Chevrolet Suburban
It's from 1973, before you were born.
- Iconic generation
- 7th gen 'square-body' (1973–1991)
- Origin
- USA (nameplate since 1935)
- Layout
- Full-size body-on-frame SUV
- Engine
- Small- and big-block Chevy V8s
- Seating
- Up to 9 passengers
- Claim to fame
- World's longest-running automotive nameplate
- In production since
- 1935
About
As of 2026, it's 53 years old.
The Chevrolet Suburban has been in continuous production since 1935, making it the longest-running automobile nameplate on Earth. While other vehicles came and went, the Suburban just kept hauling families, gear, and entire little leagues, decade after decade after decade.
It started life in the Depression as the 'Carryall Suburban,' an all-steel wagon body on a truck chassis that could swallow eight people, and that basic mission has never really changed. The square-body generation of the 1970s, big and boxy and rugged, became an icon in its own right, equally at home towing a boat or running a ranch.
Over the years it has played every role: family road-trip hauler, Secret Service tank, Hollywood set vehicle, and contractor's mobile office. Its sheer size is the point, a vehicle that measures its cargo space in cubic yards and its presence in city blocks.
It even has an honorary Oscar for its decades of movie and TV appearances. The Suburban isn't trying to be clever or quick; it just shows up, hauls everything, and refuses to ever go away, which after 90 years is its own kind of legend.
Chevrolet Suburban through the years
Carryall Suburban
Chevy launches an all-steel wagon that seats eight, the original SUV.
Square-body era
The boxy, rugged 7th-gen Suburban becomes a hauling icon.
Rounded redesign
A smoother GMT400-based body modernizes the big hauler.
Goes upscale
The Suburban grows plusher, cementing its luxury-hauler reputation.
Honorary Oscar
The Suburban earns a Hollywood award for its decades on screen.
