Reliance Motor Car Company
Written by Bill Bowman
The second ancestral branch of the GMC Truck business was the Reliance Motor Car Company, which was started in Detroit in 1902. They built a 22 horsepower car with a 2 cylinder opposed engine. The chassis was then fitted with various commercial bodies.
A 16 hp passenger car was also built. In 1907, the passenger car portion of the business was sold to the Cresent Motor Company and Reliance then concentrated on the truck end of the business. The1907 3-ton model, like the Carter car, had a friction drive that was invented by O.W. Davis and built in Rochester, New York.
William Durant purchased the company in 1908 through his newly formed General Motors Company. It was then reorganized and moved to Owosso, Michigan after the city put up $30,000 towards the move. Trucks were produced there beginning in 1909 and marketed by Reliance Motor Truck Company. As a result of a merger between Rapid (the first branch of GMC) and Reliance, the General Motors Truck Company was organized as a sales company for Rapid and Reliance trucks.
The GMC name was used as early as January, 1912 and a copyright was granted in September, 1912. The name was changed to GMC in 1913 and has been used ever since.
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