(tires squealing)
- Bad guys love 'em, cartels gots ta have 'em,
and of course you can't forget
that they're loved by the biggest,
baddest authority figures of them all, moms.
Biggie got shot in one.
This is everything you need to know
to get up to speed on the Chevy Suburban.
(electronic music)
Suburban is longest lasting moniker
in American automotive history.
It's kinda like if Ford still had a Model T.
I'll do my best breeze by the early,
low horsepower bits that happened
before your grand-pappy was just a glimmer
in your grandad's eyes, but I'm not gonna skip it.
It was the early 30's, and the middle of the US
had a big bowl of dust on its hands.
From 1930 to 1934, Chevy was quietly putting station wagon
bodies on their full size truck frames for private use.
Private, meaning outfits like the National Guard,
and the US Military, you ever heard about 'em?
Support the Troops.
As these big, long, covered trucks are coming off the line,
some dude at Chevy was like, these things are pretty useful,
maybe we could make one for the public.
Some sort of backwoods, family and possession
transport vehicle.
Why not call it the Suburban Carryall.
My dude, Brad, that is why they call you the thesaurus.
Dude, thank you, I love that nick name.
The Suburban Carryall had its Chevy Truck papa's
rugged full size frame,
and from its station wagon mama it got a sleek body.
Windows, and plenty of seats, and it came out in 1935.
You may know that GM was in the habit of sharing designs
between their companies back in the day,
and the boys over at GMC where like,
hey, can we borrow your backwoods,
family and possession transport vehicle?
And Chevy was like, sure.
So in 1937 both GMC and Chevrolet,
had the same care with the same name.
During Dub-Dub two, Suburbans were used
as military transport vehicles,
and soldiers got to likin' 'em.
So after all that warin' over seas,
GIs were coming home buying houses and making babies.
A lot of them wanted to load those families into the big
Suburbans they got used to in the war,
so Chevy gave 'em what they wanted,
with the third gen Suburban in 1947.
Look at those curve fenders and sweeping lines.
This gen Suburban was the inspiration for the 2011 HHR.
The greatest looking car of all time.
Through the 50s and 60s the Suburban got beefier,
and more capable just like my grandpa,
but it also had some strong competish.
Jeep and the Ford Bronco started to siphon
some business from the Burban,
so GM responded by making it more off-road capable.
But they were faced with a decision.
Would they slim down the Suburban so it can compete
with the new brood of off-road fun machines?
No, let's make it bigger!
So they did.
The 'Burban got over a foot longer in 1967.
Sticking to their guns worked.
Just 6200 Suburbans were produced in 1967
and by 72 that number had grown to over 27,000.
As is the custom with such great sales,
Chevy and GMC decided it was time for a new generation
of the 'Burban, and it would be the best yet.
- (Announcer) Chevy Suburban, tough like a truck,
smooth like a wagon.
- The seventh gen Suburban, debuted in 1973
and would last for almost 20 years.
This is the Suburban that would define
Suburbans for most Americans.
When it came out, you could get it with the legendary
Chevy small blocks, or the beefilicious 454 under the hood.
It was tall and aggressive and screamed,
I know what the heck I'm doin', now get the frick
out of my way, you fence!
(Wilhelm screaming)
By the mid 80s, it was the Jeep Cherokee
and Toyota 4Runner that were changing the game,
and the term SUV first entered the automotive lexicon.
Lucky for Chevy, the hardy, capable Suburban,
was ahead of the game.
By 1984, Chevy and GMC were cranking out almost 65,000
Suburbans a year.
Remember, aside from small changes,
this model had already been out for over a decade.
The world could not get enough of this over sized,
outdoorsy, sports vehicle people hauler.
After 20 years it was time for a new look.
And GM handed the task
to their establish designer Chuck Jordan.
(jazz music)
I love doin' up the speed episodes on American cars,
because I know how to say everybody's name,
Chuck was known to design cars that embodied the era
in which they were designed.
This '59 Caddy, the Buick Reatta, this Oldsmobile 98.
He'd later do the Chevy Cavalier.
All of them competent designs,
but none of them very exciting.
Why choose someone so vanilla?
Well military and special forces loved the Suburban,
for many reasons, but one of those reasons,
is that it's not flashy.
It blends in as much as something can, as massive as it is.
But when you need to stand out,
Caravan four more black 'Burbans,
and no body is gettin' in your way.
If you see a hoard of black Suburbans,
you know something is going down.
These vehicles are also reliable,
and easy to work on, all over the globe,
thanks, in part, to GM's world wide parts supplier network.
They're everywhere and they're durable.
There are stories of dudes driving
through hostile territories and taking fire in these things,
but making it safely out in a Suburban
riddled with bullet holes.
You know who else likes being badass
and traveling in an entourage?
Celebrities.
The beefy Suburbans came with luxury options
and had plenty of room inside
for friends and business partners.
Biggie Smalls was in one when he got shot.
Rest in Peace big poppa.
He used to love when I called him that.
In 2000, GMC figured it was time to rebrand
their Suburban as the much fancier Yukon XL,
and the Chevy Suburban soldiered on
as though nothing had happened.
It did start to get a little more comfortable to drive
when it was loaded up with high tech,
load leveling auto ride, and rear leveling suspension.
Chevy leaned into the off-road rugged image,
and unveiled the legendary Z71 package in 2001,
which featured a front skid plate, off roadin' tires,
a unique grill, runnin' boards,
and Z71 stamped everywhere!
They also had available Quadrasteer,
which means all four wheels steer,
which helps when your vehicle is over 18 feet long.
And families love Suburbans.
They're not for everyone but we all had a friend
whose mom or dad hauled them around in a Suburban.
2007's 10th generation Suburban took inspiration
from the Tahoe and was redesigned
with more modern, less boxy styling.
It had a badass, more aerodynamic shape,
and a steeply raked windshield angel.
It also got even bigger,
growing almost half a foot in length.
In February 2010, for the Suburban's 75th birthday,
Chevy, of course, unveiled the 75th anniversary
trim level, the Diamond Edition.
Chevy was embracing the luxury SUV market
and decided they would absolutely kill it with this one.
This big, beefy beauty had white diamond exterior paint.
It had standard 20 inch chrome clad wheels.
Remote starting, adjustable pedals,
and leather upholstery with heated slash cooled front seats.
Yes, Hip Hop moguls, and special ops
would still drive their blacked out Suburbans,
but now Mariah Carey could have one too.
(James singing)
That brings us all the way to the current,
11th generation Chevrolet Suburban,
which was introduced to public in September 2013.
Special edition, 11th gen Suburbans
abound the Texas Edition.
A little thank you to the lone star state
'cause more Suburbans are sold in Texas then anywhere else.
Texas Edition featured a trailer package.
All them suspension goodies, all wheel drive,
big old wheels, and of course,
an exclusive Texas Edition badge.
What could be cooler than Texas Edintion?
Only the most badass special ops inspired vehicle
of 'em all, the 2017 Chevy Suburban!
Midnight Edition.
I want you guys to do an exercise with me right now.
Close your eyes, imagine the blackest black
you can think of, you got it?
The Midnight Edition is blacker!
Windows, grills, wheels, and even the bow tie is black.
It's so badass!
The secret service and spies must love this thing!
Summer of 2019 will bring us the fastest,
and most furious street themed suburban to date, the RST.
RST stands for Rally Sport Truck, think about that.
A Rally Sport Suburban?
The Suburban is already unreal for it's size.
Now listen to what's in the RST.
6.2L V8 makin', 420 buff horses,
it's got magnetic ride control
with variable performance settings,
and a 10 speed automatic transmission.
Borla makes the exhaust,
and it comes out of the fricken side!
And it's also got Brembos, because Brembos on everything.
And if 420 ain't your lucky number,
a specialty vehicle engineering out of New Jersey
says they've perfected a tuning kit
that'll bump your beefy 'burbin to 1,000 horsepower.
That's buff horse power!
Over 10 decades, and 11 generations of vehicles,
four generations of humans, have learned the Suburban
is unrivaled in a class it created.
And I wouldn't be surprised if it keeps kickin',
for another century!
(tires squealing)
Thanks for watching Up to Speed,
every Thursday 'til the day I die,
new episode on Donut.
Smash that like button, smash that like button, smash it!
This show is a history show, but if you want me to actually,
you want to see me actually interact with the cars,
check out my new show Bumper to Bumper.
I host it, it's just as funny as this one,
except there's cool cars in it.