General Motors (GM) has finally decided to give proper names to its new line of Class 4 through 8 line of trucks - currently known by its code name, the GMT 560.
GM's revamped GMT 560 trucks will now be known as the 2003 Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick. The Kodiak/TopKick C4500-C5500 Series (Class 4-5) include regular and commercial cutaway chassis cabs and vocational packages to cover school bus, fire and rescue, ambulance, shuttle bus, wrecker and snowplow requirements. Crew cab and four-wheel drive models will be introduced at a later date, said GM. Gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWRs) for those trucks ranges from 16,000 pounds for the C4500 to 18,000 and 19,500 pounds for the C5500.
The heavier Kodiak / TopKick C6500, C7500 and C8500 Series (Class 6-8 trucks) replace GM's conventional-cab C-Series line with regular and crew cab and chassis cab offerings. With GVWRs covering 19,501 to 61,000 lbs., these models include low-profile, tandem-axle and tractor variations.
The Kodiak and TopKick model-name designations were originally used on Chevrolet and GMC medium duty trucks available from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s.