Introduced way back in 1936, the Chevrolet (and GMC) Suburban was based on a commercial panel truck, but instead of having a huge, windowless cargo area there was a large passenger compartment. Basically truck-based station wagons, the early Suburbans had two doors (not counting the two-piece tailgate) and three rows of seats that seated up to eight passengers. The most common powerplant of the day, an inline six cylinder engine, powered the Suburban. With but 90 horsepower, the 217 cubic-inch six had its work cut out. Minor changes to the facade carried the first-generation Suburban through 1940.Chevrolet joined the four-wheel-drive party in 1957, but offered it only with the inline six. Grille design was revised, trading the grid insert for a wide, horizontal slot design, which only made it look even more like a mouth agape. |
