General Motors' celebrates their 100th Anniversary.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 284,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries.
General Motors is responsible for some of the most striking and memorable automotive designs ever rendered in steel and glass. Corvette. Cutlass. Riviera. GTO. Eldorado. These names represent more than vehicles: They're cultural icons, part of our collective identity as Americans.
Early History
General Motors was founded on Wednesday, September 16, 1908 in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for Buick, then controlled by William C. Durant, and acquired Oldsmobile later that year. The next year, Durant brought in Cadillac, Cartercar, Elmore, Ewing, and Oakland (later known as Pontiac). In 1909, General Motors also acquired the Reliance Motor Truck Company of Owosso, Michigan, and the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan, the predecessors of GMC Truck.
Durant left the firm and helped establish the Chevrolet Motor Company in 1911 with brothers Gaston and Louis Chevrolet.
GM surpassed Ford Motor Company in sales in the late 1920s thanks to the leadership of Alfred Sloan. While Ford continued to refine the manufacturing process to reduce cost, Sloan was inventing new ways of managing a complex worldwide organization, while paying special attention to consumer demands. Car buyers no longer wanted the cheapest and most basic model; they wanted style, power, and prestige, which GM offered them. Thanks to consumer financing, easy monthly payments allowed far more people to buy GM cars, while Ford was moralistically opposed to credit.
Durant left the firm and helped establish the Chevrolet Motor Company in 1911 with brothers Gaston and Louis Chevrolet.
GM surpassed Ford Motor Company in sales in the late 1920s thanks to the leadership of Alfred Sloan. While Ford continued to refine the manufacturing process to reduce cost, Sloan was inventing new ways of managing a complex worldwide organization, while paying special attention to consumer demands. Car buyers no longer wanted the cheapest and most basic model; they wanted style, power, and prestige, which GM offered them. Thanks to consumer financing, easy monthly payments allowed far more people to buy GM cars, while Ford was moralistically opposed to credit.
