The GMC Suburban was a rebadged variant of the Chevrolet Suburban. General Motors used the GMC branding mainly in the Middle East. The car in the photos is the ninth-generation Suburban (GMT830), produced from 1999 until 2006. The car that I saw is a late 2005-2006 example.
This two-tone color combination is called Sunset Medium Gold Metallic. It is a beautiful car, with the original all-terrain tires and alloy wheels. It has a roof rack with 3 red lights above the windscreen.
The tires are relatively small, and very wide, with a high sidewall.
The Interior
The interior looked great, too—almost as new. This car has cloth seats, which is rare, as most buyers went for leather. An extra seat in the middle is big enough for a kid. The dashboard is typically American, bulky with a lot of black plastics. The gear lever is mounted on the steering wheel column.
The GMC Suburban is a huge vehicle with 3 rows and up to 9 seats, in a 3/3/3 configuration.
Specifications
The GMC Suburban is a rear-wheel drive SUV, based on a body-on-frame pickup truck chassis. The 2005-2006 S model had a 5.3-liter Vortec V8 under the hood, mated to a four-speed automatic gearbox. The output was 295 hp and 450 Nm. The top speed was 1965 km/h and it did 0-100 in 9.2 seconds, impressive numbers for a 2367 kg car.
The pretty red GMC badge.
That’s a huge wiper there! The license plate is unique: 京M·M2227. General Motors did not officially sell the GMC brand in China, so any GMC car is a special sight, and a Suburban in this shape is just brilliant. I am not sure how this GMC ended up in China. It could be an ex-embassy car or a gray-market import.
The GMC Suburban, a great American SUV in China. Let’s hope it is still around somewhere.