Ten Little Known Facts About GMC

Jan 17
09:02

2012

Jessica Harmon

Jessica Harmon

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This article looks at several little known facts about the GMC company. We learn some of GMC's history and the beginning of GMC!

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GMC has a rich history in America as one of the first vehicle brands under the General Motors label. Though there is lots to know about GMC,Ten Little Known Facts About GMC Articles many customers don’t know the first thing about the brand’s history and achievements. GMC is the second largest brand under the General Motors portfolio and there are lots of interesting facts about the GMC brand.

GMC did not start out as its own company! In 1912 three motor vehicle companies merged together- Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, Reliance, and Randolph- to create the GMC name. And since the company was created with this merge in the year 1912, that means that GMC will be turning 100 this year!

In 1909 one of the vehicles from these predecessor companies, the Rapid F-406-B, became the first truck to reach the 14,110-foot summit of Pikes Peak. This marked GMC as a brand that would be known for setting records, such as how they have recently been marked as the first company to develop the front and center airbag.

GMC is a subdivision of General Motors which means that its sales are usually grouped in with General Motors’ sales. But if we were to look at GMC’s sales by themselves, GMC would be the tenth-largest auto maker in the United States alone. That is according to the GMC vehicle sales records between January and November of last year.

Most people think that the idea of an electric car is a new concept. People assume that electric cars became a concept when people started becoming more environmentally conscious and going green. But that’s actually not so! GMC built some of the world’s first electric vehicles between 1912-1917.

Most people also think that for a car to be a luxury vehicle it has to be expensive and everyone wants one. But overall the GMC luxury Denali currently is outselling not only individual vehicles, but the entire lineup of several premium auto manufacturers. Land Rover, Jaguar, and Porsche are on the list of vehicles that are outsold by the Denali.

On the subject of the Denali, it is actually one of the fastest growing lines in the United States. Gmc and Denali both have had rapid increases in sales recently, with each earning twenty two and ninety one percent year over year sales gains, respectively.

In 1936 the United States started what they called the Parade of Progress. During the parade vehicles would pass featuring the most recent advancements in modern technology such as microwave ovens and television sets. GMC was given the honor of providing the vehicles for the parade, using their vans for the 1936 parade and then using their Futurliners line for 1941 parade.

During World War II, GMC was given another great honor by the United States. GMC was tasked with manufacturing around five hundred eighty four thousand military vehicles. The vehicles that GMC produced for the army were the CCK W-353 “Deuce-and-a-Half” and the “Duck” vehicle.

The GMC Sierra is the top selling model for GMC. The Sierra outsold the Toyota Tundra and the Nissan Titan both combined in 2011. They even came out ahead by forty thousand vehicles sold between the first eleven months of 2011.

In the seventies GMC branched into trying out the sale of motor homes in twenty three and twenty six foot lengths. These vehicles became popular enough that they were even purchased for set design of several great films such as the 1981 Bill Murray movie Stripes as well as 1996’s famous blockbuster Twister!