The Chevrolet Suburban is a large sport utility vehicle from Chevrolet. It is one of the longest-lived automobile nameplates in the United States, dating from 1935.
Many automotive companies in the United States used the "Suburban" name to indicate a windowed, station wagon type body on a commercial frame including Dodge, Plymouth, Studebaker, Chevrolet, and GMC. With the end of production of the Dodge Town Wagon in 1966, only General Motors continued to manufacture a vehicle branded as a "Suburban", and they were awarded an exclusive trademark on the name in 1988. The Suburban is one of the largest SUVs on the market; it has three rows of seats and a normal-sized cargo area behind them.
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 in 2000 the GMC version was renamed the Yukon XL; today the name is limited to vehicles produced under the Chevrolet marque. In 1999 Cadillac introduced its version of the Suburban, calling it the Escalade ESV. Notably, the Escalade ESV can only seat a maximum of 8 people; the Chevrolet and GMC models can each seat nine. Shorter versions of these vehicles are sold as the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade. Versions with a pickup bed in place of the rear cargo box are 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 as a police car, fire chief's vehicle, or EMS fly-car. Suburbans are also popular when converted for duty as a limousine.
GMT800
As of 2006, Chevrolet sells two models of Suburbans: 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton. On the 1/2 ton model, a customer has a choice of five different trim levels: base, LS, LT, Z71, and LTZ. The first four offer the Vortec 5300 V8 (295 hp at 5200 rpm and 335 ft·lbf of torque at 4000 rpm). The latter trim choice has a Vortec 6000 V8 (335 hp at 5200 rpm and 375 ft·lbf of torque at 4000 rpm). On the 3/4 ton model, there are only two trim options, either LS or LT. These both come with a standard Vortec 6000 V8 or an available Vortec 8100 V8 (325 hp at 4200 rpm and 447 ft·lbf of torque at 3200 rpm). All types of the Suburban can either be 2WD or 4WD, except the LTZ, which is AWD.
GMT900
The 2007 model year Suburban and Yukon XL were unveiled at the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show in January. Production of the redesigned GMT900 Suburban and Yukon XL began at Janesville Assembly and Silao Assembly in March of 2006, with the vehicles arriving at dealerships in April.
The new models have been redesigned with more modern styling, which has been seen on the already released Tahoes and Yukons. Interior quality has been substantially improved, and the seats have also been redesigned. Leather seating is standard in the LT2, LT3, and LTZ models. The available DVD-player and Navigation Radio screens have been increased in size, and the overall length of the Suburban has been increased by 2 inches.