The Suburban is one of the longest-lived automobile nameplates in the United States. Automotive companies using this name to indicate a windowed, station wagon type body on a commercial frame include Dodge, Plymouth, Studebaker, Chevrolet and General Motors. With the end of production of the Dodge Town Wagon in 1966, only General Motors continued to manufacture a vehicle branded as a "Suburban". General Motors received an exclusive trademark on the name "Suburban" in 1988.
Chevrolet began production of its all steel "carryall-suburban" in 1935. GMC brought out its version in 1937. These vehicles were also know as the "Suburban Carryall" until rebranded simply as the "suburban" in the 1980s with the arrival of the SUV craze.
General Motors has produced these large SUVs for both its GMC and Chevrolet marques, but today the name is limited to the Chevrolet Suburban. The GMC version is the Yukon XL, while Cadillac gets the Escalade ESV. A shorter version is sold as the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade. A version with a pickup bed in place of the rear cargo box is sold as the Chevrolet Avalanche and Cadillac Escalade EXT.
The Suburban of the 1990s and 2000s is a full-size SUV with three rows of seating, a full pickup truck frame, and V8 engine power. The trucks are popular with large suburban families due to their "go anywhere, haul anything" nature, but have been criticized for their excessive bulk and poor fuel economy.
In recent years, the Suburban has been popular when converted for duty as a limousine or police car.
References to Chevy Suburban
The FBI Rancher in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas resembles the Chevy Suburban in shape.
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