Question About Gm Heavy Trucks

[ABC Auto Industry]

Why were the GMC versions (Astro, General, etc...) more common than the Chevy versions (Titan, Bison, etc...)? I think it's because Chevy manufactured both cars & trucks, whereas GMC was exclusively a truck manufacturer.

[Jim B]

You know, Dylan, I think you might have hit the nail on the head. People seem to associate GMC with tough trucks, and Chevrolet with passenger cars. Take a look at the pick-up market: GMC probably sells more Sierras than Chevy sells Silverados, even though they are made on the same assembly line. I don't know if the General & Bison or the Astro & Titan were made on the same line or even in the same plant, but I'm pretty sure they are the same truck with different name plates.

[ABC Auto Industry]

Well, they're both GM products, so I think they were produced in the same plants with different nameplates. However, until we can find a better answer, then we'll just go with my guess. After all, it does seem to have hit the nail on the head, Jim.

[Ayatollah]

GMC had their trucks out for the public to see and buy. You'd see them at big dealerships that had other lines like White, Volvo etc. Going up and down the interstae meant you would see the heavy GMC's sitting at the truck stealerships. Not so with chebby. They acted, and still do, like they don't care if they sell or not. They have their mediums at the chevy dealerships like kodiaks and snowbird hotshots and whatnot but you still don't see those big Chevies parked under your nose ready to sell. They have the pickups, work vans and Korean cars. They always had profitable car lines, I don't think they ever put that much effort into it.

[ABC Auto Industry]

GMC had their trucks out for the public to see and buy. You'd see them at big dealerships that had other lines like White, Volvo etc. Going up and down the interstae meant you would see the heavy GMC's sitting at the truck stealerships. Not so with chebby. They acted, and still do, like they don't care if they sell or not. They have their mediums at the chevy dealerships like kodiaks and snowbird hotshots and whatnot but you still don't see those big Chevies parked under your nose ready to sell. They have the pickups, work vans and Korean cars. They always had profitable car lines, I don't think they ever put that much effort into it.

So you're saying that the Chevy versions didn't sell as well because they weren't as obvious as the GMC versions?

[ABC Auto Industry]

Anyways, while we're talking about GM heavy trucks, I have a question: Was anyone here lucky enough to obtain a GMC Astro kit with the turbine engine?

[Robert Myers]

Anyways, while we're talking about GM heavy trucks, I have a question: Was anyone here lucky enough to obtain a GMC Astro kit with the turbine engine?

Yep, I have two. I got them back in the 1980s when the kits were still cheap and no one wanted them. I built one with a regular engine and kept the turbine out to display by itself. I have considered making a resin copy of it, but my resin skills are not that great. The other one is in the stash, I just look at it and worship it occasionaly.