GMC'S Centennial: 1912-2012

GMC is celebrating its 100th anniversary in calendar year 2012, even though GMC's story had many beginnings. While this is the January/February 2013 issue, it comes out at the end of 2012, and that isn't too late to celebrate the big occasion. Here is part one of the story behind GMC. --Ed.

GM filed an application to copyright the GMC brand in 1911 and used it in public for the first time on gasoline and electric Rapid and Reliance trucks at the 1912 New York auto show. The copyright was granted that September, and later that year, all new GM (formerly Rapid and Reliance) trucks wore the GMC badge.

Genesis

Brothers Max and Morris Grabowski built their first prototype truck in 1900. Powered by a single-cylinder engine under the seat, its payload was said to be a ton and its top speed a horse-spooking 10 mph. But when their first truck proved underpowered, their second got a 15-hp twin. The Grabowskis reorganized as the Rapid Motor Vehicle Co. that year. In 1905, Rapid built a 35,000-square-foot assembly plant (on the renamed Rapid Street) on the south side of Pontiac, Michigan. Its Model B Power Wagon panel delivery truck was motivated by that same 15-hp flat-twin. Meanwhile, the Detroit-based Reliance Motor Co., established in 1902, began selling 22-hp cargo trucks and 12-passenger buses in 1903 and, by 1906, was building 1 1/2- to 3-ton trucks powered by two-cylinder inline engines rated at 25-28 hp.

In 1913, all GM truck manufacturing was consolidated into the Rapid plant in Pontiac; all Rapid (electric) and Reliance (gasoline) trucks officially became GMCs; and three new gas-powered (1 3/4-, 2-, and 3-ton) models were designed by GMTC engineers. The first of a new family of trucks was introduced in 1914, and the first 200 four-cylinder light-duty (3/4-ton) delivery trucks were built on Buick chassis with prices starting at $1090.

GM established the GMC Truck Division in 1915, and production of rebranded Rapid and Reliance trucks came to an end. GMC's Model 16 3/4-ton truck was chosen by the U.S. Army for service in World War I, and by 1917, the company was building up to 50 Army ambulances per day, plus smaller numbers of 1-ton troop carriers and aviation support vehicles. Civilian truck production continued, but by 1918, more than 90 percent of GMC truck production was for military use. GMTC provided a total of 8512 trucks to the U.S. government during the war years and earned a Distinguished Service Award for its efforts.

Merger and Consolidation

The first of a new K-series of trucks, a 1-ton K-16 model, was introduced in 1920, followed in 1921 by 3/4-, 2-, 3-, and 5-ton models, all powered by four-cylinder L-head engines rated from 33 to 51 hp. A Model K-20 bus chassis (GM's first) was added in 1922.

In 1925, GM created the General Motors Truck Corporation as the manufacturer of GMC trucks and owner of the Pontiac plants, then merged it with Yellow Cab to form the Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Co. as a 57-percent owned GM subsidiary. In 1926, GMC management, sales, and advertising staffs transferred to Yellow Cab and merged with its staffs in Chicago, while GMC Truck Engineering moved to the Rapid Street plant in Pontiac.

Work crews toiled 24 hours a day in two 12-hour shifts to complete the new South Boulevard Plant 2, which built its first truck in January 1928, less than six months after construction began. By the end of March, it was producing 150 trucks a day, and GMC and YT&CMC staffs were moving into the new administration building, historian Meyer reports. All GMC truck engineering and manufacturing was consolidated in Pontiac, and GMC took over design and development of its six-cylinder OHV engines from Buick.

Depression and Recovery

GMC suspended light-duty truck production through 1933 and most of 1934, but six new T-series models were introduced with GVWRs from 10,000 to 30,000 pounds. Production rebounded to more than 8000 vehicles in 1933, then nearly 14,000 in 1934 as GMC's first cab-over-engine (COE)models joined the line.

In 1937, GM founded Detroit Diesel Engine Division to build compact diesels, and a dozen new conventional cab and 11 COE models were introduced with streamlined styling, the first by GM styling staff. Chevrolet and GMC launched their first Suburban Carryall utility vehicles, earliest ancestors of the Chevy Suburban and GMC Yukon XL still popular today. Production totaled a record 57,350 units, a solid fifth among U.S. truckmakers.

In and Out of War

In 1940, GMC added an extension to Plant 2 and purchased additional buildings for sheetmetal work and storage. The next year, it launched new 105-hp, 270-cid 2 1/2-ton 6x6 trucks in a variety of body styles for the U.S. Army and allied forces, and these rugged, reliable workhorses soon became known by the troops as Jimmys or Deuce and a Halfs. More than half of the 111,000-plus GMC trucks built in 1941 were for the military.

In 1945, GMC started work on a new engineering building and an engine plant, and soon after the war ended, government restrictions on civilian production were lifted. A new E-series of light- and medium-duty trucks was introduced for 1946.

The Korean War began in 1950, and GMC launched two new modestly priced, lightweight, heavy-duty 4x2 tractors with medium-duty cabs and 133-hp diesel engines, which soon became the best-sellers in their class. A new family of 2 1/2-ton military trucks, powered by a 145-hp 302-cid I-6 gas engine through a Hydra-Matic four-speed automatic transmission, followed in 1951. The Korean War ended in 1953, and GMC's light- and medium-duty trucks were nicely restyled for 1954 with new one-piece windshields and improved instrument panels. A 125-hp 248-cid I-6 was standard and four-speed automatic transmissions and power steering became widely available.