GM recently celebrated its 7 millionth truck. Pictured above is its first: a 1902 Rapid 1-ton.General Motors’ Fort Wayne Assembly Plant built its 7 millionth pickup truck this month with the customer who purchased the blue double-cab 2016 Chevrolet Silverado helping with the build.
Lee Adams, owner of Tri-State Compressed Air in Goshen, Ind., ordered the truck for his sales force from Tom Naquin Chevrolet in Elkhart, Ind. According to Naquin, Adams’ company has purchased more than 50 Chevrolet trucks and vans since 1982.
Thad Naquin, Greg Fink and Tracy McDonald from the dealership, and Bedria Purifoy, Chevrolet district sales manager, accompanied Adams to the plant for a tour and a brief time on the line alongside members of UAW Local 2209.
The Dec. 10 production milestone came during a $1.2 billion investment at the facility, where full-size Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks are built.
GM’s Heritage Center website states that their first truck was sold in 1902. The Rapid 1-ton truck, built in Detroit, had only two cylinders, replacing a failed prototype that had been built with only one cylinder.
