16. GMC Jimmy
Back in 1969, GM was caught off guard with the success of the Ford Bronco, Jeep CJ, and International Harvester Scout. Simply, the market wanted small, good-looking, and capable off-road SUVs, but GM didn’t have any in its model lineup. Soon, the Chevrolet/GMC engineers thought of the brilliant idea to use their existing pickup truck.
They wanted to mount a full interior and roof and call it the Blazer or GMC Jimmy. With the Jimmy, Chevrolet/GMC fans had a new SUV model with bigger dimensions than the competitors, but also bigger engines under the hood. At first, all-wheel drive was only an option and some versions even came with rear-wheel drive only, but soon AWD became standard.
The Blazer/Jimmy became popular and even the U.S. military used it. It sold well in America, as well as the rest of the world, especially with a 6.2-liter diesel V8 engine. The Blazer was so popular, the second generation stayed in production from 1973 to 1991 with minimal modifications.