Chevrolet Suburban turns 75

The Chevrolet Suburban, the longest-running nameplate in the auto industry, turned 75 this year, and Chevy held a little birthday party on Detroit's Belle Isle on Tuesday. The General Motors division brought some classics for us to ogle and drive, from a 1935 to the 2010 Diamond Edition.

Through the early 1930s, automakers were offering car-based wagons. So the idea for the Suburban began when GM saw a need in the marketplace for a heavier-duty, truck-based wagon.

Since 1935, when the Suburban was launched, there have been 11 versions. That first one was about the same length as today's Malibu and it cost $675. The original Suburban could seat eight, while removable seats provided a 75-inch-long by 77-inch-high cargo area. Today's Suburban seats up to nine and offers 137.4 cubic feet of cargo space when the second-row seats are folded and the third-row seats are removed.

Redesigns came in 1937, '41, '47, '55, '67, '73, '81, '92, 2000 and 2007. About 2.4 million Suburbans have been built.

By Wes Raynal