History of Product Names & Trademarks: Greyhound Bus

About the history and origins of famous product names and trademarks, in this case Greyhound Bus.

GREYHOUND BUS In 1914, Carl Eric Wickman, a miner, was trying to sell the Hupmobile, a 7-passenger auto, to citizens of the Mesabi Iron Ore Range in Minnesota. A failure as a salesman, Wickman used the Hupmobile to open a bus line, carrying passengers between the towns of Hibbing and Alice, a 2-mi. journey. The bus was so popular that Wickman bought more autos and added 3 extra seats to each one. The long, sleek appearance of the "expanded" buses plus their gray color caused someone to remark that they looked "just like greyhounds streaking by." From then on, Wickman used the slogan, "Ride the Greyhounds."