Rapid Motor Vehicle Company
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The Rapid Motor Vehicle Company was founded in 1902 in Pontiac, Michigan, by brothers Max (1874-1946) and Morris Grabowsky, whose earlier venture, Grabowsky Motor Company, had been founded in Detroit in 1900. They went on to build one-ton trucks and were the beginning of
GMC Truck GMC (formerly the General Motors Truck Company (1911–1943), or the GMC Truck & Coach Division (1943–1998)) is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that primarily focuses on trucks and utility vehicles. GMC cu ...
division after they were acquired by General Motors in 1909.


History

In 1905 Rapid built a new assembly plant at 25 Rapid Street abutting the
Grand Trunk Western Railroad The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company is an American subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding ...
tracks on the south side of Pontiac, Michigan. The Rapid Street Plant 1 was the nucleus of what would become the
Pontiac West Assembly Pontiac West Assembly (also known as GMC Truck & Coach, GM Truck Validation Center and Pontiac Centerpoint Campus Validation Center) was a General Motors manufacturing facility located in Pontiac, Michigan. The manufacturing complex occupied an ir ...
complex. Rapid was the "first truck to conquer
Pikes Peak Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The town of Manitou S ...
" in a 1909 road race.


General Motors Era

General Motors Company The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years bef ...
was founded by
William C. Durant William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each s ...
in 1908. Durant began acquiring the stock of Rapid Motor Vehicle Company in 1908 and in 1909 had a controlling interest. Rapid Motor Vehicle Company became a subsidiary of General Motors in 1909. In 1911 the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company ceased to exist when General Motors Truck Company was created and all of General Motors truck subsidiaries were absorbed in to the new business unit. In 1912 the Rapid brand name was discontinued in favor of GMC.


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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapid Motor (Automobile) 1900s cars Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1902 1902 establishments in Michigan Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1909 Veteran vehicles GMC (automobile) 1909 disestablishments in Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan Defunct truck manufacturers of the United States