The GMC Sierra
vs. Chevrolet
Silverado debate is a friendly rivalry
maintained
by fans of General Motors pickup trucks.
But which brand
built
the first truck? The truth is that the Grawbowski Motor Vehicle
Company was founded for the express purpose of building
professional
trucks and delivery vehicles.
Their mission didn't change when
General Motors
acquired
the
brand.
At
the
time,
Chevrolet only
made passenger
cars.
Ten years later,
GM
sells its
first
Chevrolet truck
Max and
Maurice
Grabowski founded GMC as a truck company in 1900.
Racer
Louis Chevrolet founded
Chevrolet
as
an automobile
company in
1911.
GMC and Chevrolet have a
fascinating and intertwined
history.
The
Grabowski
brothers
had great success
selling trucks and delivery vehicles to
their fleet.
Their business began as
the
Grabowski
Automobile
Company
and was
renamed
the
Rapid
Automobile
Company.
William C.
Durant,
the founder of General
Motors,
envisioned
one company
with multiple brands
serving
multiple demographics
He began buying shares of Rapid in his 1908 and folded it into his GM in 1909.
By 1911, General Motors
had
ousted Durant from
leadership.
Durant was able to grow Chevrolet so quickly that
he regained GM
in 1918 through a reverse
merger that included the
GMC
truck division.