RAPID MOTORS AND THE GRABOWSKY BROTHERS

Detroit Beginnings

William Grabowsky, a Jewish immigrant from Prussia, arrived in the United States in around 1860. In old IRS tax records for the 1860s he is listed as a “peddler class 3” – a door-todoor peddler – living in the small town of Birmingham, Michigan. By 1870 he and his wife Rosalina had moved to Detroit, where they raised six children – two of whom would make automotive history.

In Detroit, William ran a millinery shop at 170 Michigan Avenue, where he offered “a $5 hat for $4” and “feathers and flowers cheaper than anywhere else in Michigan!” In 1870 his first son, Morris, was born, followed in 1874 by his second son, Max. Both would develop an interest in bicycles, motors and “anything electrical”.

In 1894 Max Grabowsky opened a shop at 380 Woodward Avenue, where he is noted to have worked as a “locksmith, gunsmith, bicycle repairer and doorbell hanger”. It was described as being “a small, but well equipped machine shop”. An advertisement for the business declared: “We are experts and repair anything repairable.” Morris worked as a clerk at the shop at times, but also took on several other jobs during these years including those of post office clerk, travel agent and hardware salesman.

The Grabowsky Motor Vehicle Company

Max’s repair business was successful, but he was interested in more than repairing things – he was interested in designing them. His real passion became gasoline engines and commercial motor cars. He had studied early commercial vehicles, and noted that for the most part they were simply pleasure wagons that had been modified to hold delivery boxes. The wear and tear of business was often too much for these vehicles – and Max Grabowsky was very interested in designing something specifically made for commercial use.

Therefore, in 1900, he and Morris formed the Grabowsky Motor Vehicle Company in Detroit, and began to build a prototype for a commercial ‘truck’. It had a single-cylinder horizontal engine, a two-speed planetary transmission and chain drive, with a seat over the engine. It had a top speed of a whopping 10mph and a carrying capacity of one ton. The brothers finished this first truck in 1901, but upon testing discovered it was under powered.

Not ones to give up, they began building a second truck, this time using a 15hp two-cylinder horizontally opposed engine with a drivetrain similar to that of their first effort. Essentially it was little more than a seat, an engine and a frame. Max described their manufacturing of this vehicle in the following manner:

“We had to start from scratch. We used structural steel, and tested the truck ourselves, then we designed, forged and machined every part of the vehicle in our own shop.”

In 1902 Max and Morris sold this truck to the American Garment Cleaning Company of Detroit, where it was driven for years. It was likely the first gasoline-powered commercial vehicle to be used in Detroit. In 1911 Morris Grabowsky looked back on this early venture and described it for the Detroit Free Press thus:

“Nine years ago in Detroit I sold a motor truck to the proprietor of a carpet-cleaning firm. This may not have been the first motor truck built. There were a lot of people experimenting at the time.”

He continued: “But as far as records show, this truck opened the commercial-vehicle industry. It was anything but an auspicious occasion. The motor was a crude affair. We never were certain in advance whether it would run. People poked fun at it.”

RAPID MOTOR VEHICLE COMPANY: A HUSBAND, A WIFE AND TWO SALOON OWNERS

The same year as the brothers sold their first truck, they reorganized their business and formed the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company. In March 1904, articles of association were filed with Albert Marx, Barney Finn, Max Grabowsky and Celia Grabowsky – Max’s wife – as stockholders.

Later in time, automobile historians would sometimes poke a bit of fun at this particular group of investors, saying that it consisted of a husband, his wife and two saloon owners. Of course, they were correct. Albert Marx and Barney Finn did indeed own a saloon, which was located at 272 Gratiot Avenue in Detroit. In fact, they had been mentioned in the Detroit Free Press in March 1904 after being summoned to police court for failing to close up their saloon at 11:30pm on St. Patrick’s night, which was a city requirement at the time.

The Move To Pontiac

The Rapid Motor Vehicle Company continued to manufacture a variety of commercial vehicles. By 1905 the firm had built 75 trucks, and it was time to expand; the decision was made to move to Pontiac. Investors from the city including Albert G North and Harry G Hamilton, who were partners in the Pontiac Spring and Wagon Works, provided part of the impetus to shift to that locale. Also influencing the move was the ongoing transition from the manufacturing of carriages to that of automobiles, which was occurring there. New company officers were elected, which resulted in North becoming president, Max Grabowsky vice-president and general manager, Hamilton treasurer and Morris Grabowsky secretary.

Equipment was dismantled in the Detroit plant and moved into a section of the threestory Hodges Vehicle Company factory located on Osmun Street east of Saginaw in Pontiac. This business had begun to close out its business in 1904. Interestingly, that same year when the Welch Motor Company moved to Pontiac, it used part of the Hodges factory to build cars before taking over the Clark Wireless Telegraph-Telephone Company building further south on Saginaw.

BUILDING A “LARGE, MODERN, PERFECTLY APPOINTED PLANT”

Rapid Motors quickly outgrew the space at the Hodges Vehicle building, so the company purchased a 20-acre tract of land north of Foot Street between Franklin Street and Saginaw Street in what had become known as ‘The Triangle’, which eventually became the M1 Concourse site. You can read the early story of this area in the previous issue of M1 Momentum

The land was located just southwest of the Hodges Vehicle Company factory. In February 1906 the business moved into what was described as its “commodious, handsome new factory adjoining the railroad tracks”. Production increased, as did the variety of trucks being manufactured. A 1906 Detroit Free Press article on the “Merchants of Saginaw Street” described the company in the following manner:

“The Rapid Motor Vehicle Company builds commercial power wagons exclusively, and has a large, modern, perfectly appointed plant for this purpose. The concern now employs more than 175 men, and its wagons are shipped to all parts of the United States, Yucatan, San Domingo, Cuba and Finland.”

This article continued: “It turns out 500 wagons annually, and in its line claims to produce the best goods on the market in build, workmanship and finish, all parts being made on the premises. It makes four different styles of one-ton delivery wagons, three different styles of one-and-one-half-ton delivery wagons and a wide variety of passenger buses and wagonettes. It uses endless solid-rubber tires on its wagons and is making Pontiac famous for its line, now rapidly coming into favor everywhere.”

The success of these trucks, as well as the great variety in designs and functions, in many ways needs to be attributed to the engineering genius of Max Grabowsky. He was noted for the “boldness and originality of his work”. He was described as “an original designer, not an imitator”, “a mechanical expert” and “a pioneer designer and recognized authority on commercial-vehicle manufacturing”.

TESTING RAPID VEHICLES: ‘TURNING TURTLE’ IN THE CLINTON RIVER

Rapid vehicles were known for their durability, and this was in part due to the testing procedures the company used. In the February 1907 issue of The Motor Way, a Rapid employee described the process:

“We first take a new machine and run it inside for at least 24 hours. The object is to have all parts worn in properly, making the machine run smoothly. Then this machine is put on the road with its actual load, and tested out rigidly over the ordinary country roads, as stated above, with full load. This enables us to determine whether or not it contains any defective material, and such defects as may arise in regard to adjustments and which can be taken care of properly at the time.”

Road testing took place in and around Pontiac. As the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal of 1905 reported: “Pontiac has plenty of hills, plenty of unpaved streets, and quite enough sandy roads where it is hard to push a load, but it also has plenty of room in its busiest places.”

Road testing was not without its incidents, however, as a Detroit Free Press article of May 1907 attested. It described how a Rapid tester was crossing the bridge over the Clinton River just north of Pontiac when the steering rod broke on his truck. The vehicle swerved to the left into the river, ‘turning turtle’ as it landed. The truck was pulled out of the river “with no other break than the steering rod which caused the plunge”.

New Factory Buildings And A Big Change

By February 1907 Rapid was accepting bids for the construction of three new factory buildings: a two-story unit to be used as a woodworking department, a testing house and a dry kiln. That year, however, brought about a major change – the resignation of Max Grabowsky. Harry Hamilton succeeded him as general manager. Morris Grabowsky remained with the firm, continuing his role as secretary. Rapid continued to grow despite Max’s departure, but more big changes were on the horizon. The story of this historic site continues in issue 3.