We’ve been pitching you GM’s Greatest Hits all week. Not like that’s all there are, since we’ll want to bank some for when we get accused of being anti-GM again. But now it’s your turn, for the all-time obvious question: what exactly was GM’s All-Time Greatest Hit?
For me, the ’63 split-window Vette is certainly in the running. But the GM car I find the hardest to look away from may always be the 1954 Cadillac Eldorado. If I had to choose one car for life, that just might be it.
http://www.lhsa.org/gallery/images/fullsize/gallery_355.jpg
I’m also a sucker for the ’49 Chevy Fleetline. These fastbacks are, to me, among the cleanest styled Chevys ever built.
http://local.aaca.org/mgr/Abbeville%20Car%20Photo's%20005b.jpg
The small block Chevy V8
Gotta be the sb V8.
1932 Buick 90 series is up there, 55 Cameo pick-up maybe… this is a tough question Paul! Need more time to think about it 🙂
1957 Cadillac Series 70 Eldorado Brougham. Truly the standard of the world. It was priced at $13,000 when it went on sale, which would be something like $105,000 now. It was the first 4 door sedan without a B pillar, and with suicide doors. It featured, a dual four-barrel 6 liter 325 hp V-8, air-suspension, a brushed stainless steel roof, chromed rocker panels, the first quad headlights, and a whole list of exotic features, that would later become commonplace, including:
Cruise Control
electric antenna
electric door locks
electric sensor headlight controls
power windows
forged aluminum wheels
power trunk lid opener
“memory” seat
http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z1949/Cadillac-Series-70-Eldorado-Brougham.aspx
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/3199/Cadillac-Series-70-Eldorado-Brougham.html
http://motorera.com/cadillac/cad1950/CAD57E-70.HTM
GM’s greatest hit? My avatar, of course! Goldwood yellow, 1964 Chevy Impala SS convertible, black interior, 283 2bbl powerglide. It didn’t get better than that!
Actually, the tri-fives, every Chevelle up through the 1972 models, every Nova up through the 1972 models, All Impalas 1960 – 1968, 1967-69 Camaros, every single Corvette ever made and 1970-72 Monte Carlos. Chevy Cameo pickup, 1967-1972 pickups, 1968-69 Olds Cutlass 442.
Grudgingly, the 1973 Grand-Am and the mid-70’s Cutlass Supremes.
The 1973 Pontiac Grand Am is truly a GH. I LOVE them!
The 5-6-7 shoebox ranks up there, although the 1920s Chevrolets definitely set the template for common cars as an aspirational object instead of a tool.
My bias is showing (can we get that trademarked?), but I think GM’s all-time greatest hit is its line of light-duty trucks. There would be no GM today if it weren’t for GM keeping a singular focus on keeping its pickup customers happy and not losing the plot.
Of course, its singular focus on its truck line was to the detriment of its passenger cars, minivans, and early crossovers, but that’s more in the Greatest Sins category…
The truck line shows how GM could’ve avoided bankruptcy. Continual improvement, no schizophrenic nomenclature musical chairs, and listening to its customers.
+1 on the light duty trucks. You frequently see them as bangers with 200k + on the clock.
I have a friend who has a 93 1500 with 250k on the original engine and a rebuilt trans. For much of its life it hauled 1 1/2 cords of firewood daily from the woods of NorCal.
Oh man, that picture has blinded me completely with split-window Sting Ray lust. Only an E-Type has the same effect. My heart says All-Time Greatest Hit.
My mind says ’55 small-block Bel Air. Not just the perfect American car, it opened the Golden Age of GM.
An all time favorite, especially because my father bought one in the summer of ’55, and brought it home, to take a bunch of little boys to the ice cream stand. It was in the pictured color.
OTOH, the Eldorado was a greater concept.
1966 Corvette and the ’64 and ’65 Corvairs. These are not necessarily GM’s greatest hits, just the cars I still lust for. I owned a ’57 Chevy and that piece of crap holds no allure for me.
I have so many favorites in GM’s past. Where to begin? In chronological order, I guess:
1) 1955 Bel Air
2) 1958 Impala 348 Tri-Power (I have soft spot for ’58s because my dad owned one when I was growing up)
3) 1963 Split-window ‘Vette
4) 1964 Impala SS409
5) 1964 GTO (the original “muscle” car)
6) 1968-72 Nova
7) 1970 B-bodies, particularly the Chevelle LS-6 SS and the Cutlass/442
8) 1971-72 K-5 Blazer
9) 1976 K-10 Shortbed Step-side 4×4
Greatest hits that aren’t tied to a particular year or model would be the 396 & 427 aluminum big-blocks, the 327 small block, and the new generation LSx series V-8’s
While I always adored the ’55 Belair as a design that set the tone for the next 7 to 8 years of in the industry, the ’63-’64 Riviera will always be the best form of personal luxury coupe ever mass produced, bumper to bumper.
Great to see a few of GM’s Greatest Hits, Paul.
I’ve had a supremely busy week so am now just getting caught up with CC…I really enjoyed the Corvair Greenbrier Greatest Hit….the sales failure of it and the Vista Cruiser/Sport Wagon sure casts a different light on some of GM’s later product decisions. Hard to blame them when the public rejects the superior product.
The Powerglide qualifies as a GH…just because it was obsolete by 1965 doesn’t negate its durability nor its impact as the first automatic trans in a low-priced car. Plus you can still get one from the Summit catalog for hi-po use.
The ’63 Split-Window would be an easier choice for “GM Greatest Hit of All”…but there are challengers…
-’49 Cadillac
-’63 Riviera
-the Small-Block Chevy V8
-’60-’72 Chevy Pickup
-’11 Cadillac CTS-V
Here’s a thought…the current Gen III/Gen IV engine family. My brother-in-law owns an ’05 2500 Express cargo van w/200,000 miles…its 5.3 sounds as quiet as something with 40,000 miles.
Hot Rod magazine tore down a 150,000-mile 5.3 and Plastigage’d the internal surfaces to find they were still within tolerance for a new engine. Then they took another Gen III that they thought was a 5.3, tried to kill it with superchargers and other power adders and got the dyno HP up to 1,100 before giving it up. Then after running the casting ##s they found it was actually a 4.8.
Just some thoughts. Ultimately I’m with Mike. The ’55 Chevy…the iCar. 1.8 million sold, well engineered and built, great handling for its day and size, good on gas for its day and size. Plus it remains to this day…just. plain. gorgeous.
The 1982 Celebrity could have, and should’ve been its spiritual successor. If only it were executed more like the ’64-’67 Chevelle Greatest Hit, an earlier spiritual successor to the ’55 iCar.
I’ll say it again for the benefit of Carmine and anyone else who’s thought CC is a bastion of GM hate…respectfully…read the comments again.
IMO the reason for coming down so hard when GM’s produces a Deadly Sin is because more than its domestic competitors, GM knows – and has known all along – how to build outstanding, dynamic vehicles. When they shoot for the stars and get it right, THEY GET IT RIGHT.
There’s no way to pick a #1.
When the General had a product right, they owned the market for that product until they decided they didn’t want it anymore.
I’d nominate the A/G cars from 64-88, the Suburban from 73-91 as a couple of serious contenders.
I want to say that GM really hit the nail on the head hard with the 70 Camaro and 77 Trans Am.
Much like everyone else, I can’t name just one…
1963 Buick Riviera
1964 GTO
1957 Cadillac Eldorado
I’m surprised that no one has mentioned the 1977-90 B-Bodies. While not perfect, they did set the standard for styling and durability for years to come.
Now, if I was picking just for myself, and based solely on styling, comfort and class, I would pick the 1985-88 Olds Cutlass Supreme Brougham-but that’s just me 🙂
Yeah, I know the 1981-84’s were the same car, but I like the grilles and colors from the later years the best.
The 85-88 Cutlasses are the better choice anyway, since the 307 had replaced the sluggish 260 as the optional V8 (I think beginning in 83 actually).
’63 Split Window Corvette
’61 Bubble Top Bel-Air (2 door)
’55-’57 Chevrolet Nomad Wagons
2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.
In stock form, it’ll seriously embarrass all sorts of expensive German and Italian iron in acceleration AND it’s as simple to maintain and reliable as a Chevy Impala. Plus, with the C6, GM finally started sweating the interior quality of the Corvette, which was J-car like in the C4 and not that great in the C5.
On that criteria the Vauxhall Lotus Carlton could only be caught by a Ferrari when it was in production nothing else could get near which is pretty good in 1990 for a 4door 6 cylinder sedan with full leather and all the creature features corvettes dont have. Having the fastest sedan on the planet is quite an achievement
The 1963-64 Cadillac. This car was still better than anything else built in the world for what it was. Top quality engineering, materials, assembly, power and features. I prefer the 1963 for the older 390 engine and the old-style Jetaway HydraMatic, but others like the newer powertrain of the 64. Either way.
My vote goes to the 1939 Buick Roadmaster. A better looking front end is hard to find and behind it lies a big inline eight.
As a halo car, either the split-window Vette or the ’57 Eldo Brougham. As a volume product, I’d say the ’77-’90 B-bodies. Honorable mentions in each category, the early ’60s Cadilacs and the ’55-’57 Chevies.
The 1963 Grand Prix certainly deserves a mention. It’s styling was absolutely beautiful and it set the trend for a number of years, especially the 1965 LTD.
The 1969 GP also belongs in the top ten.
All that said, I agree that the small block V8 is GMs greatest hit.
Most of you guys need to get your mind out of the post WWII gutter. If anything, GM’s greatest stuff was well before then:
1911 Cadillac – Dewar Trophy and the first self starter.
1929 Chevrolet OHV 6 – which put an end to the 4 cylinder engine in the low price field.
1934 LaSalle – probably the height of 1930’s styling, other than the Cord.
+1 to the OHV six. Although the SBC V8 has overshadowed it, *this* was the engine that made Chevrolet. It was a resounding answer to Ford, and almost singlehandedly killed off the four banger in economy cars (luxury cars were already 8s). Contrast it with Europe then, and emerging markets even now, where a smooth as butter economical six could wipe the floor with turboed rough fours.
That’s easy… 😉
Well…now that you mention it, even though it isn’t a car, I whole-heartedly agree!
B-bodys from 1977-1990 with special mention of the Caprice for having the 305V8 that had more HP than the Oldsmobile 307s that went into many other B-bodys of the era.
Larger than their predeccessors on the inside but smaller on the outside. (Love to see someone do that today.)
I second the nomination of the B-bodies, but I’d single out the 1977 Caprice for a couple of reasons. First, it proved that full size cars didn’t have to be excessively huge and that the buying public would accept a large car with more reasonable dimensions. Second, with the F-41 suspension option, the Caprice had relatively decent handling and roadholding ability that none of its competitors were able to match.
The 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air, it transformed Chevrolet from the Cinderella division of General Motors to a trend leader and was also available with the legendary small block v-8 engine, which is probably the greatest engine in American automotive history.
Sorry Kevin et. al. Gotta put my allegiance where I put my money. Shoebox chevy. I think I might actually prefer a 55 but I have 57 so can’t say that very loudly around my driveway. Someone just mentioned 77 caprice. Think it was actually an Impala for 77 and caprice for 78. Don’t know for sure but do know that my 77 impala wagon was tough as nails and a good work car. Just can’t let go the shoeboxes in my mind. Given a choice, how about the black widow variety with a carb (I know, they came with mech FI burt I want a carb).
I would say a number of current models are “GM greatest hits”:
-Chevy Cruze: GM finally has a competitive mainstream C segment car. Interior looks to be a step up from the competition, with modern 6 speed manual and automatic gearboxes to atone for their past sin of offering the Powerglide as late as the ’70s. Not an enthusiast car, but what the Corolla should have become by now.
-Cadillac CTS: I put over 2000 km on one of these I had as a rental, and it really grew on me. Finally Cadillac has a class competitive entry luxury product that can go head to head with the A4, 3 Series, G37, etc. The “Arts and Science” styling is polarizing, but I like it – especially in black.
-C6 Corvette: as mentioned above, world class performance, without the catastrophic engine failures that plague water cooled 911s, for a fraction of the price. The interior still might not be world class, but it’s no longer an embarrassment either.
-Light Trucks: as mentioned above, something that GM has always done reasonably well. A wide variety of options allow the buyer to tailor the vehicle to meet their needs – which I suspect is one reason the Japanese haven’t been able to make any real inroads into this market.
GM is far from out of the woods – and it is unlikely that they (or anyone else, for that matter) will ever dominate the market like they did in their heyday, but they seem to be doing their best work in years…
Chevy Suburban, I believe it is the longest continuously running model of anything out there. This pains me compared to the 63 Vette, Riviera, GP,57 Eldorado, the tri fives and so many others mentioned above but it is the basis for the truck station wagon (SUV), the only nameplate worn by 2 divisions simultanously (GMC until the mid 90’s when the Yukon was coined) that I am aware of, and one of only 2 models that Chevy supplied to Cadillac (Escalade) with very few changes. The other was the Cimmaron. It was also shortened and re-named the Tahoe. The Suburban is probably responsible for GM surviving in its old form as long as it did.
The Chev suburban was sent downunder as a Holden not sure if any sold it was totally unsuitable for suburban use too big too thirsty too cumbersome
If it’s a specific car, the 1955 Chevrolet with the small-block Chevy (SBC) V8 is hard to beat. It was a good car introduced with perfect timing, but the SBC would make it legendary. Up until 1955, Ford still could have overtaken GM given the proper set of circumstances. But the 1955 Chevy slammed any thought of that opportunity ever being possible again (well, maybe up until the last couple of years, anyway).
But an even bigger Greatest Hit than the 1955 Chevy would be Harley Earl implementing the annual model changeover in the mid-twenties. Whatever GM car first exemplified this corporate policy, it would be GM’s Greatest Hit since the annual model changeover (along with Sloan’s ‘a car for every purse and purpose’ philosophy) would eventually establish GM as the world’s dominant car company.
It’s telling that as GM drifted further and further away from the annual model changeover and division identity, their fortunes gradually and steadily went south.
The ’67-’68 Cadillac Eldorado. Not the fastest car GM ever built, nor the priciest or most exclusive, nor even the most technological advanced, but a great example of what the corporation did best. It was a very handsome and polished product that betrayed very little of its substantial commonality with the contemporary Toronado (although both divisions shared the development of that platform), and it looked distinctive without forgetting for an instant that it was a Cadillac. It was also a great success: demand exceeded supply throughout its run, and depreciation was startlingly low for such an expensive car.
In short, it was everything one could ask of a consumer product: attractively designed, well-engineered, with an extremely well-judged balance of price, image, and substance. (The same could be said of the Sting Ray and the ’55 Chevy, which would be my other two leading contenders.) The ’57 Eldorado Brougham and the original Cadillac V-16 were more impressive in an engineering-overkill sense, but in retrospect, they seem like quixotic efforts.
A mass-market automaker is not unlike a hamburger stand: even the best burger isn’t going to be Chateaubriand, but there’s no dishonor in selling great hamburgers.
+1
This generation of Eldorado was the last Cadillac worth of the name until the current CTS. I even see bits of the ’67 Eldorado in the CTS coupe – a definite family resemblance between the sharp lines on the old Eldo and the current “Arts & Science” design language.
Someone beat me to expanding the nominations beyond the obvious memorable cars by mentioning the F series locomotives. I’d like to expand that by also submitting the SD40-2, as well as Silverside, Scenicruiser and New Look coaches (help -what is the plural of “bus”!).
I’m no fan of GM today, but they had the Midas touch for decades; what beautiful machines they created.
I have to say The Impala. Its still enduring after all these years. The fullsize trucks although not my favourites seem to sell like hot bread and ubiquitous SBC.
Opel Kadett C. Frugal, sturdy, functional. If you need more space, get two.
1) 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix
2) 1968 Holden Monaro 327 GTS
3) 1965 Buick Riviera
4) 1968 Chevrolet Impala SS Fastback
5) 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
My Earliest Memory is July 63, when my Mom Bought her Marimba Red Grand Prix , instead of a Bonnieville convertible, that I wanted her to buy, I was 1 month shy of 4. She told me ” next time I’ll get a Convertible”…and i went back to playing matchbox cars on the black morrokide seats. She had that car till I was 13.
I Think The 65 Riv and 63 -67 Sting Ray Corvette were the best styled perhaps.
Of course, for me, it has to be the 1977 B-Body. GM really took a risk on this design and actually listened to consumers, who obviously wanted a more rational design. There really wasn’t much new in this B-Body, just the culmination of what GM did best: front V-8, automatic transmission and solid axle. The build quality in the higher models was first class and the cars drove really well. There was nothing better about the 1976 models in any way. Even the materials in the 1977 were much better than the previous models.
The 1977 B-Body was the first GM can that didn’t have the Dream Whip ride. Even the base models handled quite well and the F-41 Chevrolet models handled as well as anything on the market, German stuff included. A loaded Caprice with F-41 and 350 CID V-8 was a heck of a nice driving car and comfortable, too. And of course, that 350 responded to all the myriad of power increasing goodies available. I once had (for a short time, of course!) a 1978 Caprice 350/F-41 which had dual exhaust with cam and intake, easy good for another 50 hp, which made it a very nice car indeed. I could go on about my 1990 Canadian-spec 9C1 but that tale has been told here a few times.
Big cars are what GM did best and when they turned their back on that market in the 1990s in favour of SUVs they were really done. I am sure GM could have developed a wonderful front engine, rear drive unit body with an up to date V-6 and four cylinder. Instead they went FWD on everything and really couldn’t compete on it. Too many reason GM went bust but I still think the main reason is the turned their back on the family sedan.
Id Say Cadillac’s dominence of the American Luxury Market From 1949 -198-? with
DeVilles, Highly Marked up/ Mostly pure profit over lesser GM cars. Tailfins on Cadillacs ushered in the Era, and in 89 Fresh Tailfins/taillights saved the DeVille Yet again. $
A runof 40 + successful years is not bad at all.
Otherwide Id Say Their Best Sell, The Impala or The Silverado Has been their biggest hits. But they are rather mundane.
The ’63 Corvette was stunning to me as 11 year old kid (and still is).
Mom had ’64 Riviera and I almost wore the paint off it by polishing it.
’66 GTO or even LeMans coupe still looks great to me.
55 Chevy/small bock V8.
I had ’92 Chevy pickup, loved it. Very clean style. Before the time of “rugged” looking increasingly tall trucks.
for downright memorably fashionable styling in its time, Its HArd to Deny a Place On
BEST STYLING HIT -GM cars
67 ElDorado
65 Riviera
66 Toronado
63Grand Prix- though ATT I liked the 64, 66, 67conv & Rare 68(odd)Better
64-67 Corvette Conv
1977-78 Pontiac Firebird even a 79 skybird
THey were The Standard of the World as far As I cared in the 60s, But I did appreciate the RR , XkEs, among many varied
Were The 59 Cadillac’s looks considered a HIT or MISS in FALL OF 58?
For How Long Did That Last? And What Started to change peoples opinion
I just have always wondered if The look was ever “THe look everybody wished they could afford”