New Rumor Suggests GMC Could Be Getting Back Into The Industry’s Most Important Segment With A New Jimmy

If there’s one brand within the General Motors portfolio that has a ton of potential right now, it’s GMC. The luxury-angled SUV and truck maker is a north star in the eyes of millions of Americans, both for their fancy pickups and for their kitted-out crossovers.

But with the Acadia growing into a proper three-row back in 2024, and the Terrain sitting comfortably in the compact crossover segment, there’s a hole in the company’s lineup that doesn’t cover one of the industry’s most important segments: The midsize SUV.

According to a new report from GM Authority, that’s about to change. And GMC could be getting back into the midsize arena with one of its most iconic nameplates.

The Jimmy’s Return Could Be Back On The Table

The Jimmy was a mainstay in GMC’s lineup for decades, first as a rebadged K5 Blazer, before switching to sharing a body with the S-10 Blazer, then, in the mid-1990s, the Trailblazer. Like the Trailblazer, the most recent Jimmy offered the ruggedness and off-road capability of a body-on-frame design, making it appealing for adventurers on a budget. Our very own David Tracy took a Trailblazer off-roading a couple of years back and walked away impressed.

Back in 2019, in a since-deleted article, Motor1 reported that GMC was working on a new body-on-frame vehicle to compete against the then-new Bronco. Allegedly, this SUV would’ve used the Jimmy nameplate and would’ve come with available V8 power. But it was reportedly axed from development towards the end of 2018 following a restructuring of GM that involved layoffs.

Now, according to this new GM Authority report, which cites unnamed sources, the Jimmy project is reportedly back on the table. From the article:

During its initial development phase, the GMC Jimmy was described internally as both “bold” and “capable,” with plans that even included a V8 engine option. Now, relaxed emissions and fuel economy regulations rolled out by the Trump administration have altered the landscape, and GM Authority sources tell us that GM is reassessing its previously shelved GMC Jimmy plans, including the possibility of a V8 powerplant under the hood.

There doesn’t seem to be many details beyond that, so it’s unclear right now whether such a car would keep that original body-on-frame layout or switch to a more road-friendly unibody, crossover layout. I’ve reached out to GMC to see if they’d tell me anything else, though I haven’t heard back. Automakers rarely ever comment on future products, so I’m not expecting much.

Why This Makes Sense

Adding another car to GMC’s lineup feels pretty reasonable right now. Since the Acadia’s third-row growth spurt, the brand hasn’t had a true midsize crossover in its lineup. Reviving the Jimmy—a well-known nameplate that already resonates with a large swath of buyers—could be a smart way to re-enter the highly competitive segment.

If GMC were to stick with the body-on-frame approach, it would also mean General Motors could finally have the true Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler competitor people—including myself—have been asking for for years. Hell, if it really wanted to, GM could revamp the current body-on-frame Trailblazer it sells in overseas markets, which I wrote about last month, for the American market. But doing so would conflict with what GM President Mark Reuss told The Drive back in 2023 about why the brand doesn’t have a Bronco competitor. He told the publication, “I’m not gonna do a Bronco” for several reasons:

The first is simple. Reuss explained that he doesn’t want to be “late to the party.” Doing a Bronco competitor now would put the brand plumb last in bringing a two-row, body-on-frame 4×4 to the market. The second has to do with emissions. Reuss claimed that Ford has to sell trucks like the Maverick as a hybrid because doing so many cars powered by internal combustion hurts Ford’s corporate average fuel economy. He doesn’t want to move backward in that regard.

Like I mentioned when I wrote about that Trailblazer, a lot has changed since 2023. Sales of the Bronco are as robust as ever, proving there’s a lasting market for body-on-frame off-roaders. And, as GM Authority mentioned, the federal government announced back in July that it would no longer penalize manufacturers for not meeting fleetwide emissions standards, so GM no longer has to worry about whether a new Jimmy with an available V8 will drag down its fuel economy scores.

It’s also possible that GMC could just play the corporate rebadge game and add a slightly different-looking Chevy Blazer to its lineup, and call it the new Jimmy. While that wouldn’t be nearly as exciting, it would still fill the gap in its lineup without having to spend much on development. Either way, I’m curious to see what’s next.

Top graphic image: General Motors