GMC trucks are everywhere, but how much do you really know about the badge on the grille? Years before General Motors stamped “GMC” onto its work trucks, those letters were associated with the Grabowsky Motor Company—one of America’s first truck makers. The Grabowsky brothers rebranded as Rapid Motor Vehicle Company before selling the business to General Motors, which renamed it GMC. Was this an early automotive “Easter egg,” a nod to the company’s legacy? Here’s what we know.

Max and Morris Grabowsky founded their commercial truck company in 1900, later renaming Grabowsky Motor Company to Rapid Motor Vehicle Company. By 1909, General Motors took over the brand. “In 1911, General Motors formed the General Motors Truck Company and folded Rapid and Reliance Motor Car Company into it,” MotorTrend reported. The next year, GM began using the GMC name. “All Rapid and Reliance trucks officially became GMCs,” MotorTrend added.

So GM began badging its trucks “GMC” in 1912. But at this point, the official name of the division was still General Motors Truck Company–and would remain so until 1998. So why not GMTC?

Did General Motors choose GMC as a tribute to the Grabowskys? Was there any brand loyalty to the Grabowsky Motor Company? There’s no proof that GM meant to reference Grabowsky when it renamed its truck division. But we do know is that GMC trucks can trace their roots to the Grabowskys’ first designs.

GMC trucks made history, over and over again

By the time GMC was officially born, the truck brand was already making history. “In 1916, a GMC truck crossed the country from Seattle to New York City in thirty days,” MotorTrend noted. In World War I, GMC supplied 8,512 trucks to the U.S. military. By World War II, that number had jumped to 600,000 trucks built for the war effort.

Meanwhile, General Motors kept evolving the GMC branch. “In 1943, GM purchased the remaining interest in Yellow Truck & Coach and renamed it GMC Truck and Coach Division,” MotorTrend reported. In 1998, GMC dropped “Truck” from its branding altogether. “GMC’s official branding on vehicles was shortened from ‘GMC Truck’ to simply ‘GMC,’” MotorTrend wrote.

Did General Motors bring back the GMC name as a subtle nod to the Grabowsky brothers, or was it just a coincidence? We may never know. What we do know is that GMC trucks wouldn’t exist without pioneers like Max and Morris Grabowsky, who laid the foundation for one of the most recognizable truck brands in the world. So, the next time you see a GMC badge, remember—it might be carrying more history than meets the eye.