We live in an era where car makers freshen up
their cars and rename them more often than before. Very few cars stick to their
nameplates across generations, mostly luxury brands. Budget brands hardly do
that, partly because they prefer to project their cars as 'totally' new and
latest by every face-lifts. Some of the iconic car model nameplates that are around for a while like
Porsche 911, Chevrolet Corvette, or Ford Mustang are always interesting. It's a
great way to get sense of how a car evolves over generations, and carry forward
its legacy from past.
When we think about what car model has been around longer
than any other in the automotive world, it is the Chevrolet Suburban SUV that
is still in production without taking any breaks for 80 years since 1935.
That’s longer than any other nameplate in the history. The Suburban is even
claimed as "world's first crossover"! Even today, the Suburban stands
distinct in the market and sets standards for large SUVs.
Do you remember this macho SUV at this year's republic day
parade at Rajpath, New Delhi, alongside
President Obama's 'The Beast' Limo in
his motorcade?? You should have at least noticed this car in a bunch of Hollywood
movies you watched recently. The Suburban is quintessentially an 'American'
SUV, partly because it is sold primarily in United States and Canada, but also
because it symbolizes the 'neo-imperialist' power of the country in a narrow
sense. It often gets one's imagination of being a
'sarkar gaadi' (Government's
vehicle) of USA for some reasons! (if it isn't so to you, then ignore the idea
please!). I often put out
Tata Safari and Chevy Suburban side-by-side for this
reason, the two SUVs will surely be present in almost every motorcades for
heads of their respective state.
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| The GMC Yukon XL and Chevrolet Suburban LTZ are identical twins |
General Motors came up with 2015 Chevrolet Suburban last year and the
new car was well taken among the fans of the franchise. The SUV is in its
Twelfth generation now, and is also re-badged as GMC Yukon XL and Cadillac Escalade ESV. GM, despite its consistent debacle in
the last few years, finds Suburban to be a hot cake with spending an average of
only ten days on dealer lots before being sold. It adds that 65% of those
fast-selling Suburbans are in top-range, ridiculously expensive LTZ trim! For
most of its recent history, the Suburban departs from its truckly origins with
each generations and is becoming more and more expensive. But that's not how
the SUV started its journey three quarters of a century back.
The name
'Suburban' is self-explaining. In the beginning of
the twentieth century, there were vehicles built to carry passengers and then
there other bare types built to carry cargo. During 1930s, the Great Depression
ripped-off the purchasing power of people. Now they have to rethink priorities
and having one vehicle for work and one for pleasure isn't possible anymore for
most American families.
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| First-gen Suburban (1935-36) |
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| Second-generation (1937-40) |
At that time, many auto firms in the US like
DeSoto,
Dodge,
Plymouth,
Studebaker, and
GMC used the "suburban" designation for
windowed, station wagon type body vehicles. Chevrolet started producing its
version in 1935. Named as
'Suburban Carryall', the UV was unique because it was
based on a heavy duty truck chassis, unlike its rivals, which were car-based.
The all steel body car could seat eight, with easily removable seats offering a
large 75-inch-long by 77-inch-high cargo bay. It increasingly found favor with
professional customers in the first decade, including the U.S. Armed Forces
during World War II.
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| 1972 Chevrolet Suburban |
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| 1990 Chevrolet Suburban |
It is interesting to see how the vehicle has evolved over
years. What started in the 1930s as a two-door, eight-passenger people-mover
devoid of creature comforts, hard-riding, and relatively crude, with 60 hp of
power, has transformed into a 355 hp leviathan with a luxury price-tag! From
1950s, the Suburban reincarnated with elements like V8 power, middle-row doors,
much-enhanced chassis designs, wall-to-wall carpeting and stereos every decade.
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| 2002 Chevrolet Suburban |
Of course, back then, Chevy's hauler was not called an
'SUV', as the segment didn't even exist until the 1980s. Only in 1990s and
early 2000s, the popularity of pick-up trucks,
SUVs in particular, gained
momentum. The Suburban very soon absorbed the trend and became on par with
luxury cars of the day in terms of accoutrements. It became uncommon for a
American family of four to use a Suburban for everyday driving. It soon became
a symbol of American car culture. GM celebrated the 75th anniversary milestone
of the Suburban in 2010 with an
'Anniversary Diamond Edition' limited to 2,570
specially-badged White Diamond Suburban LTZ’s.
When it comes to experience of cars and its relationship to
modernity, many scholars argue that cars are also an important cause of the
growth of suburbia and countryside. It is likely to be true in the 'New
England', which is a land of expanding business opportunities (at least until
half a century back) and a 'car nation' in general sense. The Suburban's
history if quite matching to such a perspective. The SUV, at present, is the
most efficient, powerful, and expensive ever. It carry forwards its historical
legacy in a whole new era.
Photo Credit: Motortrend, Truckyeah.Jalopnik.com
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