Vintage truck models of GMC - the largest factory in the world devoted exclusively to the manufacture of motor trucks

GMC, formally the GMC Division of General Motors LLC, is an American automobile 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 in North America and the Middle East 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.

*U.S. Army Overseas Drive Away; Woodward Ave. 1916.*

*Rapid Motor Vehicle Co. 1-ton Rapid Truck. Model of 1905.*

*Rapid 4 cylinder truck with a driver and two passengers.*

*No. 6 Operated by electric power reliable. Economical and reliable. [At the G.M.C. site]*

*Model V First light duty truck developed by General Motors Truck Co., Pontiac, Mich.*

*Model T-16 B-K-46 Men loading furniture in Keeshin Motor Express Co. Inc. truck.*

*Model T-14 – D-14 Man delivering flowers from Schafers Flowers.*

*Model T 46 B C 42 loading building materials at a construction site.*

*Model T 23 on a bridge with a man towing the car.*

*Model T 18 C – L 49 used for shipping construction materials.*

*Model T 18 B – L 18 used for shipping glass for Cadillac Glass Co.*

*Model T 18 #C G 26 At a Lumber Yard. R.E. Behnke Lumber Co.*

*Model T 16A – G12 Men working from the truck for A.C. Meyers Welding Service.*

*Model T 16 G 40 used by Union Electric , Light and Power Co.*

*Model T 16 BA – F 28 In front of Mantei Sheet Metal Works.*

*Model T 16 B used for shipping potatoes for Zell Potato Co.*

*Model T 16 B – D 16 Men loading groceries from P. Herold & Sons inc. warehouse.*

*Model T 16 B – A 7 Man loading carbonated water tanks.*

*Model T 16 B – A 7 Man loading beer bottles.*

*Model T 16 A G 46 used for shipping wood.*

*Model T 16 – L 8 in front of Stuart Oxygen Co. loading gas cylinders.*

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”.

*Model T 16 – C-6 General Motors Truck, at a gravel pit.*

*Model T 16 – A 7 Men are loading distilled water.*

*Model T 14 B Pick up 15 Men loading furniture for Argentine Furniture.*

*Model T 14 B – F 37 in front of The People’s Dept. Stores.*

*Model T 14 B – F 21 Men are loading hardware.*

*Model T 14 B – D 16 used by Welton Market for shipping groceries.*

*Model KU 5 ton. Motor under-hood, model developed in Owosso, Mich., in 1913.*

*Model K 52, replaced by Model T40, 1925.*

*Model F 18 H G 36 used for shipping paper for Graham Paper Co.*

*Model F 16 C – G 15 used for shipping furniture for Brooks Parlor Furniture Co.*

*Model C-28 at Terry – Gilbride Coal Co. quarry.*

*Model 26 Bevel drive; replacing Model 25, chain drive 1915. [At the loading site of Hall Lumber Company]*

*Model 25 One ton chain drive – 1915. [Fire truck carrying uniformed fire fighters]*

*Model 21 G.M.C. Change from chain to bevel drive. [Dolly Varden Chocolates]*

*Model 16 A.A. Ambulance; standard with U.S. Army 1916-17.*

*Model 15 Bevel gear type. Developed 1915. [In front of Beach & Cloonan Drug store]*

*GMC Model KU 5-ton. Developed in OWO 550 at Reliance Plant, 1913. In front of Roehl Bros. Storage.*

*GM truck filled with soil for landscaping*

*General Motors Truck used for loading sand and gravel by Foley & Beardslee*

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.

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.

Photos: New York Public Library

Old News, Vintage Photos & Nostalgic Stories

Vintage truck models of GMC – the largest factory in the world devoted exclusively to the manufacture of motor trucks