This Is The Oldest American Car Model Nameplate Still In Use Today

The oldest surviving American car model nameplate still in use today celebrates its 90th birthday in 2026, according to parent General Motors. This honor goes to the Chevrolet Suburban, which has been hauling people and their cargo for a period going on nine full decades. It is also the only vehicle to have received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in recognition of its appearance in over 1,750 feature films.

The Chevy Suburban's origin story harks back to either 1935 or 1936, when the term "station wagon" was used to describe a vehicle that picked up passengers and their luggage at a train station and ferried them to their final destinations via the existing roadways. These vehicles were also known as "suburbans," a term used by several different manufacturers of this type of vehicle. Chevrolet's version was called the Chevrolet Suburban Carryall, which provided an enclosed eight-passenger steel body attached to a Chevy truck chassis, shown by the 1936 model above. It came with a 60-horsepower engine with six cylinders, a manual transmission, and a price of $675. 

Other options came later, with automatic transmission added in 1955, four-wheel drive in 1967, and air conditioning from the factory in 1965. Here's a fun fact — every Chevrolet Suburban from the first one up through the 1966 model year had only two doors. The generation that ran from the 1967 through 1972 model years had one door on the driver's side and two doors on the passenger side. From 1973 onward, all Chevy Suburbans had four-door bodies. 

Over the 90 years that the Chevy Suburban has been a part of the U.S. automotive scene, there have been many generations of Chevrolet Suburbans. The power provided by the Suburban's engine has grown over the years, from its original "Stovebolt" 60-horsepower inline six to 79 horsepower in 1937, 90 horses in 1947, and the addition of V8 power options starting in 1955, starting with the 265 cubic-inch small-block putting out 145 horsepower, followed by the 283 from 1960 to 1966, and the 327 in 1966. 

Engine size increased further for the 1967-72 generation of the Suburban, depicted above by a 1972 model, with small blocks of 307, 327, and 350 cubic inches, while a 396 cubic-inch big block was added for extra performance. The next Chevy Suburban generation ran from 1973 to 1991, a period of almost 20 years, seeing the addition of a huge 454 cubic-inch V8 to its engine lineup. This big-block mill continued into the 1992 to 1999 generation of the Suburban as a torque monster engine that was ideal for towing, with a capacity of 10,000 pounds. Diesel engines with improved fuel economy were also added over the years, further beefing up the Suburban's ability to haul and tow efficiently.  

Chassis upgrades were additionally made over time. Independent front suspension arrived in 1960, front disc brakes came along in 1971, ABS braking on all four wheels was added across the board in 1992, and the Stabilitrak electronic stability control system was introduced in 2000.

The latest generation of the Chevrolet Suburban, which our review found to have lots of power, comfort, and space, has been with us since the 2021 model year and is the first to feature independent rear suspension. The new 2026 Suburban, the latest version, offers three powertrain options. An optional 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder diesel offers 305 horsepower, while the others are gasoline V8s. One V8 is the standard 5.3-liter, 355-horsepower engine, while the other is a 6.2-liter upgrade with 420 horses. In Car and Driver acceleration testing, the Suburban with the diesel engine did the 0-60 mph run in 8.4 seconds, improving to 6.0 seconds with the 6.2-liter V8. 

As you might expect, the Chevrolet Suburban delivers on roominess for both people and stuff. The Suburban provides 42 cu. ft. of space behind the rear seat, with 94 cu. ft. with the third row folded, and a massive 145 cu. ft. with the second and third rows folded. Pricing starts at $66,495 MSRP, including shipping.

While the Suburban is the oldest American nameplate still in use today, there is a British one that has been around longer — the Rolls-Royce Phantom, which was introduced in 1925. However, unlike the Suburban, which has been in continuous production since it appeared on the scene, the Phantom was not produced during the years 1940-49, as well as during the period from 1991 through 2002. This means that the Suburban actually leads the Phantom in terms of the number of years it has been produced.