Feb 16, 2021, 08:32 AM by Mike Blake

The General Motors family is just that…a family. Once, the manufacturer of such different, since discontinued car badges as LaSalle, McLaughlin, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Opel, Pontiac, Hummer (brought back within GMC), Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall, Daewoo  and Holden, GM has been lean and mean since its restructuring and reorganization cut redundancy and remaining brands down to a core four, by late-2010. Under the GM umbrella today are Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and Wuling (China). Those eliminated brands are gone, but not forgotten. They remain part of the GM family of vehicles that their supporters fervently defend, show off, refurbish and compete with, particularly at GM-inspired events such as the Carlisle GM Nationals, set for June 25 - 26, 2021 at the Carlisle, PA Fairgrounds.

The supporters are part of the GM family of loyalists. It is a happy family, but at events, as with any family members that squabble about which brother or sister is favored, which uncle is stronger, and which cousin is more successful, GM event fans create a great divide. They stick together as a whole – the GM team fans celebrate the heritage since William C. Durant capitalized GM in 1908 and speedily acquired Buick and more than 20 additional companies to become the top-selling automotive manufacturer in the world. But they separate as fervent badge proponents and debate and compete against each other at major events. 

It is not exactly the sports animosity you have with Yankees-Red Sox fans, or what you see with Lakers-Celtics, Red Wings-Blackhawks, or Steelers-Eagles, or the contempt fans had for each other from Ali-Frazier … but there is a real division among fans even when the cars are conceptually similar, as with Firebird vs.Camaro, GMC vs.Chevy trucks, or Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme vs. Pontiac Grand Prix vs. Chevrolet Monte Carlo vs. Buick Regal. Historically, it follows, as each division had its own engineering, marketing and production assets and managed its own dealership network. In specification and output there may not have been much difference between an Oldsmobile and a Buick V8, but no Olds division manager in the 1950s and 1960s would ever consider putting a Buick engine into one of his 88s or Starfires. An Olds was an Olds, a Buick was a Buick, a Chevy a Chevy, a Pontiac a Pontiac, and Cadillac stood alone. And each division had its own look, feel, tweaks and customer bonding. Even the individual engineers were so proud of their own designs that they competed against fellow engineers on other projects. So it became easy for an enthusiast to follow and buy one division for life, excluding all sister or brother badges within GM.

Sometimes the divide even comes from different generations of the same vehicle as with early- and late-model Corvettes, original and more recent Camaros and the Old School vs. New School evolution of Cadillac. Often, there is competitive debate within the same badge as with Pontiac’s Bonneville vs. Firebird or Firebird vs. GTO, Oldsmobile’s 88 vs. 98, or Chevy’s Nova vs. Chevelle (even though Chevelle was a midsize and larger than Nova). 

Now this isn’t to suggest animosity or enemy camps. It is more of an overwhelming pride in the vehicles or badged cars the fans grew up with, work on, drive or collect. And this pride supersedes any close relationships with other family members … stay away from Uncle Charlie; he will talk your ear off about his ’57 Bel Air.

There are exceptions. Corvette seems to have earned niche approval among most family members and is largely held in esteem like the favorite uncle or aunt that all the kids love. And Uncle Cadillac has evolved into a luxury sedan with as much power as his nephew Vette, and is revered by many family members for his history.

As car lovers, we can appreciate something about nearly all makes, models, badges and concepts, but if you have spent your life driving, working on and monitoring everything available on a specific badge … fandom keeps revered place for it in the hearts of car people.

In the case of Camaro vs. Firebird, the competitive fires burns logically, as both shared the same platform and were big players in The Pony Car Wars starting in 1967. With similar styling, one difference between the two cars was under the hood, and Firebird was marketed as an upmarket version of the Camaro, while Camaro became “the people’ car.” And both won at the racetrack. 

Another internal GM battle subject is the 1973 Olds Cutlass Supreme versus 1973 Pontiac GTO. That is a great topic that we might hear argued at a show, but probably not as spirited as the engine wars that pitted iron-headed big block engines -- 454 Chevy vs. 455 Pontiac vs. 455 Olds against each other. The conversations are spirited and part of the fun of attending big GM car events.

It comes down to this…GM is a family…of cars and enthusiasts, and as with any family, there is competition. Part of the fun and value of attending big car events is discussion and friendly rivalry. The Carlisle GM Nationals is the perfect stage for such a showdown, one in which the enthusiasts win.  As noted, the event runs June 25-26 and all aspects of registration are now open.  This includes registering for the National Parts Depot Showfield, becoming a vendor or simply purchasing spectator tickets (discounted if purchased online in advance).  There's also a bevvy of special displays planned, all of which are open for submission and consideration.  Get full details on the event by way of the show's page today and don't miss out in June at Carlisle!  

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.