Back in 1935, when there were only 48 stars on the American flag, Chevrolet introduced the Suburban. In the eight decades that followed, it would become an American icon and the industry's longest-running model.
No other vehicle in the auto industry has been in continuous production as long as the Suburban. An all-new model debuts for 2015, marking the original SUV's 80th anniversary and its 12th generation, with technology, refinement and efficiency that engineers and customers couldn't have imagined in 1935.
"Times have changed and America has grown beyond all imagination, but the Suburban remains a fixture for those who need the capability of a truck with maximum passenger and cargo space," said Tim Mahoney, Chevrolet global chief marketing officer.
The original Suburban could seat eight, while easily removable seats provided a large, 75-inch-long by 77-inch-high (1,905 mm x 1,956 mm) cargo area. It was powered by an inline-six-cylinder engine that produced all of 60 horsepower.
The all-new 2015 Suburban seats up to nine and offers up to 121.1 cubic feet (3,429 L) of maximum cargo space. Power comes from a 5.3L V-8 delivering 355 horses - 490 percent more power than the 1935 model.
A brief history of innovation
Through the early 1930s, most manufacturers offered car-based wagons for professional use, but the Suburban was born out of a need for a heavier-duty, truck-based wagon for commercial customers.
Prior to the Suburban, most car-based professional vehicles featured wood sides and canvas tops; and while they were versatile, their car-based chassis and damage-prone bodies were compromises. Chevrolet began experimenting with an all-steel wagon body mounted on a commercial chassis in the mid-1930s, and the Suburban Carryall was launched in 1935.
Car-based commercial vehicles, including sedan deliveries, remained in production, but the heavy-duty chassis of the Suburban increasingly found favor with professional customers. In the post-World War II years, its popularity with private customers who appreciated its uncompromising capabilities increased steadily.
The Chevrolet Suburban hit the mainstream in the early 1990s, with the overall popularity of sport-utility vehicles. But while many customers were new to the Suburban then, it had garnered a legion of longtime owners who had purchased multiple examples over the years - using them to haul Little League teams and their equipment, tow a horse trailer or seat a work crew on the way to a job site.