GMC Trucks made some of the best heavy duty trucks on the road, but they don’t get the appreciation they deserve. Even Smokey & the Bandit II had the Snowman driving the last of the GMC line, the GMC General.
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Key Moments in this Episode:
0:00 The Founding of General Motors and GMC Trucks
1:08 The GMC General Premium Over The Road Tractor
3:11 1:43rd Scale GMC General by IXO Models Product Review
11:24 GMC General Stars in Hollywood Movie
13:42 GMC General Special Sleeper the Generals Quarters
14:38 What to do Next

GMC was founded in 1900 as the Grabowsky Motor Company in Detroit by brothers Max and Morris Grabowsky. Later renamed the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company in 1902 when the brothers moved operations to Pontiac, Michigan.

In 1908 Durant gained control of Reliance Motor Car Company, another early commercial vehicle manufacturer.

In 1909 William C. Durant gained control of the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company and made it a subsidiary of his General Motors Company.

In 1911 General Motors formed the General Motors Truck Company and combined Rapid Motor Vehicle Company and Reliance Motor Company into it. In 1912 the Rapid and Reliance names were dropped in favor of the one name “GMC Trucks”. Later to become General Motors Truck and Coach Division and marketed as “GMC.”

Among the finest trucks produced by GMC were the Astro, the Brigadier, and the General.

The GMC General had a brother known as the Chevrolet Bison. I did a video on the Bison a while ago and you should go see it with the link below after you finish this video. The General was a heavy-duty class 8 truck that was assembled by the GMC Truck and Coach Division of General Motors.

The GMC General and Chevy Bison product line was introduced for the 1977 model year, replacing the C/M 90/9500 trucks. After 1981, the Chevrolet Bison was discontinued, following the withdrawal of Chevrolet heavy-truck production, but the General lived on. In 1986, General Motors entered a joint venture with Volvo to produce heavy trucks, leading GMC to end production of the General conventional and Astro cabover in 1987.

The filming of Smokey and the Bandit II used a GMC General that was loaned by General Motors to the producer in hopes to advertise GMC’s new premium over the road truck and prototype sleeper compartment.

This was a special sleeper put on the General used in the filming of Smokey and the Bandit II.

There were three Generals built with that sleeper. All three were prototype sleepers. Sadly, the sleeper was never put into production. It was made by the Able Body Corp. and was the same sleeper used on Fords and Macks of that time period but with new upper windows. The first movie was a big hit at the Pontiac showrooms for GM and they were hoping the same would happen for the second movie, so not only did they provide a new Trans Am, they also loaned the producers the GMC General to be the starring truck.

After the movie, the General was returned to GM for the rest of the promotional campaign for the new sleeper. Unfortunately, times were not great in 1980 so the sleeper project was scrapped.

As a result of ending the sleeper project, the three GMC Generals with the “Generals Quarters” sleeper had the sleeper removed and sold off as day cabs. However, for you big movie truck fans, you’ll be happy to know Snowman’s General is still around today!

About Logan Skeele the host of Toy Talk:
Logan Skeele is the founder of Advantage Diecast. He works with brands to make physical long lasting products to make a lasting impact on customers. These products are constant reminders to the customer of your brand and of the quality they will put keep in their office and show off to other colleagues, keeping your name and logo in front of them every day.

Contact Logan here to find out how he can help you achieve the same marketing brand loyalty.

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