimmy K5. The GMC companion model to the first-generation Chevy Blazer, the GMC Jimmy used much of the same sheet metal as the same-year GMC pickup, only on a shorter wheelbase and sporting a lift-off fiberglass top for a full-convertible look. Featuring rugged GMC 4×4 running gear, V8 power and short approach and exit angles to help mount and climb over obstacles, the first-generation GMC Jimmy helped create the idea of the modern SUV.  

2) 1999 GMC Yukon Denali — Almost three decades after helping invent the SUV concept with the first-gen GMC Jimmy, GMC changed the game again with their first high-end luxury SUV: the 1999 GMC Yukon Denali. Named for the tallest peak in North America, the Yukon Denali was also the pinnacle of GMC refinement, loaded with the kind of features, craftsmanship and materials previously reserved for high-end luxury sedans. Well-received by consumers who wanted more comfort and options from their SUVs, the 1999 Yukon Denali started the luxury nameplate that eventually led to today’s growing family of top-tier GMC Denali luxury SUVs and trucks, including the 2020 GMC Denali Sierra, Terrain, Acadia, and Canyon.  

1) 1991-92 GMC Syclone — Sinister and fast, with an all-black look and special badging, wheels and body cladding, the limited-edition GMC Syclone was the early-1990’s most unlikely high-performance vehicle, sporting a turbocharged 4.3-liter V6 delivering 280 horsepower and 350 lb.-ft. of torque. Corner-carving all-wheel drive lifted from the GMC Safari minivan helped make the Syclone the quickest stock pickup of the decade and one of the most capable performance machines of the era overall, able to blast through the quarter mile in 13.4 seconds, with a 0-60 time of 4.3 seconds. That’s faster than an early-90s Chevy Corvette. With production lasting only two years, the special edition Syclone and SUV-based GMC Typhoon are hot commodities among collectors today, keeping prices for well-preserved examples sky high. Speaking of: GMC seriously needs to make a Syclone version of the all-new 2020 GMC Canyon. Pretty please? 

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