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Historical Context

Mack was founded around the turn of the century by three Mack Brothers – Jack, Augustus and William. In 1900, after years of experimenting with wagons, steam cars and electric cars, the brothers introduced their first successful vehicle -- a 40-horsepower, 20-passenger bus. The Mack bus, built for sightseeing concessionaire Harris and McGuire, operated in Brooklyn's Prospect Park for eight years before being converted into a truck. The vehicle racked up a million miles of service, the first in a long line of Mack vehicles to do so. This led to one of Mack’s first advertising slogans... "The first Mack was a bus and the first bus was a Mack."

Mack was one of the first manufacturers to mount a cab directly over the engine, which increased driver visibility and maneuverability, particularly on crowded city streets. The "Manhattan" cab-over-engine model was introduced in 1905.

Gus Mack patented a constant mesh feature that protected gears from being damaged or stripped by inexperienced drivers. His brother, Jack Mack, patented the selective feature that allowed drivers to immediately shift from high to low, and vice versa, without going through intermediate speeds. Other manufacturers incorporated these patented Mack designs into their vehicles for several years.

Mack built rail cars and locomotives from 1905 until 1930. In the period 1951 through 1954, the company built 40 forward control diesel rail cars. Later the company focused on the Mack truck line of vehicles.