Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Keith Seymore · 07-21-2010, 05:21 PM

Today was the day we celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the Chevrolet Suburban (the longest running vehicle nameplate), here at the GM Tech Center.

There were speeches, cake and coffee at 9 am, but the highlight (for me) was the assemblage of vintage Suburbans, pretty much one from each era.

Located in the Vehicle Engineering Center lobby, I believe, was a '36, a '46 (the truck used for the Franklin mint models), a '51, a '66, a '72, a 90, and a GMT400 version. The newer GMT800 and GMT900 models were inside the building where the speeches/cake/coffee took place.

I did not see any GM or Heritage Center property tags on the '72, '89, GMT400 or GMT800, leading me to believe those were personal, employee owned vehicles. That's a good deal for the owners, since they were detailed and given a show car prep job for this display -and - they were as nice as the GM owned vehicles on display.

Sorry, no pics - as cameras are not allowed on GM property...

but if I can find some internal GM publicity photos I'll post 'em up.

K

*87 chevy silverado* · 07-21-2010, 05:28 PM

here links that i found http://content.usatoday.com/communit...5th-birthday/1

http://goldsea.com/Text/index.php?id=6080

http://www.windingroad.com/articles/...amond-edition/

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2010/02/...ition-package/

Keith Seymore · 07-21-2010, 06:14 PM

Yep - that's definitely the '36 that was in the lobby (second article):

GmtGmt · 07-21-2010, 06:20 PM

the new burban actuly looks nice

*87 chevy silverado* · 07-21-2010, 06:22 PM

i hope this helped a lil

SBTork · 07-21-2010, 06:51 PM

Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUBURBAN!! I drive my '85 everyday and I did not even know it's birthday was coming up, shame on me.
In all seriousness, this is way cool, a vehicle nameplate that's lasted 75 years, way to go GM and way to go Keith!

Jonboy · 07-21-2010, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Yep - that's definitely the '36 that was in the lobby (second article):

That is the pic taken at Arlington Assembly when the 75th anniversary trucks were being built, isn't it? I think we have 6 of them here on the lot. Nice, but a little pricy.

RandyP · 07-21-2010, 07:19 PM

Wow, would have loved to have seen all that in person.

Keith Seymore · 07-21-2010, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonboy

That is the pic taken at Arlington Assembly when the 75th anniversary trucks were being built, isn't it? I think we have 6 of them here on the lot. Nice, but a little pricy.

Yes - that photo was taken in the plant at Arlington, near the Audit Area by the main aisle.

K

tucsonjwt · 07-21-2010, 08:14 PM

Ever notice how the vehicle of choice for the Secret Service escort for the POTUS is the black Suburban?

Keith Seymore · 07-21-2010, 10:11 PM

Yes....

**Captainfab** · 07-22-2010, 01:30 AM

Well I guess it was fitting that I drove my '66 Suburban today.....didn't realize today was it's birthday though. Thanks for posting this

Keith Seymore · 07-22-2010, 08:15 AM

Here's the flyer they used to communicate the event internally:

Funny story about Terry Woychowski - he and I shared an office when I worked at the Desert Proving Ground. He was an animal; the hardest working man I've ever met. He would work around the clock, stopping only to sleep on a piece of that noise suppression foam that they put behind the copy machine. It wasn't uncommon to come to work at 3 am and find him already there, prepping show trucks or running an experiment.

He has mellowed a little bit as he has aged; now he only does the work of three good men.

Anyway, he used to drive to work in a white '72 Chevy pickup longbed. This truck was beat up. It was so beat up that I don't think it even had a center bearing left on the driveshaft - the shaft was just rattling around in the metal carrier. It took so much focus to get the truck rolling that you had to turn the radio off - concentrate - and then you could turn the radio back on once you were underway. Highly unlikely choice for a driveline development engineer...

Terry has a very unusual combination of both technical insight and administrative ability. He can supervise thousands of people or hundreds of projects, and then wheel around in his chair and write some obscure germain physics equation on the whiteboard. He is now a GM Vice President, in charge of all product planning, and there is no one else I trust more explicitly to run this company.

He also gets to drive whatever he wants.

Me - I'm still driving the exact same truck that I had when we met back in 1989....

Keith Seymore · 07-22-2010, 10:18 AM

Photos are starting to trickle in. These will be used in news outlets, particularly the small "Tech Center News" papers that are distributed here, along with the Michigan papers (Detroit News & Free Press):

Vehicle Engineering Center lobby:

1946:

1936:

All the cake was gone by the time I got there....

In the above photo, can you pick out (a) the Engineer? (b) the Marketing person?

(lol)

(Chuck Cloud photos - GM Photographic)

Shawn5488 · 07-22-2010, 06:05 PM

Pretty cool that GM took the time to make a big ordeal out of the Suburban, it is a milestone! The wife and I are waiting for the 2013 3\4ton 'burban to come out with the new 7.0 motor, we will be getting one, her 6.2 Tahoe just isn't big enough or have the power.

moneyeater · 07-23-2010, 02:38 AM

That is a nice story!
Thanks for sharing that with us!
Did anyone notice that the 1975 suburban on the flyer is actually a newer model?
Volker

TexasJeff · 07-23-2010, 07:24 AM

Very Cool , thanks so much Keith!!!!

JohnC · 07-23-2010, 11:11 AM

That's cool. Thanks for sharing that with us.

GmtGmt · 07-23-2010, 11:48 AM

General Motors all the way!

iroc12valve · 07-23-2010, 05:32 PM

I like how in the flyer the 1975 is actually an 81-91 model lol
All kidding aside this is great for the industry, to see a model run for so long uninterupted is amazing these days.

A strong pat on the back to GM and all involved

chevymotocross · 07-23-2010, 05:36 PM

This is awesome!

Keith Seymore · 07-24-2010, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moneyeater

Did anyone notice that the 1975 suburban on the flyer is actually a newer model?
Volker

Quote:

Originally Posted by iroc12valve

I like how in the flyer the 1975 is actually an 81-91 model lol
All kidding aside this is great for the industry, to see a model run for so long uninterupted is amazing these days.

A strong pat on the back to GM and all involved

Yes - the models on the flyer floated around a little bit; I have an earlier version where the '55 is a Cameo Pickup (obviously not correct) but the '75 does look a '75 version. They missed on this one, though -

(lol)

Thanks for the comments, guys -

K

justpball · 07-24-2010, 09:39 AM

Man I have to get my burb a present then!

*C-10 simplex* · 07-26-2010, 01:30 PM

1) So anyways, i find it intriguing that chevy AND gmc have had the suburban nameplate----although i don't think gmc has had it as long. How does/did this work and why? Obamastration and others who i staunchly disagree with are talking about "duplication" etc. i mean how much more duplication can you get with chevy/gmc suburban---virtually identical! Yet the two are allowed to continue? (Yes, i know gmc does not call it suburban anymore but yukon xl is the same)
At least with chevy, pontiac, b.o. etc. you had different styling, interiors and to a certain extent different drivetrains.

2) Which was the largest suburban? The 73-91 looks to be largest?

motornut · 07-27-2010, 09:52 PM

it was the front marker told me,just figured a typo meant to be 1985 not 75

07-21-2010, 05:21 PM	#1
Keith Seymore Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: Motor City Posts: 9,226	Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM Today was the day we celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the Chevrolet Suburban (the longest running vehicle nameplate), here at the GM Tech Center. There were speeches, cake and coffee at 9 am, but the highlight (for me) was the assemblage of vintage Suburbans, pretty much one from each era. Located in the Vehicle Engineering Center lobby, I believe, was a '36, a '46 (the truck used for the Franklin mint models), a '51, a '66, a '72, a 90, and a GMT400 version. The newer GMT800 and GMT900 models were inside the building where the speeches/cake/coffee took place. I did not see any GM or Heritage Center property tags on the '72, '89, GMT400 or GMT800, leading me to believe those were personal, employee owned vehicles. That's a good deal for the owners, since they were detailed and given a show car prep job for this display -and - they were as nice as the GM owned vehicles on display. Sorry, no pics - as cameras are not allowed on GM property... but if I can find some internal GM publicity photos I'll post 'em up. K __________________ Chevrolet Flint Assembly 1979-1986 GM Full Size Truck Engineering 1986 - 2019 Intro from an Old Assembly Guy: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 My Pontiac story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 Chevelle intro: http://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/ Last edited by Keith Seymore; 07-22-2010 at 10:20 AM.

07-21-2010, 05:28 PM	#2
87 chevy silverado Account Suspended Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: lexington South Carolina Posts: 2,124	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM here links that i found http://content.usatoday.com/communit...5th-birthday/1 http://goldsea.com/Text/index.php?id=6080 http://www.windingroad.com/articles/...amond-edition/ http://gmauthority.com/blog/2010/02/...ition-package/ Last edited by 87 chevy silverado; 07-21-2010 at 05:30 PM.

07-21-2010, 06:14 PM	#3
Keith Seymore Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: Motor City Posts: 9,226	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM Yep - that's definitely the '36 that was in the lobby (second article): __________________ Chevrolet Flint Assembly 1979-1986 GM Full Size Truck Engineering 1986 - 2019 Intro from an Old Assembly Guy: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 My Pontiac story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 Chevelle intro: http://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/

07-21-2010, 06:22 PM	#5
87 chevy silverado Account Suspended Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: lexington South Carolina Posts: 2,124	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM i hope this helped a lil

07-21-2010, 06:51 PM	#6
SBTork Garage wrench Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: LaCrosse, WI Posts: 1,855	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUBURBAN!! I drive my '85 everyday and I did not even know it's birthday was coming up, shame on me. In all seriousness, this is way cool, a vehicle nameplate that's lasted 75 years, way to go GM and way to go Keith! __________________ -Adam 90 V1500 GMC Suburban 350/700R4/NP241..... 01 Saturn SL1 stock DD.....

07-21-2010, 07:19 PM	#8
RandyP Getting Old; Going Broke Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Owasso OK Posts: 2,764	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM Wow, would have loved to have seen all that in person. __________________ *Why is every used 350 sbc out of a corvette?* There's only two things that excite a man, expensive toys and real expensive toys. *VEGETARIAN: That's an old Indian word meaning "I don't hunt so good."* When the going gets tough, switch to power tools.

07-21-2010, 08:14 PM	#10
tucsonjwt Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,189	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM Ever notice how the vehicle of choice for the Secret Service escort for the POTUS is the black Suburban?

07-21-2010, 10:11 PM	#11
Keith Seymore Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: Motor City Posts: 9,226	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM Yes.... __________________ Chevrolet Flint Assembly 1979-1986 GM Full Size Truck Engineering 1986 - 2019 Intro from an Old Assembly Guy: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 My Pontiac story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 Chevelle intro: http://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/ Last edited by Keith Seymore; 07-21-2010 at 10:14 PM.

07-22-2010, 01:30 AM	#12
Captainfab 60-66 Nut Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Posts: 23,252	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM Well I guess it was fitting that I drove my '66 Suburban today.....didn't realize today was it's birthday though. Thanks for posting this __________________ Power Steering Box Adapter Plates For Sale HERE Power Brake Booster Adapter Brackets For Sale '63-'66 HERE and '67-'72 HERE and '60-'62 HERE and "60-'62 with clutch HERE Rear Disc Brake Brackets For Sale. Impala SS calipers HERE Camaro Calipers HERE D52 Calipers HERE 6 Lug HERE Hydroboost Mounting Plates HERE

07-22-2010, 08:15 AM	#13
Keith Seymore Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: Motor City Posts: 9,226	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM Here's the flyer they used to communicate the event internally: Funny story about Terry Woychowski - he and I shared an office when I worked at the Desert Proving Ground. He was an animal; the hardest working man I've ever met. He would work around the clock, stopping only to sleep on a piece of that noise suppression foam that they put behind the copy machine. It wasn't uncommon to come to work at 3 am and find him already there, prepping show trucks or running an experiment. He has mellowed a little bit as he has aged; now he only does the work of three good men. Anyway, he used to drive to work in a white '72 Chevy pickup longbed. This truck was beat up. It was so beat up that I don't think it even had a center bearing left on the driveshaft - the shaft was just rattling around in the metal carrier. It took so much focus to get the truck rolling that you had to turn the radio off - concentrate - and then you could turn the radio back on once you were underway. Highly unlikely choice for a driveline development engineer... Terry has a very unusual combination of both technical insight and administrative ability. He can supervise thousands of people or hundreds of projects, and then wheel around in his chair and write some obscure germain physics equation on the whiteboard. He is now a GM Vice President, in charge of all product planning, and there is no one else I trust more explicitly to run this company. He also gets to drive whatever he wants. Me - I'm still driving the exact same truck that I had when we met back in 1989.... __________________ Chevrolet Flint Assembly 1979-1986 GM Full Size Truck Engineering 1986 - 2019 Intro from an Old Assembly Guy: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 My Pontiac story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 Chevelle intro: http://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/ Last edited by Keith Seymore; 07-22-2010 at 12:21 PM.

07-22-2010, 10:18 AM	#14
Keith Seymore Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: Motor City Posts: 9,226	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM Photos are starting to trickle in. These will be used in news outlets, particularly the small "Tech Center News" papers that are distributed here, along with the Michigan papers (Detroit News & Free Press): Vehicle Engineering Center lobby: 1946: 1936: All the cake was gone by the time I got there.... In the above photo, can you pick out (a) the Engineer? (b) the Marketing person? (lol) (Chuck Cloud photos - GM Photographic) __________________ Chevrolet Flint Assembly 1979-1986 GM Full Size Truck Engineering 1986 - 2019 Intro from an Old Assembly Guy: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 My Pontiac story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 Chevelle intro: http://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/ Last edited by Keith Seymore; 07-22-2010 at 12:23 PM.

07-22-2010, 06:05 PM	#15
Shawn5488 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Central IN Posts: 87	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM Pretty cool that GM took the time to make a big ordeal out of the Suburban, it is a milestone! The wife and I are waiting for the 2013 3\4ton 'burban to come out with the new 7.0 motor, we will be getting one, her 6.2 Tahoe just isn't big enough or have the power. Last edited by Shawn5488; 07-23-2010 at 11:36 AM.

07-23-2010, 02:38 AM	#16
moneyeater Registered User Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northern Germany,near Bremen Posts: 684	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM That is a nice story! Thanks for sharing that with us! Did anyone notice that the 1975 suburban on the flyer is actually a newer model? Volker __________________ My little US vehicle parts business: http://www.thegearheaddepot.com/ Come have a look! ´81 GMC C 10, Spanish Red

07-23-2010, 07:24 AM	#17
TexasJeff Don't Crush em Restore em Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Pinehurst, Texas Posts: 764	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM Very Cool , thanks so much Keith!!!! __________________ TexasJeff 2009 Silver with Linen Interior Cadillac DTS 1990 Red with White Top and Interior Ford Mustang GT convertible 1998 Red with Gray Interior, C3500 Chevy Crew Cab Dually

07-23-2010, 11:11 AM	#18
JohnC Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 7,461	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM That's cool. Thanks for sharing that with us.



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07-23-2010, 05:32 PM	#20
iroc12valve Registered User Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: niagara, ontario Posts: 109	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM I like how in the flyer the 1975 is actually an 81-91 model lol All kidding aside this is great for the industry, to see a model run for so long uninterupted is amazing these days. A strong pat on the back to GM and all involved __________________ 1991 V3500 350TBI/4l80/205 D60/14bff - Crew long 1987 IrocZ-28 525 horse/567 Lb Tq 383 1976 K30 on 39.5s One wheel drive thanks to a np203 and some K5's lol

07-23-2010, 05:36 PM	#21
chevymotocross Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: East Haven, CT Posts: 882	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM This is awesome! __________________ 87 Chevy 2wd SWB: 305/700r4 Dual Exhaust, K&N Filter, Injector Pod Spacer, TBI Spacer, Belltech Front Sway Bar, Corvette Servo, Western Chassis 4/6 and c-notch

07-24-2010, 09:39 AM	#23
justpball Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Silverhill, Al Posts: 2,026	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM Man I have to get my burb a present then! __________________ Fuzzy Dice Club Member 87 Crew SWB Build for the crew http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=430082 http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3232925 90 burb 2wd Build Thread For The Burb! http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=383055

07-26-2010, 01:30 PM	#24
C-10 simplex Account Suspended Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: indisclosed Posts: 1,515	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM 1) So anyways, i find it intriguing that chevy AND gmc have had the suburban nameplate----although i don't think gmc has had it as long. How does/did this work and why? Obamastration and others who i staunchly disagree with are talking about "duplication" etc. i mean how much more duplication can you get with chevy/gmc suburban---virtually identical! Yet the two are allowed to continue? (Yes, i know gmc does not call it suburban anymore but yukon xl is the same) At least with chevy, pontiac, b.o. etc. you had different styling, interiors and to a certain extent different drivetrains. 2) Which was the largest suburban? The 73-91 looks to be largest? Last edited by C-10 simplex; 07-26-2010 at 01:35 PM.

07-27-2010, 09:52 PM	#25
motornut 78K & 79C Jimmys Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Ottawa Ont CANADA Posts: 7,901	Re: Suburban 75th birthday celebration at GM it was the front marker told me,just figured a typo meant to be 1985 not 75 __________________ John 1978 GMCJimmy4X4-350/203 1979 GMCJimmy4X2-305/350

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