GMC Brigadier

Chevrolet Bruin/GMC Brigadier
1986 GMC Brigadier 8000
Overview
ManufacturerGMC Truck and Coach Division
Also calledChevrolet Bruin
WhiteGMC Brigadier (1988-1989)
Production1977-1988
Model years1978-1989
AssemblyUnited States: Pontiac, Michigan (Pontiac Central Assembly)
Body and chassis
ClassClass 7-8 truck
ChassisLadder frame
Dimensions
Wheelbase139–218 in (3,531–5,537 mm)
Chronology
PredecessorChevrolet/GMC H/J-series (1966-1977)
SuccessorChevrolet Kodiak/GMC TopKick
WhiteGMC WG

The GMC Brigadier (also known as 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 second generation of the H/J-series heavy-duty conventionals,[1] the Brigadier was produced from 1978 to late 1989, as a WhiteGMC for the last year and a half.[2]: 36, 40  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 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. 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.[3]

  1. ^ 1978 GMC Brigadier 9500 Conventional Truck Brochure, GMC Trucks, 1970
  2. ^ Meyer, Donald E. (March 2009), The First Century of GMC Truck History (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-26
  3. ^ "The Last Brigadiers". forums.aths.org. Archived from the original on 2021-07-22. Retrieved 2020-04-19.