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113-682: In 1971 GMC began producing the Sprint, their version of the Chevrolet El Camino . This light-duty pickup truck was identical to the El Camino except for the name, and the chassis for both cars was based on the Chevrolet Chevelle station wagon/4-door sedan wheelbase. The Sprint's first year was also the first year for mandated lower-octane unleaded fuel which necessitated a reduction in engine compression; GM's A.I.R. system,

226-490: A ranch environment often learn to ride horses and perform basic ranch skills as soon as they are physically able, usually under adult supervision. Such youths, by their late teens, are often given responsibilities for "cowboy" work on the ranch. "Cowboy" was used during the American Revolution to describe American fighters who opposed the movement for independence. Claudius Smith , an outlaw identified with

339-464: A "smog pump", was added to control tailpipe emissions. 1972 was the last year for the third generation El Camino, resulting in a two-year generation for Sprint. For 1972, little changed but for lower power outputs. Engine offerings for 1971–72 included the 250 cubic-inch OHV inline Six , small block V8s of 307 and 350 cubic inches; and big block V8s of 402 and 454 cubic-inch displacements. Horsepower ratings of those engines for 1971 ranged from 145 for

452-452: A "strip" style of speedometer , with the needle making a long sweep across a horizontal line of numbers to indicate speed. This was changed for 1981 to a more conventional round dial format, with some further minor tweaks for 1986. The 1987 model year was the end of the line for GM's North American coupe utilities, which included 420 leftover El Caminos and 325 Cabelleros that were reported first sold in 1988. Offered from 1978 until 1980 only,

565-524: A 2-ton GMC truck was driven from New York to San Francisco in five days and 30 minutes. During the First World War , the company provided the Model 16 3/4-ton truck, and modified its production to provide 1-ton troop carriers and aviation support vehicles, and by 1918, more than 90 percent of GMC truck production was for military use. GMTC provided a total of 8512 trucks to the U.S. government during

678-459: A behemoth government catering to lazy ex-slaves. By the 1860s, cattle drives were a feature of the plains landscape, and Democrats had made cowboys a symbol of rugged individual independence, something they insisted Republicans were destroying. The traditions of the working cowboy were further etched into the minds of the general public with the development of Wild West shows in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which showcased and romanticized

791-563: A cattle shipping facility was built west of farm country around the railhead at Abilene, Kansas , and became a center of cattle shipping, loading over 36,000 head of cattle that year. The route from Texas to Abilene became known as the Chisholm Trail , after Jesse Chisholm , who marked out the route. It ran through present-day Oklahoma , which then was Indian Territory . Later, other trails forked off to different railheads, including those at Dodge City and Wichita, Kansas . By 1877,

904-587: A complete history of the company. In 2007, GMC introduced the Acadia , a crossover SUV , which was the division's second unibody vehicle (after the Vandura) whose predecessor, the GMT-360 based Envoy , was discontinued with the closure of GM's Moraine, Ohio plant on December 23, 2008. In 2009, GMC ended production of medium-duty commercial trucks after over 100 years. They became exclusive to Chevrolet with

1017-667: A connection between the popularized Western code and the stereotypical rowdy cowboy image to that of the "subculture of violence" of drovers in Old West Texas that was influenced itself by the Southern code duello . Likewise, cowboys in movies were often shown fighting with American Indians . Most armed conflicts occurred between Native people and cavalry units of the U.S. Army . Relations between cowboys and Native Americans were varied but were generally unfriendly. Native people usually allowed cattle herds to pass through for

1130-475: A few regional differences in equipment and riding style still remain, and some individuals choose to deliberately preserve the more time-consuming but highly skilled techniques of the pure vaquero or "buckaroo" tradition. The popular "horse whisperer" style of natural horsemanship was originally developed by practitioners who were predominantly from California and the Northwestern states, clearly combining

1243-454: A four-row crosshatch pattern; this persisted through the vehicle's demise in 1987. Caballero interiors featured a bench seat in standard models, though an upgrade to bucket seats with a center console and floor-mounted shifter was available. Most models with automatic transmission carried the shifter on the steering column . Cloth or vinyl upholstery choices were offered in a variety of colors. The instrument panel originally featured

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1356-464: A herd could maintain a healthy weight moving about 15 miles (25 km) per day. Such a pace meant that it would take as long as two months to travel from a home ranch to a railhead. The Chisholm trail, for example, was 1,000 miles (1,600 km) miles long. On average, a single herd of cattle on a drive numbered about 3,000 head. To herd the cattle, a crew of at least 10 cowboys was needed, with three horses per cowboy. Cowboys worked in shifts to watch

1469-533: A large "Diablo" decal on the tailgate. When Chevrolet dropped the Royal Knight option from the El Camino option list for 1982, GMC's Diablo remained but was now analogous to the "normal" Super Sport model. This meant that the flame decal was gone, but little else changed. However, when the El Camino Super Sport gained a new dealer optioned aerodynamic front end from Choo Choo Customs for 1984,

1582-518: A lifetime. In the United States, a few women also took on the tasks of ranching and learned the necessary skills, though the "cowgirl" (discussed below) did not become widely recognized or acknowledged until the close of the 19th century. On western ranches today, the working cowboy is usually an adult. Responsibility for herding cattle or other livestock is no longer considered suitable for children or early adolescents. Boys and girls growing up in

1695-410: A multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler , specifically tends the horses used to work cattle. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work for or participate in rodeos . Cowgirls , first defined as such in

1808-556: A number of uniquely American horse breeds developed in North and South America through selective breeding and by natural selection of animals that escaped to the wild. The mustang and other colonial horse breeds are now called "wild", but in reality are feral horses —descendants of domesticated animals. Though popularly considered American , the traditional cowboy began with the Spanish tradition, which evolved further in what today

1921-579: A person on foot could manage gave rise to the development of the horseback-mounted vaquero . Various aspects of the Spanish equestrian tradition can be traced back to Islamic rule in Spain , including Moorish elements such as the use of Oriental-type horses , the la jineta riding style characterized by a shorter stirrup , solid-treed saddle and use of spurs , the heavy noseband or hackamore , (Arabic šakīma , Spanish jaquima ) and other horse-related equipment and techniques. Certain aspects of

2034-447: A plus to many Caballero fans and collectors. Exterior appearance remained largely the same over the truck's nine-year lifespan, with the biggest changes through the years coming mostly in the form of grille design. From 1978 through 1981, this consisted of either "eggcrate" style (1978), horizontal bars (1979 and 1981) or vertical bars (1980). Then for 1982, the front end was changed to a full-width grille design housing four headlights and

2147-408: A process called horse breaking , or " bronco -busting", usually performed by cowboys who specialized as horse trainers . In some cases, extremely brutal methods were used to tame horses, and such animals tended to never be completely reliable. Other cowboys recognized their need to treat animals in a more humane fashion and modified their horse training methods, often re-learning techniques used by

2260-403: A roundup. Each cowboy would require three to four fresh horses in the course of a day's work. Horses themselves were also rounded up. It was common practice in the west for young foals to be born of tame mares , but allowed to grow up "wild" in a semi-feral state on the open range. There were also "wild" herds, often known as mustangs . Both types were rounded up, and the mature animals tamed,

2373-585: A similar vehicle, the Ford Ranchero , also with a Spanish name ("Rancher"). GMC also offered special trim packages for the Caballero under other Spanish names: Diablo, Laredo, Amarillo. As for the car's old nameplate, GM would later revive the Sprint name for a rebadged Suzuki Cultus sold under the Chevrolet banner. The Caballero and the fifth generation El Camino shared their mechanical parts with

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2486-701: A toll of ten cents a head but raided cattle drives and ranches in times of active white-Native conflict or food shortages. In the 1860s, for example, the Comanche created problems in Western Texas. Similar attacks also occurred with the Apache , Cheyenne and Ute Indians. Cowboys were armed against both predators and human thieves, and often used their guns to drive away people of any race who attempted to rustle cattle. In reality, working ranch hands past and present had very little time for anything other than

2599-620: A tradition of self-dependence and individualism , with great value put on personal honesty, exemplified in songs and poetry . The cowboy often worked in an all-male environment, particularly on cattle drives , and in the frontier west, men often significantly outnumbered women. Some men were attracted to the frontier by other men. At times, in a region where men outnumbered women, even social events normally attended by both sexes were at times all male, and men could be found partnering up with one another for dances. Homosexual acts between young, unmarried men occurred, but cowboys culture itself

2712-574: Is Mexico and the Southwestern United States into the vaquero of northern Mexico and the charro of the Jalisco and Michoacán regions. While most hacendados (ranch owners) were ethnically Spanish criollos , many early vaqueros were Native Americans trained to work for the Spanish missions in caring for the mission herds. Vaqueros went north with livestock. In 1598, Don Juan de Oñate sent an expedition across

2825-455: Is also part of the rodeo circuit. Because cowboys ranked low in the social structure of the period, there are no firm figures on the actual proportion of various races. One writer states that cowboys were "of two classes—those recruited from Texas and other States on the eastern slope; and Mexicans, from the south-western region". Census records suggest that about 15% of all cowboys were of African-American ancestry—ranging from about 25% on

2938-570: Is positioned as a premium offering to the mainstream Chevrolet brand, and includes the luxury trim Denali . In North America , GMC vehicles are almost always sold alongside Buick (another premium brand) vehicles at multi-brand dealerships . Roots to the GMC brand can be traced to 1900, when the "Grabowsky Motor Company" was established by brothers Max (1874-1946) and Morris Grabowsky, in Detroit, and renamed Rapid Motor Vehicle Company in 1902 when

3051-514: The Calgary Stampede and Cheyenne Frontier Days . Rodeo competition for women changed in the 1920s as the result of several factors. After 1925, when Eastern promoters started staging indoor rodeos in places like Madison Square Garden , women were generally excluded from the men's events and many of the women's events were dropped. Also, many in the public had difficulties with seeing women seriously injured or killed, and in particular,

3164-491: The Chevrolet Malibu series, but rode on a 9-inch longer wheelbase . Other than different nameplates and minor trim variations, it is difficult to distinguish a Caballero from an El Camino at more than 10 paces distance. It was largely for this reason that the Caballero did not sell in the higher volumes that the El Camino did over the years (many never even knew a GMC version existed), though that rarity now counts as

3277-645: The Chevrolet Tahoe / GMC Denali . In 1998 the platform was introduced as the Cadillac Escalade . In 1971, GMC marketed their version of the Chevrolet El Camino , which was based on the Chevrolet Chevelle . Called Sprint , it was virtually identical to the El Camino, and a sport version, the SP, was equivalent to the El Camino SS. It was renamed Caballero in 1978, and remained produced alongside

3390-549: The Civil War , Charles Goodnight modified the traditional English sidesaddle, creating a western-styled design. The traditional charras of Mexico preserve a similar tradition and ride sidesaddles today in charreada exhibitions on both sides of the border. It was not until the advent of Wild West shows that " cowgirls " came into their own. These adult women were skilled performers, demonstrating riding, expert marksmanship and trick roping that entertained audiences around

3503-635: The General Motors Truck Company (1911–1943), or the GMC Truck & Coach Division (1943–1998)) is a division of American automotive manufacturer General Motors (GM) for trucks and utility vehicles. GMC currently makes SUVs , pickup trucks , vans, and light-duty trucks. In the past, GMC also produced fire trucks , ambulances , heavy-duty trucks, military vehicles , motorhomes , transit buses , and medium duty trucks . While many of their vehicles are mechanically similar, GMC

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3616-589: The Great Plains and Rocky Mountains , "buckaroo" is used primarily in the Great Basin and California , and "cowpuncher" mostly in Texas and surrounding states. Equestrianism required skills and an investment in horses and equipment rarely available to or entrusted to a child, though in some cultures boys rode a donkey while going to and from pasture. In antiquity , herding of sheep, cattle and goats

3729-470: The Great Plains and the San Joaquin Valley of California, and later in the Great Basin , from the 18th century to the early 20th century. Large numbers of cattle lived in a semi-feral or a completely feral state on the open range and were left to graze, mostly untended, for much of the year. In many cases, different ranchers formed "associations" and grazed their cattle together on

3842-663: The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the resulting Earp Vendetta Ride . The origins of the cowboy tradition come from Spain , beginning with the hacienda system of medieval Spain . This style of cattle ranching spread throughout much of the Iberian peninsula , and later was imported to the Americas . Both regions possessed a dry climate with sparse grass, thus large herds of cattle required vast amounts of land to obtain sufficient forage . The need to cover distances greater than

3955-692: The Loyalist cause, was called the "Cow-boy of the Ramapos" due to his penchant for stealing oxen, cattle and horses from colonists and giving them to the British. In the same period, a number of guerrilla bands operated in Westchester County , which marked the dividing line between the British and American forces. These groups were made up of local farmhands who would ambush convoys and carry out raids on both sides. There were two separate groups:

4068-535: The Mexican–American War in 1848, New England merchants who traveled by ship to California encountered both hacendados and vaqueros , trading manufactured goods for the hides and tallow produced from vast cattle ranches . American traders along what later became known as the Santa Fe Trail had similar contacts with vaquero life. Starting with these early encounters, the lifestyle and language of

4181-559: The Olympics , and Western riding events such as cutting , reining and endurance riding . Today's working cowgirls generally use clothing, tools and equipment indistinguishable from those of men, other than in color and design, usually preferring a flashier look in competition. Sidesaddles are only seen in exhibitions and a limited number of specialty horse-show classes. A modern working cowgirl wears jeans, close-fitting shirts, boots, hat and when needed, chaps and gloves. If working on

4294-479: The Rio Grande into New Mexico, bringing along 7000 head of cattle. From this beginning, vaqueros drove cattle from New Mexico and later Texas to Mexico City. Mexican traditions spread both South and North, influencing equestrian traditions from Argentina to Canada. As English -speaking traders and settlers expanded westward , English and Spanish traditions, language and culture merged to some degree. Before

4407-601: The Southwestern United States . In turn, the land and people of the Americas also saw dramatic changes due to Spanish influence. The arrival of horses was particularly significant, as equines had been extinct in the Americas since the end of the prehistoric ice age . Horses quickly multiplied in America and became crucial to the success of the Spanish and later settlers from other nations. The earliest horses were originally of Andalusian , Barb and Arabian ancestry, but

4520-535: The vaquero began a transformation which merged with English cultural traditions and produced what became known in American culture as the "cowboy". The arrival of English-speaking settlers in Texas began in 1821. Rip Ford described the country between Laredo and Corpus Christi as inhabited by "countless droves of mustangs and ... wild cattle ... abandoned by Mexicans when they were ordered to evacuate

4633-573: The vaqueros , particularly those of the Californio tradition. Horses trained in a gentler fashion were more reliable and useful for a wider variety of tasks. Informal competition arose between cowboys seeking to test their cattle and horse-handling skills against one another, and thus, from the necessary tasks of the working cowboy, the sport of rodeo developed. Prior to the mid-19th century, most ranchers primarily raised cattle for their own needs and to sell surplus meat and hides locally. There

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4746-528: The " GMC Hummer EV ". According to GM, the Edition 1 production electric pickup truck will feature 1,000 horsepower, hit 60 mph in 3 seconds and is scheduled to launch in late 2021. The new Hummer EV was revealed on October 20, 2020. In 2022, the GMC brand was introduced in South Korea as a subsidiary of GM Korea . Beginning in 1920, GMC and Chevrolet trucks became largely similar, built as variants of

4859-534: The "skinners" fought for the pro-independence side, while the "cowboys" supported the British. In the Tombstone, Arizona , area during the 1880s, the term "cowboy" or "cow-boy" was used pejoratively to describe men who had been implicated in various crimes. One loosely organized band was dubbed " The Cowboys ", and profited from smuggling cattle, alcohol, and tobacco across the U.S.–Mexico border. The San Francisco Examiner wrote in an editorial, "Cowboys [are]

4972-430: The 1975 model. Other than annual grill revisions and a switch to quad-stacked, rectangular headlights in 1976, the Sprint remained relatively unchanged through 1977, when the "Sprint" name was replaced with "Caballero" for 1978. The Chevelle SS was dropped after 1973, but the El Camino was one of the few Chevrolet models to retain an SS package. Following suit, GMC continued to offer the Sprint with an SP package, though it

5085-525: The Americas . Over the centuries, differences in terrain and climate, and the influence of cattle-handling traditions from multiple cultures, created several distinct styles of equipment, clothing and animal handling. As the ever-practical cowboy adapted to the modern world, his equipment and techniques also adapted, though many classic traditions are preserved. The English word cowboy has an origin from several earlier terms that referred to both age and to cattle or cattle-tending work. The English word cowboy

5198-617: The Arabic tradition, such as the hackamore, can in turn be traced to roots in ancient Persia . During the 16th century, the Conquistadors and other Spanish settlers brought their cattle-raising traditions as well as both horses and domesticated cattle to the Americas , starting with their arrival in what today is Mexico and Florida . The traditions of Spain were transformed by the geographic, environmental and cultural circumstances of New Spain , which later became Mexico and

5311-700: The Caballero for years under the Ute name. Like the Caballero and El Camino, Holden's Ute is based on a car platform - in this case the long-running Commodore series. Rebadged Holden Utes were offered in South Africa as Chevrolet El Camino, and later the Lumina Ute. For the 2008 model year, GM introduced an American version of the Commodore sedan called the Pontiac G8 . Sometime after the announcement of

5424-607: The Canadian models used Chevrolet engines. GMC dealerships were partnered with Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick dealerships. Between 1962 and 1972, most GMC vehicles were equipped with quad-headlights, while their Chevrolet clones were equipped with dual-headlights. The platform has been the most profitable for General Motors, as it was shared with the Chevrolet Blazer / GMC Jimmy , the Chevrolet Suburban and

5537-673: The Diablo stuck with the same front end it had carried since the final factory front clip revision (for the Malibus, El Caminos and Caballeros) from 1982. The Diablo was offered through the end of the Caballero line in 1987. Available Engines: •200 CID 2bbl V6 (1978-1979) •229 CID 2bbl V6 (1980-1981) •231 CID 2bbl Buick V6 (1978-1981)- for California cars only •267 CID 2bbl V8 (1979-1981) •305 CID 2bbl V8 (1978 only) •305 CID 4bbl V8 (1979-1981) •350 CID 4bbl V8 (1978-1979) Holden , GM's Australian division, has offered coupe-pickup models similar to

5650-552: The El Camino and Sprint shared the same body styling as the Chevelle from the cowl to the front bumper. The 1971 models featured the Chevelle's twin parking light lenses, dual "high intensity" headlights and horizontally-divided front grille. A large "GMC" badge replaced the Chevy bowtie and for models with optional engines, engine badges (depicting cubic inch size), identical to those of the counterpart Chevrolet, were placed just below

5763-483: The El Camino until its demise in 1987. In 1973, with GM's introduction of the new "rounded line" series trucks, GMC and Chevrolet trucks became even more similar, ending production of GMC's quad-headlight models, and setting the standard for the Chevrolet/GMC line of trucks for over thirty years. As of 2020 , GMC's vehicles were marketed as more premium, luxury vehicles positioned above similar vehicles from

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5876-612: The English word "cowherd" was used to describe a cattle herder (similar to "shepherd", a sheep herder), and often referred to a pre-adolescent or early adolescent boy, who usually worked on foot. This word is very old in the English language, originating prior to the year 1000. By 1849 "cowboy" had developed its modern sense as an adult cattle handler of the American West. Variations on the word appeared later. "Cowhand" appeared in 1852, and "cowpoke" in 1881, originally restricted to

5989-704: The G8 ST was cancelled due to budget cuts and restructuring. And still, there was a chance that a coupe - pickup (or rather, a "sedan – pickup") could return to GMC. General Motors executive Robert Lutz announced in January 2008 that the division will display a GMC-badged version of the Holden Crewman , a four-door version of the standard Holden Ute pickup, at the New York Auto Show in March. Ultimately,

6102-451: The G8, GM announced that they would also be shipping over a revised version of the Ute. Since Pontiac shares most of its dealerships with GMC franchises, there was wide speculation that the Ute would be rebadged as a GMC (though not necessarily a Caballero or Sprint). However, GM later announced that the new pickup would also be Pontiac-branded, as the G8 ST. In January 2009, GM announced to dealers

6215-538: The Laredo was a Caballero equivalent to the El Camino's luxurious Conquista package. Equipment included two-tone paint in various color combinations and a "Laredo" decal on the tailgate. For 1981, the Laredo became known as the Amarillo, and this name would continue through 1987. With the exception of the different name decal on the tailgate, the package was substantially the same. GMC changed this package's name at about

6328-508: The Rapid and Reliance names were dropped in favor of "GMC". All General Motors truck production was consolidated at the former Rapid Motor Plant 1 in Pontiac, Michigan. GMC maintained three manufacturing locations in Pontiac, Michigan, Oakland, California , and St. Louis, Missouri . In 1916, a GMC truck crossed the country from Seattle to New York City in thirty days, and in 1926,

6441-582: The Spanish-descended people who had settled in the parts of Mexico that later became Texas and California. In the modern world, remnants of two major and distinct cowboy traditions remain, known today as the " Texas " tradition and the "Spanish", "Vaquero", or " California " tradition. Less well-known but equally distinct traditions also developed in Hawaii and Florida . Today, the various regional cowboy traditions have merged to some extent, though

6554-621: The Sprint Custom, was GMC's own equivalent of the Chevrolet SS package. It included the same features as the Chevrolet. The Sprint SP was an option package, RPO YE7, rather than a distinct model. Engines were an L48 350 4 barrel, LS3 400 (402) big block, and the LS5 454 365 hp big block. For 1973, all GM A-body vehicles were redesigned. It was the largest generation of the Sprint, but thanks to lighter construction, it weighed less than

6667-600: The West were acknowledged in law; the Western states led the United States in granting women the right to vote, beginning with Wyoming in 1869. Early photographers such as Evelyn Cameron documented the life of working ranch women during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While impractical for everyday work, the sidesaddle was a tool that afforded women the ability to ride horses in public settings instead of being left on foot or confined to horse-drawn vehicles . Following

6780-642: The administration building at 660 South Boulevard E in Pontiac, MI. In 1943, GM purchased the remaining interest in YT&;CMC and renamed it GMC Truck and Coach Division. In 1981, GMC Truck & Coach Division became part of GM Worldwide Truck & Bus Group. Bus production ended in May 1987 and the division name was changed from GMC Truck & Coach to GMC Truck Division. The Canadian plant (in London, Ontario ) produced buses from 1962 until July 1987. GM withdrew from

6893-633: The arrival of railroads and an increased demand for beef in the wake of the American Civil War , older traditions combined with the need to drive cattle from the ranches where they were raised to the nearest railheads , often hundreds of miles away. Black cowboys in the American West accounted for up to 25 percent of workers in the range-cattle industry from the 1860s to 1880s, estimated to be between 6,000 and 9,000 workers. Typically former slaves or children of former slaves, many black men had skills in cattle handling and headed West at

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7006-403: The brothers moved operations to Pontiac, Michigan . In 1909, William C. Durant gained control of Rapid Motor Vehicle Company and made it a subsidiary of his General Motors Company . In 1911, General Motors formed the "General Motors Truck Company" and folded Rapid and Reliance Motor Car Company (another early commercial vehicle manufacturer that Durant had acquired in 1908) into it. In 1912,

7119-430: The bus and coach market because of increased competition in the late 1970s and 1980s. Rights to the RTS model were sold to Transportation Manufacturing Corporation , while Motor Coach Industries of Canada purchased the Classic design. In 1998, GMC's official branding on vehicles was shortened from "GMC Truck" to simply "GMC". In 1996, GM merged GMC Truck Division with the Pontiac Motor Division in order to "give

7232-407: The cattle 24 hours a day, herding them in the proper direction in the daytime and watching them at night to prevent stampedes and deter theft. The crew also included a cook, who drove a chuck wagon , usually pulled by oxen , and a horse wrangler to take charge of the remuda , or herd of spare horses. The wrangler on a cattle drive was often a very young cowboy or one of lower social status, but

7345-482: The cattle trails of the Old West. Women performed considerable ranch work, and in some cases (especially when the men went to war or on embarked on long cattle drives) ran them. There is little doubt that women, particularly the wives and daughters of men who owned small ranches and could not afford to hire large numbers of outside laborers, worked side-by-side with men and thus needed to ride horses and perform related tasks. The largely undocumented contributions of women to

7458-404: The closest point that railroad tracks reached, which at that time was in Sedalia, Missouri. Farmers in eastern Kansas, afraid that Longhorns would transmit cattle fever to local animals as well as trample crops, formed groups that threatened to beat or shoot cattlemen found on their lands. Therefore, the 1866 drive failed to reach the railroad, and the cattle herds were sold for low prices. In 1867,

7571-399: The combined division a brand image projecting physical power and outdoor activity". This coincided with many GMC dealerships merging with Pontiac dealerships, allowing a single dealer to offer both trucks and entry-to-mid-level cars, using a similar approach already in use by Chevrolet . In 2002, GMC celebrated its 100th anniversary and released a book entitled GMC: The First 100 Years ,

7684-418: The constant hard work involved in maintaining a ranch. The history of women in the West, and women who worked on cattle ranches in particular, is not as well documented as is that of men. Institutions such as the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in modern years have attempted to gather and document the contributions of women. There are few records mentioning girls or women working to drive cattle up

7797-444: The cook was a particularly well-respected member of the crew, as not only was he in charge of the food, he also was in charge of medical supplies and had a working knowledge of practical medicine. Barbed wire , an innovation of the 1880s, allowed cattle to be confined to designated areas to prevent overgrazing of the range. In Texas and surrounding areas, increased population required ranchers to fence off their individual lands. In

7910-435: The country between the Nueces and the Rio Grande by General Valentin Canalizo  ... the horses and cattle abandoned invited the raids the Texians made upon this territory." California, on the other hand, did not see a large influx of settlers from the United States until after the Mexican–American War . In slightly different ways, both areas contributed to the evolution of the iconic American cowboy. Particularly with

8023-434: The death of Bonnie McCarroll at the 1929 Pendleton Round-Up led to the elimination of women's bronc riding from rodeo competition. In today's rodeos, men and women compete equally together only in the event of team roping , although women could now enter other open events. In all-women rodeos, women compete in bronc riding , bull riding and all other traditional rodeo events. In open rodeos, cowgirls primarily compete in

8136-400: The divider bar on the left side of the grille. Both years featured rear end styling taken from the Chevelle station wagon (and were shared with El Camino). For 1972, the Sprint was given the updated Chevelle front end styling, retaining the "GMC" and optional engine badges in their 1971 locations. The Sprint has the same design, features, and equipment as the El Camino, with some renamed. It

8249-576: The end of the Civil War. By the 1880s, the expansion of the cattle industry resulted in a need for additional open range. Thus many ranchers expanded into the northwest, where there were still large tracts of unsettled grassland. Texas cattle were herded north, into the Rocky Mountain west and the Dakotas. The cowboy adapted much of his gear to the colder conditions, and westward movement of

8362-441: The entertainment industry, the growth of rodeo brought about the rodeo cowgirl. In the early Wild West shows and rodeos, women competed in all events, sometimes against other women, sometimes with the men. Cowgirls such as Fannie Sperry Steele rode the same "rough stock" and assumed the same risks as the men (and all while wearing a heavy split skirt that was more encumbering than men's trousers) and competed at major rodeos such as

8475-469: The expansion of the meat packing industry , the demand for beef increased significantly. By 1866, cattle could be sold to northern markets for as much as $ 40 per head, making it potentially profitable for cattle, particularly from Texas, to be herded long distances to market. The first large-scale effort to drive cattle from Texas to the nearest railhead for shipment to Chicago occurred in 1866, when many Texas ranchers banded together to drive their cattle to

8588-434: The heaviest trucks used GMC's own "Standard Big Brute" engine. From 1939 to 1974 GMC had its own line of six-cylinder engines , first the inline sixes known as "Jimmy's" from 1939 to 1959, and then their own V6 from 1960 until 1974, of which a V8 and a V12 version also existed. Additionally, from 1955 through 1959, the less than 2-ton, domestic GMC gasoline trucks were equipped with Pontiac V8s , and Oldsmobile V8s —whereas

8701-487: The herd required the highest level of skill and rode specially trained " cutting " horses, trained to follow the movements of cattle, capable of stopping and turning faster than other horses. Once cattle were sorted, most cowboys were required to rope young calves and restrain them to be branded and (in the case of most bull calves) castrated . Occasionally it was also necessary to restrain older cattle for branding or other treatment. A large number of horses were needed for

8814-473: The individuals who prodded cattle with long poles to load them onto railroad cars for shipping. Names for a cowboy in American English include buckaroo , cowpoke , cowhand , and cowpuncher . Another English word for a cowboy, buckaroo , is an anglicization of vaquero ( Spanish pronunciation: [baˈkeɾo] ). Today, "cowboy" is a term common throughout the west and particularly in

8927-467: The industry also led to intermingling of regional traditions from California to Texas, often with the cowboy taking the most useful elements of each. Mustang-runners or Mesteñeros were cowboys and vaqueros who caught, broke and drove mustangs to market in Mexico, and later American territories of what is now Northern Mexico , Texas , New Mexico and California . They caught the mustangs that roamed

9040-578: The intended show vehicle eventuated as something quite different, in the GMC Denali XT Hybrid Concept, designed by GM Holden upon the Zeta platform, but bearing no resemblance to existing Holden product ... it debuted at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show, but plans for production based upon this unibody concept were subsequently cancelled circa September 2009. In 1974, GMC's sister division, Pontiac , reportedly took an El Camino body, grafted

9153-496: The largest of the cattle-shipping boom towns, Dodge City, Kansas, shipped out 500,000 head of cattle. Cattle drives had to strike a balance between speed and the weight of the cattle. While cattle could be driven as far as 25 miles (40 km) in a single day, they would lose so much weight that they would be hard to sell when they reached the end of the trail. Usually they were taken shorter distances each day, allowed periods to rest and graze both at midday and at night. On average,

9266-534: The late 1860s, following the American Civil War and the expansion of the cattle industry, former soldiers from both the Union and Confederacy came west, seeking work, as did large numbers of restless white men in general. A significant number of African-American freedmen also were drawn to cowboy life, in part because there was not quite as much racial discrimination in the West as in other areas of American society at

9379-410: The late 19th century, had a less-well documented historical role, but in the modern world work at identical tasks and have obtained considerable respect for their achievements. Cattle handlers in many other parts of the world, particularly South America and Australia , perform work similar to the cowboy. The cowboy has deep historic roots tracing back to Spain and the earliest European settlers of

9492-771: The launch of the 4500HD/5500HD Silverado in 2018. Also in 2009, GMC introduced the Terrain , a mid-size crossover SUV based on the GM Theta platform shared with the Chevrolet Equinox . It replaced the Pontiac Torrent after the brand's demise. In 2020, General Motors announced the return of the Hummer nameplate, this time as a sub-brand of GMC instead of a stand-alone division. The Hummer lineup includes two models, an electric pickup truck and SUV, to be sold as

9605-507: The life of both cowboys and Native Americans . Beginning in the 1920s and continuing to the present day, Western films popularized the cowboy lifestyle but also formed persistent stereotypes . In some cases, the cowboy and the violent gunslinger are often associated with one another. On the other hand, some actors who portrayed cowboys promoted other values, such as the "cowboy code" of Gene Autry , that encouraged honorable behavior, respect and patriotism. Historian Robert K. DeArment draws

9718-489: The long-running Super Sport package). Both the Royal Knight and the Diablo carried a hood graphic not unlike that featured on the Pontiac Trans Am ; the Diablo's was in a symmetrical flame pattern that resembled a demon . Besides the hood accents, Diablo also came with lower-body accent paint, body-color mirrors, black-trimmed window frames, a front air dam , color-matched "Rally" steel wheels with trim rings, and

9831-445: The more appropriate Spanish equivalent of "cowboy" would be vaquero , based on "vaca" for " cow "). The Caballero name was previously used as a top trim level on the hardtop Buick Century Station wagon . GMC's use of a Spanish-derived name was perhaps a response to the El Camino's own borrowing from Spanish colonial history (via the assumed reference to El Camino Real, the "King's Road", lit. "Regal Road"). Until 1979, Ford offered

9944-462: The more mainstream Chevrolet division. Chevrolet vehicles are priced lower than a comparable GMC, but GMC vehicles have features not found in a comparable Chevrolet. In North America , Chevrolet offers a full lineup of cars , crossover vehicles , sport utility vehicles , and pickup trucks . GMC, however, does not offer any car models, so typically they are sold along Buick (or sometimes Cadillac ) vehicles at multi-brand dealerships , allowing

10057-458: The most reckless class of outlaws in that wild country ... infinitely worse than the ordinary robber." It became an insult in the area to call someone a "cowboy", as it suggested he was a horse thief, robber, or outlaw. Cattlemen were generally called herders or ranchers. Other synonyms for cowboy were ranch hand, range hand or trail hand, although duties and pay were not entirely identical. The Cowboys' activities were ultimately curtailed by

10170-570: The north, overgrazing stressed the open range, leading to insufficient winter forage for the cattle and starvation, particularly during the harsh winter of 1886–1887, when hundreds of thousands of cattle died across the Northwest, leading to collapse of the cattle industry. By the 1890s, barbed-wire fencing was also standard in the northern plains, railroads had expanded to cover most of the nation, and meat packing plants were built closer to major ranching areas, making long cattle drives from Texas to

10283-487: The old Confederacy, imagined the West as a land untouched by Republican politicians they hated. They developed an image of the cowboys as men who worked hard, played hard, lived by a code of honor, protected themselves, and asked nothing of the government. In the hands of Democratic newspaper editors, the realities of cowboy life -- the poverty, the danger, the debilitating hours -- became romantic. Cowboys embodied virtues Democrats believed Republicans were destroying by creating

10396-496: The pay was poor. The average cowboy earned approximately a dollar a day, plus food, and, when near the home ranch, a bed in the bunkhouse , usually a barracks -like building with a single open room. Over time, the cowboys of the American West developed a personal culture of their own, a blend of frontier and Victorian values that even retained vestiges of chivalry . Such hazardous work in isolated conditions also bred

10509-443: The previous generation. Engine offerings during this period included a 250 cubic-inch inline six, as well as a variety of V8s, including the 305, 350 and 400 cubic-inch versions of the Chevy small-block V8 , plus the 454 Turbo-Jet big block through 1975. GMC carried over the "Standard" and "Custom" Sprint designations. The inline six was still only available on the "Standard". Catalytic converters were added to all engines beginning with

10622-594: The railheads in Kansas unnecessary. Hence, the age of the open range was gone and large cattle drives were over. Smaller cattle drives continued at least into the 1940s, as ranchers, prior to the development of the modern cattle truck , still needed to herd cattle to local railheads for transport to stockyards and packing plants . Meanwhile, ranches multiplied all over the developing West, keeping cowboy employment high, if still low-paid, but also somewhat more settled. American cowboys were drawn from multiple sources. By

10735-480: The ranch, they perform the same chores as cowboys and dress to suit the situation. Geography, climate and cultural traditions caused differences to develop in cattle-handling methods and equipment from one part of the United States to another. The period between 1840 and 1870 marked a mingling of cultures when English and French-descended people began to settle west of the Mississippi River and encountered

10848-488: The same platform , sharing much the same body sheetwork, except for nameplates and grilles – though their differences, especially engines, have varied over the years. GMC advertising marketed its trucks to commercial buyers and businesses, whereas Chevrolet's advertising was directed towards private owners. Beginning in 1928, GMCs used Pontiac's 186 cu in six-cylinder engines in their lighter trucks. Medium-duty trucks relied on Oldsmobile straight-6 engines , while

10961-464: The same dealer to sell a full lineup of upscale vehicles, including both cars and trucks. However some standalone GMC dealerships do exist, primarily for dealers who have a focus on selling to the commercial and fleet vehicle markets. Cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America , traditionally on horseback , and often performs

11074-472: The same range. In order to determine the ownership of individual animals, they were marked with a distinctive brand , applied with a hot iron, usually while the cattle were still calves . In order to find young calves for branding, and to sort out mature animals intended for sale, ranchers would hold a roundup , usually in the spring. A roundup required a number of specialized skills on the part of both cowboys and horses. Individuals who separated cattle from

11187-496: The same time as Jeep began using the "Laredo" name (as a trim level with the 1980 CJ-7) for a variety of special models in their own line - later evolving into a trim package with its XJ Cherokee and the midlevel (later base) trim level with the Grand Cherokee. The sporty Diablo package began in 1978 as an equivalent to the El Camino's Black Knight (1978)/Royal Knight (post-1978) package (which was, in turn, an upgrade from

11300-633: The six to 365 for the 454—all in gross figures. For 1972, horsepower measurements were switched to the "net" figures as installed in a vehicle with all accessories and emission controllers hooked up—this change brought the horsepower ratings for 1972 down to a range from 110 horsepower (82 kW) for the six to 270 for the 454 V8. The Sprint shared exterior and interior trims with the Chevelle Malibu and El Camino including cloth and vinyl or all-vinyl bench seats and deep twist carpeting. All-vinyl Strato bucket seats and center console were optional. Both

11413-481: The time. A significant number of Mexicans and American Indians already living in the region also worked as cowboys. Later, particularly after 1890, when American policy promoted "assimilation" of Indian people, some Indian boarding schools also taught ranching skills. Today, some Native Americans in the western United States own cattle and small ranches, and many are still employed as cowboys, especially on ranches located near Indian reservations . The "Indian Cowboy"

11526-481: The timed riding events such as barrel racing , and most professional rodeos do not offer as many women's events as they do men's events. Boys and girls are more apt to compete against one another in all events in high-school rodeos as well as O-Mok-See competition, where boys can be seen in events traditionally associated with women riders, such as barrel racing. Outside of the rodeo world, women compete equally with men in nearly all other equestrian events, including

11639-494: The trail drives out of Texas, to very few in the northwest. Similarly, cowboys of Mexican descent also averaged about 15% of the total, but were more common in Texas and the southwest. Some estimates suggest that in the late 19th century, one out of every three cowboys was a Mexican vaquero, and 20% may have been African-American. Other estimates place the number of African-American cowboys as high as 25 percent. Regardless of ethnicity, most cowboys came from lower social classes and

11752-582: The urethane-nose front end from its Grand Am series, added the Grand Am's instrument panel, Strato bucket seats with recliners and adjustable lumbar support, along with Pontiac's Rally II wheels as a styling exercise for a possible Pontiac version of the El Camino/Sprint. The concept however never reached production. Another show car version was also created in the late 1970s but never left the concept stage. GMC (automobile) GMC (formerly

11865-677: The war years and earned a Distinguished Service Award . During the Second World War , GMC Truck produced 600,000 trucks for use by the United States Armed Forces . In 1923, GMC trucks were exported to Japan to help recovery and reconstruction as a result of the Great Kantō earthquake , and the company continued to provide vehicles as the transportation infrastructure was rebuilt. Before the earthquake struck, most of Japan's transportation of commerce and people

11978-472: The world. Women such as Annie Oakley became household names. By 1900, skirts split for riding astride became popular and allowed women to compete with men without scandalizing Victorian-era audiences by wearing men's clothing or bloomers . In the films that followed beginning in the early 20th century, the role of the cowgirl was expanded in popular culture and film set designers developed attractive clothing suitable for riding Western saddles. Independently of

12091-480: Was also a limited market for hides, horns, hooves, and tallow in assorted manufacturing processes. While Texas contained vast herds of stray, free-ranging cattle available for free to anyone who could round them up, prior to 1865, there was little demand for beef. At the end of the American Civil War , Philip Danforth Armour opened a meat packing plant in Chicago , which became known as Armour and Company . With

12204-492: Was and remains deeply homophobic. Though anti-sodomy laws were common in the Old West, they often were only selectively enforced. Heather Cox Richardson argues for a political dimension to the original cowboy image in the 1870s and 1880s: The timing of the cattle industry's growth meant that cowboy imagery grew to have extraordinary power. Entangled in the vicious politics of the postwar years, Democrats, especially those in

12317-767: Was by wooden carts and government owned railroads, which were severely damaged when the train tracks were twisted beyond use. Autonomous trucks were much more effective at traveling to heavily damaged areas. In 1925, GM purchased a controlling interest in Yellow Coach , a bus and taxicab manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois which was founded by John D. Hertz . The company was renamed Yellow Truck & Coach Manufacturing Company (YT&CMC), an affiliated subsidiary of General Motors . All manufacturing operations of General Motors Truck Company were placed under YT&CMC. In 1928 Plant 2 opened and all headquarters staff moved to

12430-514: Was derived from vaquero , a Spanish word for an individual who managed cattle while mounted on horseback. Vaquero was derived from vaca , meaning "cow", which came from the Latin word vacca . "Cowboy" was first used in print by Jonathan Swift in 1725, and was used in the British Isles from 1820 to 1850 to describe young boys who tended the family or community cows. Originally though,

12543-611: Was offered as "Standard" or "Custom". The inline six was only available on the "Standard". Like the Chevelle and El Camino, the GMC Sprint could be ordered with a standard 3-speed Synchro-Mesh manual transmission , an optional four-speed Synchro-Mesh manual, or the Turbo Hydra-Matic three-speed automatic transmission . Luxury options, such as air conditioning, cruise control, power windows, and power locks, were also available at extra cost. The SP package, only offered on

12656-434: Was often the job of minors, and still is a task for young people in various Developing World cultures. Because of the time and physical ability needed to develop necessary skills, both historic and modern cowboys often began as an adolescent. Historically, cowboys earned wages as soon as they developed sufficient skill to be hired (often as young as 12 or 13). If not crippled by injury, cowboys may handle cattle or horses for

12769-481: Was still only available on the Sprint Custom. It no longer included the two fat hood stripes, and the 454 Turbo-Jet big block V8 was discontinued after 1975. The word " Caballero " is from the Spanish language . Its most common definition today in the Americas is "gentleman", though its technical definition is "horseman" (caballo meaning horse) or " knight ". These are, in turn, related to the English " cowboy " (though

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