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Reminder: It’s GMC Acadia, Not ‘Arcadia

We here at GM Authority pride ourselves on going deep on all things General Motors, making sure we get all the details right. As such, it kinda gets under our skin when we see an error, especially when it’s something as simple as a misspelled name. With that in mind, we’ve noticed a common misconception, even among members of the GM Authority readership, that the name of GMC‘s midsize three-row crossover is “Arcadia,” when in fact, the crossover is called the GMC Acadia. As such, we wanted to post a friendly reminder that there’s no “r” in the “Acadia” nameplate.

Badging on the GMC Acadia.

Part of the confusion could stem from the fact that about half of the states in the U.S. contain a city called “Arcadia,” which means a lot of folks are more familiar with that name than they are “Acadia.” There’s also an Arcadia Lake in Michigan, which is named after a region of Greece.

In reality, the crossover in question is named after Acadia National Park in Maine, which follows through on Bid Red’s proclivity to use North American geography as a key part of its vehicle naming strategy.

A few other examples of the brand’s usage of North American geography for name inspiration include the Yukon SUV, which is named after a province of Canada. There’s also the Denali sub-brand, which is named after a national park, as well as the tallest mountain in North America, with further references made in the various Denali Ultimate models via unique topography-style cabin design elements. Meanwhile, the Sierra pickup truck likely takes its name from the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the western U.S.

Further examples include the Canyon pickup truck, the name of which likely alludes to the Grand Canyon. Finally, we have the Terrain crossover, which isn’t really named after anything specific, but goes along with the mountain landmark theme that Big Red seems so fond of.

So next time you’re discussing GMC’s lineup, remember to call it “Acadia,” reflecting its inspiration from one of America’s treasured national parks.

Subscribe to GM Authority for more GMC Acadia news, GMC news, GM business news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.

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Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. Yukon is a territory not a province

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  2. THANK YOU. I’ve never seen so many internet pirates in my life. ARRRRR, matey!

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    1. Drove one last weekend. Power was good, but had to rev it up to get turbo going. The Denali is very nice but not worth $65k. Insane. I passed on trading in the 21 Redline Traverse. Stop buying people. Force these big corporations to lower prices or offer incentives!

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  3. Back when I sold them in the ’00s, I was one of the few that pronounced it correctly, knowing what it means. Most do think it’s Arcadia.

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    1. Us folks in the south will still use the R sorry lol

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  4. Acadia NP is more beautiful than any city or town named Arcadia.

    As a former employee of Volkswagen Group of America, I see the press and people spell it “Volkswagon” all the time.

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  5. Can you work on lose and loose now?

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  6. “As such, it kinda gets under our skin when we see an error, especially when it’s something as simple as a misspelled name. With that in mind, we’ve noticed a common misconception.”

    Like when GM Authority spells Bid Red instead of Big Red.

    Oops

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  7. I sense a sensitive Newfie eh?

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    1. Newfie is fairly disrespectful if you aren’t friends with the person you’re talking to. My humble suggestion is to not call anyone from Newfoundland a Newfie ever again unless you’re friends with them or they give you the OK to do so. I would never call someone from America a Yank. Same thing here.

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  8. AND next week, we are going to learn it’s not Kmarts?

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  9. Actually, Wikipedia says Acadia comes from the French word, “Acadie” and was “a colony in New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspe Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River”. It’s first capital, Port Royal, was and is still located in what is now Nova Scotia. There is much more to the story, including what is known as the expulsion (deportation) of the Acadians from Nova Scotia that began in 1755. I looked it up so you don’t have to.

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    1. I was reading up on the Acadian people and their expulsion right around the same time I happened to get an Acadia as a rental. I fell in love with GMC after that ride. As for the people, an interesting yet sad account.

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  10. You say Camero, I say Camaro.

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  11. I’m getting rid of my Acadia because of the trunk space. Try doing like the caravan or something to make more room. You go out of town with a family of 7 and you have no place to put luggage. My family grew and now I have to get another vehicle.

    Reply

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