Hilton Motors Garrison (Andrew's Vehicle Index)/Lore

The Hilton Garrison and its Hilton Motors TopKick sister model are a series of medium-duty trucks manufactured by the Haulital and Hilton Equipment & Truck divisions of Hilton Motors. Derived from the General Motors Kodiak/TopKick, the Garrison line spans Class 4–8 trucks, with GVWR ranging from 14,001 to 45,020 lb. First introduced in 2009, Hilton Motors withdrew the model line after the 2017 model year.
At the time of introduction, General Motors (in line with Ford Motor Company) sought to exit heavy-truck manufacturing following years of declining market share. After years of GM having difficulty forming joint ventures or selling the rights to its heavy-truck product lines, the company was approached by Hilton who had an interest in buying the Kodiak/Topkick lines. On July 31, 2009, the first trucks by Hilton Motors were put into production for the 2010 model year, coinciding with the last GM built truck to leave Flint Truck Assembly.
Unlike the previous Kodiak/TopKick line, which was discontinued in 2009, Hilton would begin to market the medium-duty Kodiak as the Garrison with the GMC equivalent keeping it's name. Unusually, both would be initially marketed under the Hilton Equipment & Truck division, but the Hilton TopKick would later become part of the company's Haulital division. Despite this, only the TopKick is marketed under both Haulital and Hilton Equipment & Truck, whereas the Garrison is only exclusive to Hilton.
== Model overview ==
Inheriting its cab from the Kodiak and Topkick (which themselves share a cab with the Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana full-size van) the Hilton Garrison was intially unchanged from it's General Motors incarnation until April 2010. This saw a completely overhauled dashboard reminiscent of that in the Express and Savana vans which would help to modernize the interior and distinguish it from the equivalent manufactured by GM. The 2012 model year also saw a completely redesigned cab, which no longer resembled the one used on the Express and Savana. 
As the unrelated Haulital Colonel pickup used the GMT610 chassis, the Garrison's new cab retained the body lines of the old, but had an increased slope on the windshield and protruding door handles. This was to allow seamless compatibility of the Garrison cab with the Colonel, especially because the cowl at the front was derived from the Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana vans. Despite this, the new cab still allocated increased space and a lowered floor height. The fuel tanks were relocated from behind the cab to below (remaining on the frame rails) on higher GWVR models, but a series of smaller fuel tanks in-between the rails is optional. 
As with the Kodiak and Topkick, the model line was offered in a two-door cab alongside an extended cab and four-door crew cab; its chassis-cab design was manufactured for the fitment of rear bodies fitted by second-stage manufacturers.
Category:Andrew's Vehicle Index