GMC Syclone Community Rewards Stolen Truck Savior By Finding Him a Pickup
He gave up thousands of dollars to make sure a stolen classic truck went home. Now, karma has come back around his way.
Last month, the buyer of a cheap GMC Syclone discovered his new classic pickup was in fact stolen. Rather than try to cover his tracks, he found the original owner and got the truck home—even though it ended up costing him thousands of dollars. But not every deed goes unrewarded, because the GMC Syclone community rallied to repay him for his kindness. They did this not just by recouping his funds over GoFundMe, but by finally getting him into a Syclone of his own.
Jake Rowe had been shopping for an example of the groundbreaking 1990s performance truck (which outran many sports cars of its day) when he found a cheap one for sale in Texas. Only after buying did he learn it had been stolen, which led to him connecting with its real owner to send it home. Rowe was out thousands of dollars for his troubles, but grateful Syclone owners raised money on GoFundMe to cover the money he lost. And they weren't done there.
"Jake's story has a happy ending," said George Bowman, who reached out to The Drive after reading of Rowe's situation. Bowman was the original owner of one of the less than 3,000 Syclones built, and he was looking to sell—potentially to Rowe. We were able to connect the two, who spoke over the phone, allowing Bowman to send over documentation proving that this time, he really was the GMC's legitimate owner.
Earlier this month, the two agreed on a deal and Rowe hauled a trailer 20 hours up from Texas to meet with Bowman. As his way of honoring Rowe's good deed, he chopped a few grand off the asking price.
"So, his bad luck turned out to be good luck in the end, and his kind gesture to the other Syclone owner didn't go unrewarded," Bowman told us. "Although I was really sad to see it go, I feel good that Jake has it. I think he deserves it and will fix the truck up and take good care of it. I know it's in a good home!"
Rowe for his part has been blown away by people's response to his actions.
"Man, I never expected the community coming out with so much support. I have been able to meet tons of awesome guys in the last month that I would have never had the chance to meet otherwise," Rowe told us. "The entire experience has been amazing, and I couldn't have asked for a better truck. George was so much fun to talk to, and I really enjoyed the whole trip getting the truck. Definitely an experience I will remember for the rest of my life."
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