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Official Site: GMC.com
Wikipedia: GMC (automobile) Page Sections History Photographs Documents Article Index Merchandise |
History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's GMC (automobile) page on 20 July 2016, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
GMC (General Motors Truck Company), formally the GMC Division of General Motors LLC, is an American automobile manufacturer and division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM) that primarily focuses on trucks and utility vehicles. GMC sells pickup and commercial trucks, buses, vans, military vehicles, and sport utility vehicles marketed worldwide by General Motors.
General Motors was founded by William C. Durant on September 16, 1908, as a holding company for Buick. In 1909, GM purchased the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, forming the basis of the General Motors Truck Company, from which the "GMC Truck" brand name was derived. (Rapid was established on December 22, 1901, by Max Grabowsky. The company developed some of the earliest commercial trucks ever designed, and utilized one-cylinder engines.) The Reliance Motor Car Company (another independent manufacturer) was also purchased that same year by GM. Rapid and Reliance were merged in 1911, and in 1912 the marque "GMC Truck" first appeared on vehicles exhibited at the New York International Auto Show. Some 22,000 trucks were produced that year, though GMC's contribution to that total was a mere 372 units. GMC had some currency within GM referring to the corporate parent in general. Later "GMC" would become distinct as a division brand within the corporation, branding trucks and coaches; in contrast, the abbreviation for the overall corporation eventually ended up as "GM".
GMC maintained three manufacturing locations in Pontiac, Michigan, Oakland, California, and Saint Louis, Missouri.
In 1916, a GMC Truck crossed the country from Seattle to New York City in thirty days, and in 1926, a 2-ton GMC truck was driven from New York to San Francisco in five days and 30 minutes. During the Second World War, GMC Truck produced 600,000 trucks for use by the United States Armed Forces.
In 1925, GM purchased a controlling interest in Yellow Coach, a bus manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois which was founded by John D. Hertz. After purchasing the remaining portion in 1943, GM renamed it GM Truck and Coach Division. The Division manufactured interurban coaches until 1980. Transit bus production ended in May 1987. The Canadian plant (in London, Ontario) produced buses from 1962 until July 1987. GM withdrew from the bus and coach market because of increased competition in the late 1970s and 1980s. Rights to the RTS model were sold to Transportation Manufacturing Corporation, while Motor Coach Industries of Canada purchased the Classic design. In 1998, GMC's official branding on vehicles was shortened from "GMC Truck" to simply "GMC".
In 2002, GMC released a book entitled, GMC: The First 100 Years, a complete history of the company.
GMC currently manufactures SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, light-duty trucks, and medium duty trucks. In the past, GMC also produced fire trucks, ambulances, heavy-duty trucks, military vehicles, motorhomes, and transit buses.
Photographs of unidentified GMCs.
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Source: Famous GM Cars
View Famous GM Cars: GMC Trucks - 19.5MB |
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Subject: GMC Fire Truck, 1912
Source: Famous GM Cars Caption: Pride of the fire company in Ipswich, Massachusetts―and many another city and town―was this fire truck built on a 1¼ ton GMC Model V chassis, with a wheelbase of 148 inches and a 4-cylinder GMC engine. Early advertising pointed out that motorized trucks could make twice the speed of horses, knew no fatigue, and cost much less to maintain. View Famous GM Cars: 1912 GMC Fire Truck - 10.2MB |
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Subject: GMC Five-Ton Truck (101-A)
Source: Hand Book of Automobiles, 1919 Edition View GMC Five-Ton Truck (101-A) page of Hand Book of Automobiles, 1919 Edition - 527KB |
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Subject: Horning GMC Engine
Source: Hot Rod and Speedway Comics: Issue 1, February 1952 View Hot Rod and Speedway Comics: Issue 1 - 882KB |
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Subject: Big Charlie's Bait and Tackle Classic GMC
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2013 The Cars Time Forgot View photo of Big Charlie's Classic GMC - 2.9MB |
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Subject: Big Charlie's Bait and Tackle Classic GMC
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2013 The Cars Time Forgot View photo of Big Charlie's Classic GMC - 1.8MB |
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Subject: Big Charlie's Bait and Tackle Classic GMC
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2013 The Cars Time Forgot View photo of Big Charlie's Classic GMC - 3.1MB |
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Subject: Big Charlie's Bait and Tackle Classic GMC
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2013 The Cars Time Forgot View photo of Big Charlie's Classic GMC - 1.8MB |
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Subject: Big Charlie's Bait and Tackle Classic GMC
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2013 The Cars Time Forgot View photo of Big Charlie's Classic GMC - 2.4MB |
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Subject: GMC Tow Truck Scale Model
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: 2010 Attack of the Plastic Model Build Info: Revell kit View photo of GMC Tow Truck Revell Model - 3,702KB |
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Subject: GMC Truck
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: Green Street Cruise Night: 21 July 2014 View photo of GMC Truck - 3.1MB |
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Subject: GMC Truck
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: Green Street Cruise Night: 21 July 2014 View photo of GMC Truck - 3.2MB |
| Date | Document Name & Details | Documents |
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| 15 November 1966 | NHTSA Recall 66V023001 1967 GMC SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Recall Page - 1 page |
| 15 November 1966 | NHTSA Recall 66V023002 1967 GMC POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Recall Page - 1 page |
| 26 January 1967 | NHTSA Recall 67V007002 1967 GMC School Bus STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:HOSE, PIPING, AND CONNECTIONS National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Recall Page - 1 page |
| classified date 1995 | On-scene Investigation / Vehicle to Vehicle 1985 GMC school bus National Highway Traffic Safety Administration |  PDF - 59.4MB - 180 pages |
| Date | Article | Author/Source |
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| 18 January 2006 | The Rapid Vehicle Motor Company | Frank Vanderlugt |
| 23 December 2012 | GMC Diesel Glow Plug Diagnosis | Douglas W. Usherwood |
| 14 April 2016 | SoCal Buick GMC Breaks Digital Agency Ranks, Becomes Fastest Growing Region in the U.S. | Flash Point Communications |
| 6 May 2016 | New at Summit Racing Equipment: Clayton Machine Works Gauge Panels for 1967-72 Chevy/GMC Pickup | Summit Racing Equipment |
| Type & Item # | Name | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Die Cast - Nylint 911-Z | GMC '18-Wheeler' | Large scale, white w/Werner Ladders logos |
| Die Cast - Matchbox V1168-0910 | '57 GMC Pickup | Construction #38, 1:66 scale, white w/"Sam's Deliveries - Bentonville, Arkansas" (Walmart) |
