GM stops trying to sell medium duty truck line, will cease production of Chevy Kodiak and GMC Topkick
Chevy Kodiak and GMC Topkick – Click above for high-res gallery
For the past four years, General Motors has been trying to sell its medium duty truck business, which produces the giant Chevy Kodiak and GMC Topkick. Navistar, Isuzu and other unnamed suitors were all at one point in discussions with GM to make a deal, but none ever happened and today the automaker announced that it would will "wind down" production of the Kodiak and Topkick and cease production altogether on July 31st.
In addition to the consumer-oriented models from Chevy and GMC, the medium duty truck operations also produced the commercial grade C4500, C5500 and C6500 models. Halfway between a full-ton pickup and an actual semi, these mammoth haulers were best suited for just that: towing. Chances are if you ever saw one on the road, there was a trailer behind it.
The Topkick also earned acclaim for its acting prowess in the Transformers film franchise playing the Autobots' weapons specialist, Ironhide. Unfortunately, success on celluloid didn't transfer to sales on the street, and it looks like Ironhide may be taking his last curtain call in Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.
Gallery: Chevy Kodiak and GMC Topkick
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[Source: GM]
GM Statement Regarding Wind Down of Medium Duty Truck Production
After four years of working with multiple potential buyers, General Motors has decided to wind-down its medium-duty truck operations. Production of the Chevy Kodiak and GMC Topkick medium duty trucks will cease by July 31, 2009.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Dave 1:13PM (6/08/2009)
I saw one of these (double) parked next to an H2 once. When the H2's owner walked out from Wawa and saw that, for once, his mammoth SUV wasn't the biggest monstrosity in the lot, his jaw dropped, and he got into his car quickly and quietly left.
I figured that was why GM made these trucks.
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k.w.a 1:25PM (6/08/2009)
did he go online and purchase some extenze later that day? lol!
and i love Wawa..u must be from Philly
garlinski 1:40PM (6/08/2009)
off the subject... WAWA is awesome! Thanks for making me homesick now. (Live in CT, born and raised in PA)
Alex 2:19PM (6/08/2009)
Heh, i didn't even notice you mentioned Wawa. As far as i am concerned, Wawa is synonymous with convenience store.
Epyx 3:28PM (6/08/2009)
Wawa hoagies FTW!
Anyone ever get that huge one (two feet of goodness) that comes in a Suitcase?
Wawa is freaking awesome!
Frank 1:15PM (6/08/2009)
Does that mean that only 4500, 5500, and 6500 vehicles will be made by Ford and Dodge? Or are there other makers(Mack, Kenworth, etc.) of these?
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tuxchown 1:23PM (6/08/2009)
Consumer oriented versions of this truck are ridiculous. This is a commercial truck. Eliminating it is eliminating one more source of income for GM. It's like a surgeon went in for cancer and is just hacking away at vital organs.
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Sea Urchin 1:28PM (6/08/2009)
I am thinking that now that Obama passed that stimulus and government will be fixing roads and bridges and such, the demand should increase for some vehicles in the group.
Judy Zik 1:33PM (6/08/2009)
GM was selling this business and nobody was interested in it because it wasn't viable. Just not much demand for these vehicles.
Ian 1:56PM (6/08/2009)
People with race cars bought these to tow 5th wheel trailers with. I see them all over at NHRA divisional races.
Jei 2:12PM (6/08/2009)
A contractor drove on on-site for a few days. They are massive. More of a definite climb to enter & exit, but huge on the inside. You can't really see cars riding next to you as well as a lower-riding vehicle.
The guy had a PS2 and rear LCD screens installed. He liked it, but the costs to fill those huge drum-sized tanks was ridiculous (hundreds of dollars to fill one). He didn't tow very often, so I can image that he parked or sold his when gas prices hit $3-$4.
Will 2:16PM (6/08/2009)
I think this article greatly distorts the medium-duty truck segment. Chances are not that you would see one of these trucks pulling a trailer, chances are that you will see one with a freight body, fuel tank, or flat deck on it. I cannot remember the last time I saw a Kodiak or a Topkick with a pickup box on it. There is great demand for medium duty trucks, there was just a heck of a lot of competition in this segment.
John P. 1:29PM (6/08/2009)
I saw one of these outside my local grocery store once. It was impressively obscene and I thought it looked pretty darn cool. Glad I'm not the one that has to fill it's tanks though. Ouch!
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Cougs 1:50PM (6/08/2009)
What will the President's next Cadillac monstrosity be based on then...
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Yaroukh 1:53PM (6/08/2009)
Prius?
akboss302 1:54PM (6/08/2009)
What a useless waste of metal. They make pickup-trucks pull almost twice the weight and carry more payload, but they weight 4000lbs less. This is purely a weenie-mobile.
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ephatch02 3:26PM (6/08/2009)
The race team I work with has two topkick's, they are perfect when we need to move a trailer or are going to the chassis shop to pick some new cars. It is a hell of alot easier to use the topkick than to screw around with the toterhome. A pick-up truck can't tow our 50' race transporters. I don't think they are a waste of metal at all, they are not good for daily drivers.
inteller 1:55PM (6/08/2009)
I bet Micheal Bay feels like an idiot for signing a vehicle license agreement with GM.
Hopefully in Transformers 3: Revenge of the Bankruptcy all the Autobots will turn into Fords.
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audi_arena 2:00PM (6/08/2009)
LOL
dukeisduke 2:01PM (6/08/2009)
Showing the picture of the pickup truck conversion (done by Monroe Truck Equipment) really isn't fair to the Kodiak/Top Kick line, since the vast majority of these (standard cabs) are used as bobtails (box trucks). If you've ever rented a 20' or larger truck from somebody like Ryder or Penske, to help a friend move, it was likely a Kodiak or Top Kick.
Dream Car Garage did a segment on the MTE pickup a couple of years ago, and bone-jarring doesn't begin to describe how it rode. The driver gets an air-ride seat (which helps some), but the passengers are out of luck.
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