A perfect throwback Thursday for today's post! This picture, circa 1993 shows some of the unsold Saudi Syclones that returned to the US that were prepped and refreshed for resale (mostly bought by GM employees). The featured picture is the trucks sitting in the Auburn Hills location in Michigan being prepped and fixed after their overseas stay.
During production, roughly 150 1991 GMC Syclones were officially converted and exported by GMC. These trucks became known as the Saudi Syclone Editions. Out of the 150 trucks, there were an estimated 113 destined for resale in the Middle East. Externally the Saudi Syclone looks identical to its US counterpart with no apparent outward changes. The only item that appears different is when you look in the cab and notice the dash and see a different gauge cluster. Before being exported, some changes were required mainly due to the leaded fuel used in the Middle East.There were 31 trucks that remained unsold and were eventually brought back to the United States.
According to a classified ad from a Saudi Syclone owner who appears to have worked from GM at the time:
When Desert Storm began in February 1991, the remaining 31 unsold units were moved from Riyadh to a remote desert area to escape possible damage from Scud missiles. General Motors Corporate auditors researching Manufacturers Statements of Origin (MSO’s) in 1993 realized the MSO’s were missing on these 31 units and the vehicles were unaccounted for. These units were then located and returned to GMC Divisional Headquarters in Michigan mid 1993.
Instead of selling the returned Saudi Syclones to the public, GMC Truck Divisional Staff sent out a letter notifying that employees would be able to purchase one of the limited number Saudi Syclones using a lotto system after they were put into company service for some time and able to be driven by service employees. Interested employees would submit a form and your name would be drawn to be allowed to purchase a truck once the company service period had ended. It was 1 entry per employee. The sale was limited to active GMC Truck employees for $12,500 plus taxes, title, and license fees. It was decided that since the vehicles could no longer be sold as “new” vehicles to the public, they were to be modified at the Service Lab to burn unleaded fuel and offered to GMC executive salaried employees for purchase by a lottery drawing. The price also included a basic warranty (36 months/50,000 miles) with a $100 deductible, but excluded paint damage, transportation damage, and general deterioration from sand, sun, and storage in Saudi Arabia. It is assumed paint problems were specifically not covered as the paint was supposed to not be in the best of conditions due to having been stored outside for a long period of time. A truck was kept in the executive garage so that employees could view the “typical condition” of what to expect the available trucks to be in.
Most of them did not run, the interiors were gritty, and the exteriors were a matte-black finish due to being sand blasted during their stay overseas. In Troy, we performed some of the homologation activities to convert them back to 50-state regulations. - Matt Brenner, Former PAS Employee
The winning purchasers had to agree to keep the truck for at least 12 months and count towards a new vehicle purchase. Purchasers also had to take delivery through a dealer.It is alleged that not many employees knew of the lottery to purchase one of the Saudi Syclones, so almost everyone who entered got the chance to buy one, which upset a lot of GM employees in various other divisions who felt they missed out.