The Rapid Vehicle Motor Company

The Rapid Motor Vehicle Company was started in 1902 by Max Grabowski. It was the manufacturer of some of the earliest trucks and was purchased in 1909 by GM. In 1912 the name GMC was first used at the New York Auto Show and in 1996 the suffix Truck was dropped. What most people don't know is that GMC also makes cars. In 1902 Max Grabowski founded a company called the "Rapid Motor Vehicle Company", which developed some of the earliest commercial trucks ever designed. In 1909 the company was bought by General Motors to form the basis of the General Motors Truck Company, from which GMC Truck was made. In 1912 the name "GMC Truck" was first shown at the New York Auto Show. In 1996 GM dropped the word 'truck' from the GMC Truck name, thus creating the GMC name as we know it today. There never was a Grabowski Motor Company or a Grabowski Motor Corp. They now make personal automobiles, as well as pickup truck and bus engines. General Motors Corporation NYSE: GM, also known as GM, is a United States-based automobile maker with worldwide operations and brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab, and Vauxhall Chevrolet and GMC divisions produce trucks, as well as passenger vehicles. Other brands include ACDelco, Allison Transmission, and General Motors Electro-Motive Division that produces diesel-electric locomotives. GM also has stakes in Isuzu, Subaru, and Suzuki in Japan and a joint venture with AutoVAZ (Lada) in Russia. In December 2003, it acquired Delta in South Africa, in which it had taken a 45 percent stake in 1997, and which is now a fully-owned subsidiary, General Motors South Africa. GM's headquarters are in the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan. General Motors is the world's largest vehicle manufacturer and employs over 340,000 people. In 2001, GM sold 8.5 million vehicles through all its branches. In 2002, GM sold 15 percent of all cars and trucks in the world. They also owned Electronic Data Systems from 1984 to 1996 which is a former Ross Perot company and, prior to selling it to News Corporation, DirecTV. GM owned Frigidaire from 1918 to 1979. The current chairman (since May 1, 2003) and chief executive officer (since June 1, 2000) is Rick Wagoner, succeeding John F. Smith, Jr. General Motors is selling its 20 percent stake in Fuji Heavy Industries, the parent of Subaru, in a deal that could raise more than $700 million as per news released on October 6, 2005. Also, General Motors Canada auto workers voted on Sunday to ratify a new contract that will lay off 1,000 workers over the next three years, the Canadian Auto Workers and GM said. General Motors lost 2.5 billion dollars last year, and would have made a profit if it was not saddled with 6 billion dollars in health costs. The UAW and GM are now reaching agreement to reduce this health cost by about 1 billion dollars annually.

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