The GMC Brigadier (also Chevrolet Bruin) is a series of
heavy-duty (Class 7-8) trucks that were assembled by the
GMC Truck and Coach Division of
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
. The second generation of the H/J-series heavy-duty conventionals,
the Brigadier was produced from 1978 to 1989.
Meyer Meyer may refer to:
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*Meyer (surname), listing people so named
* Meyer (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name
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* Meyer Burger, a Swiss mechanical engineering company
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* Meyer Sound Labo ...
, p. 37 https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/historical-brochures/GMC/100_YR_GMC_HISTORY_MAR09.pdf Slotted between the largest medium-duty C/K trucks and the GMC General, the Brigadier was a Class 7-8 short-hood conventional similar to the
Ford L-Series
The Ford L-series (also named Ford Louisville or, for the 1990s aerodynamic models, Ford Aeromax) is a range of heavy-duty trucks that were assembled and marketed by Ford between 1970 and 1998. Ford had been producing their "Heavy Duty" trucks si ...
and
Mack Model R. Configured in both straight truck and semi-tractor layouts, the Brigadier saw use in short-haul, vocational, and severe-service applications.
All examples were assembled alongside medium-duty GM trucks and GM RTS buses at the
GMC Truck & Coach Pontiac Central Assembly facility in
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit.
Founde ...
. From 1978 to 1980, Chevrolet marketed the Brigadier as the nearly identical Chevrolet Bruin. Following the launch of Volvo GM Heavy Truck Corporation, the Brigadier was marketed under the combined WhiteGMC branding through the 1989 model year.
Background
In 1966, General Motors split its heavy-duty trucks further apart from medium-duty models, giving them a distinct chassis and ending the use of the cab from the
C/K-series pickup truck. The 1966 H/J-series (H=single; J=tandem) was designed with a model-specific 93-inch BBC cab and chassis. Alongside
GMC V6 and
Chevrolet 427 V8 gasoline engines, the H/J trucks were available with Cummins, Detroit Diesel, and Caterpillar diesel engines.
The H/J-Series formed the basis of the C(later N)/M-series trucks; using a longer 114-inch BBC to accommodate larger diesel engines). In 1977, the N/M-series was replaced by the Class 8
Chevrolet Bison/GMC General semitractor. From 1966 to 1970, GMC would use a separate conventional school bus chassis from Chevrolet, basing it on the H6500 instead of the medium-duty Chevrolet C60 (in 1971, GMC would return to a medium-duty chassis).
Design overview
![Heavy Transporter of CCK Air Force Base 20111112](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Heavy_Transporter_of_CCK_Air_Force_Base_20111112.jpg)
In the mid-1970s, General Motors began shifting away from its alphanumeric nomenclature for truck names. While still using the H/J name internally, the redesign brought new names to the vehicles. Chevrolet rebranded the H/J series as the Chevrolet Bruin, adopting a range of "frontier" nameplates for its truck range (Bison, Bruin, Kodiak, Blazer, Silverado, Scottsdale, Cheyenne). For its heavy trucks, GMC adopted a military-related nomenclature, with the H/J series becoming the Brigadier, joining the General and TopKick (a slang term).
GMC introduced the Brigadier in a 9500 series; an 8000 series was introduced for 1979. Chevrolet offered the Bruin in 70, 80, and 90-series. While tilting-hood examples are nearly identical between brands, butterfly-hood versions are distinguished by their headlight configurations (Bruins have two headlights; Brigadiers have four).
Chassis/body
The Chevrolet Bruin/GMC Brigadier carried over the H/J 9500 cab introduced in 1966, but with a number of changes. Replacing the removable steel hood is a fully tilting fiberglass hood with a larger rectangular grille;
the larger hood features a redesigned radiator, featuring better engine cooling.
For durability, the previous-generation center-hinged "butterfly" hood remains available. While produced with an optional cab airfoil, the cab is sold with either a one-piece or a two-piece windshield.
The Chevrolet 427 gasoline V8 would be the standard engine for the Bruin/Brigadier.
In 1982, the Brigadier became powered exclusively by diesel engines.
Alongside the Detroit Diesel 6V53, 6V71, 6-71, 8V71, and 6V92, the Caterpillar 3208 were used alongside the Cummins NTC diesels. In 1984, the Cummins L10 was introduced as an option.
Discontinuation
![2014 Lake Park Christmas Parade 47](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/2014_Lake_Park_Christmas_Parade_47.JPG)
Following the launch of the product line, the GMC Brigadier quickly overtook the Chevrolet Bruin in sales and market share. After the 1980 model year, General Motors ended sales of heavy trucks by the Chevrolet Division, leading to the cancellation of the Chevrolet Bruin, Bison, and Titan. A major factor leading to the cancellation was lack of product support by Chevrolet dealers.
In contrast to Chevrolet (and other General Motors brands), GMC required all franchisees to sell and service the GMC product line in its entirety. In addition to light trucks, this meant a potential GMC franchise needed the ability to support medium-duty trucks, heavy-duty commercial trucks, P-chassis, the GMC Motorhome, and all bus chassis. For a GMC dealership, this requirement meant dedicating profitable space that would have otherwise gone to selling passenger cars.
In 1986,
Volvo AB
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
entered into a joint venture with General Motors in heavy-truck production, with Volvo holding an 85% stake. To reflect the 1980 acquisition of
White Motor Company
The White Motor Company was an American automobile, truck, bus and agricultural tractor manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the compa ...
by Volvo, the products of Volvo GM Heavy Truck Corporation were marketed under the combined WhiteGMC product nomenclature. While the slow-selling GMC General and Astro were discontinued, Volvo GM initially continued production of the Brigadier.
For 1988 production, Volvo GM re-released the Brigadier as a WhiteGMC (the only GMC truck produced under the joint venture). Along with revisions to the badging, a sloped hood became an option (sharing its grille with the GMC TopKick).
The WhiteGMC Brigadier was produced through the end of the 1989 model year, marking the retirement of the GM H/J chassis after 23 years.
For WhiteGMC, the role of the short-hood Class 8 conventional was adopted by the WG series, slotted below the WIL/WCL (replacing the GMC General); all WhiteGMC conventionals were evolutions of the White Road Boss series.
For 1990, General Motors redesigned its medium-duty C/K trucks for the first time since 1973, adopting the Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick branding for the model lines. In 1997, the 8500-series TopKick was introduced, marking the first Class 8 truck produced by GM since 1989.
References
{{GMC vehicles
Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
Class 7 trucks
Class 8 trucks
Vehicles introduced in 1978