The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network - View Single Post - Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks?

68gmsee · 04-18-2013, 10:09 AM

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is government involvement and "anti-trust" laws. Many years ago, a lot of companies had competing groups of wholly owned subsidiaries to stay ahead of government anti-trust laws. IBM was one of them. They had divisions that in some cases competed against each other.

In the automobile industry this may have played a role in the past but these days it may be a way for corporations to assess their wholly owned subsidiaries to see if they're profitable. If they're not, they can eliminate them.

Another possibility is customer loyalty and perception. To this day, I still hear people say that GMC vehicles are slightly better. Same with Mercury vs Ford, Plymouth vs Dodge. Most of these are pretty much identical but perception keeps the customers buying.

04-18-2013, 10:09 AM	#28
68gmsee Active Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Centrally located between Houston, Austin and Waco. BCS area. Posts: 7,947	Re: Educate me: Why does GM have both GMC and Chevrolet divisions making trucks? One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is government involvement and "anti-trust" laws. Many years ago, a lot of companies had competing groups of wholly owned subsidiaries to stay ahead of government anti-trust laws. IBM was one of them. They had divisions that in some cases competed against each other. In the automobile industry this may have played a role in the past but these days it may be a way for corporations to assess their wholly owned subsidiaries to see if they're profitable. If they're not, they can eliminate them. Another possibility is customer loyalty and perception. To this day, I still hear people say that GMC vehicles are slightly better. Same with Mercury vs Ford, Plymouth vs Dodge. Most of these are pretty much identical but perception keeps the customers buying. __________________ 68 GMC 250/3 speed Saginaw p/b p/s 69 Chevy 350/350 currently in pieces still lookin for a cab 06 Trailblazer I just want a vehicle that I can work on, that won't talk to me, leave error msgs or keep track of how I drive...