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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => 73-87 Chevy & GMC Trucks => Topic started by: Stewart G Griffin on March 20, 2008, 11:15:48 am
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Who actually designed the 73-91s? i'm looking for actual names, if possible. Also, did Chevrolet and/or GMC and/or GM design it?
In other words, for example, i know that Chevrolet actually designed the 55-57 mid size cars and every other gm division got their version of that. Also, as other examples, chevy also designed the monza, 1,2,3rd camaros and most corvettes until recently.
What's happening now, if i understand correctly, is that no division actually designs the cars; There is a central designing division inside GM that does all the designing. The GM divison lines---chevy, pontiac , buick etc are only for marketing. i don't think this is a good thing and i will address this later or in another topic.
So apparently, the current Silverado/Sierras were not designed or built by either chevy or GMC.
Pertaining to the 73-91s, i read that GMC would build everything heavier than 1 ton and chevy would build everything 1 ton and below. Would this have anything to do with who designed what?
As another example, if you could remember the glory days, GMC and chevy actually had Class 8 tractor rigs on the market. But GMC designed and built all of them; Chevy just put their labels on them
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Boy Stewart you really get into some of this deep. Honestly the new trucks have ALOT of foregin influence (Isuzu?) like most of the GM & other manufactures. One look under the hood of my buddy's 2007 Yukon was all I needed. VERY few parts that look like GM parts of just a few years ago. I'm sure you will never find even in what country the new ones were designed, let alone names, have fun. Lorne
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Don't know if you'll find individual design engineers for those dates, but normally the concepts of vehicles are done by a design department as part of a GM division-
http://media.gm.com/corpcom/history/gmdat80s.htm (http://media.gm.com/corpcom/history/gmdat80s.htm)
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GM will not tell you their names...I already tried quite a while ago.
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I wonder why. My rebel was designed by dick Teague of AMC. Theres nothing wrong with that
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GM will not tell you their names...I already tried quite a while ago.
i wonder why? Do you suppose it has anything to do with the sketchy lawsuit(s) concerning the side-mounted fuel tanks?
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They were paid as employees of GM to design the vehicle. I highly doubt they want to give credit to any one individual for the design. I'm sure it went through several phases before the actual final designs were approved for the new body style. I bet if you email a truck magazine they can probably get answers through GMC or Chevy
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I think one of the biggest reasons you never hear who did what is because you sign an agreement that states anything that you develope or patent while you're working for GM doesn't belong to you. It belongs to them and you give up your rights to the design. I know that there have been quite a few new patents received by people here at my plant, and although the people get credit for the patent it still belongs to the company. I don't suppose it's unusual for a company to protect its patents like that.
Some years ago (1996 or so) there was an article in Chevy High Performance magazine that had a photo of some engineers who designed some of the GM engines of the 80s. They had a reunion and most were retired guys.
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Can we at least determine which division designed the truck(s)? Chevy, GMC, GM or a combination of two or three?
Today's Silverado/Sierra is apparently designed by neither chevy or gmc, but a central design division within GM. I don't feel this is a good thing nessesarily. But that's probably a topic for another post.
i feel it is a little strange how they won't divulge the designers of this great truck, but my theories as to why are as follows:
1) GM knew they had a good product and they didn't want anyone else in the auto industry to "lure" the designers "away."
2)GM wants to protect the indivdual designers of the truck from the fuel tank related lawsuits.
Another strange thing is that GM freely admits Vic Hickey basically came up with the concept of the Blazer/Trailblazer. Also helped design Humvee.
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Ok, so we didn't have any luck with the actual designers. But we'll keep trying. i want to know who because, i feel, they really did a good job and really "hit the mark." i feel they should be brought out of retirement. Not nessesarily to design cars, but possibly other things---furniture etc.
On another note, i read in a 73 chevy brochure that the trucks were "designed four years earlier." And the trucks, technically, came out fall of 72. This means the design of the trucks was originally started in 1968. Also computers were, in part, used to aid design.
Just something to think about.