General Motors : Gm Company History

General Motors Corporation (NYE: GM) is the leading American automaker in the world with its operations spanning in 157 countries. The car manufacturer was established in 1908 in Michigan and today it is headquartered in Detroit, the United States of America. Besides the domestic industry of the United States of America, General Motors manufactures cars and trucks in other 30 countries around the world. Among its brand products are Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Hummer, Holden, Opel, Saab, Pontiac, Vauxhall, and Saturn. Besides these brands that are owned by the automaker, GMC also operates joint ventures in China and Japan. That is, Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling

This company was created to challenge the Ford Motor company in the twentieth century. General Motors created automatic transmissions, practical air conditioning, and the very first version self start. These creations gave General Motors the edge over Ford and other car companies at the time. “In the early years, GM's marketers added style and color to cars, putting Henry Ford and his industry-leading Model T's on the defensive” (Woodyard 03).With knowledge and advancement General Motors performed well and gained from it. But in recent years General Motors started to cut corners and build things of a cheaper quality making mistakes. These mistakes and corner cutting created problems for General Motors. It eventually lead to General Motors filing for bankruptcy on June 1st in 2009. General Motors was eventually saved from their bankruptcy but the damage was done. The General Motors plant in Moraine Ohio was shut down causing a lot of people to lose their jobs. The mistakes General Motor made did not just hurt themselves but the people who relied on those jobs. There are people who are now homeless and are struggling. The knowledge General Motors had helped them reach their success but the creators lost sight of their morals. They took the easy route and failed hurting plenty of people destroying hundreds of families and people's

Before the Great Recession of 2009, GM owned a bevy of brands including Chevrolet, GMC, Oldsmobile, Buick, Pontiac, Cadillac, Hummer, and Saturn, including other international brands in Alpheon, Daewoo, Saab, Vauxhall, Opel, Wuling, and Holden. After the recession, bankruptcy, and federal restructuring, the GM United States offerings were left with Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac. GM still has the international automobile companies of Alpheon, Vauxhall, Opel, and Holden, with Daewoo now being a parts subsidiary. But the writing was on the wall as the automotive giant was losing touch with what the American public wanted. Instead of building vehicles the public wanted, GM built vehicles that they wanted to build and thought the public would buy their brand regardless (Boe, Ketler, O 'Keefe, Rubenstein, & Siverio, 2009). But as time marched on, GM became more in debt and grew to be

William Durant founded General Motors on September 16, 1908. He was already a leader in manufacturing horse-drawn carriages, so it was only to be expected that his new company would be a leader in vehicle manufacturing. There was only one company under their name at the beginning, but the company would go on to have Oldsmobile, Chevy, Hummer, Cadillac, Pontiac, and many more. With every vehicle and company they added their philosophy became to have “a car for every purse and purpose.” In 1927, an advancement came that would shape the way we know cars today, the Cadillac LaSalle was released. This car featured curves rather than the sharp edges Ford’s Model T people knew. However, an increase in price and competition led to a downsizing of vehicles in the 60’s and 70’s. They searched for ways to use low to unleaded gasoline in their vehicles. General Motors was the first to offer air bags in the vehicles in 1972. However, as foreign importation began to increase, GM lost their hold on the American market. During the 80’s and 90’s, General Motors focused on expanding their market outside of America. In September of 2015, Volkswagen, a company under General Motors, came out that their cars had violated the Clean Air Act. This scandal caused a loss in investors, which cause their stock price to go down ("General Motors History & Heritage GM.com.”). However, on October 23, the Wall Street Journal

“The mass production techniques Henry Ford championed eventually allowed Ford Motor Company to turn out one Model T every 24 seconds (“Henry Ford”, History.com).” This is a remarkable accomplishment for that time period. This was all made possible by the company owner himself, Henry Ford. Ford revolutionized not only the automobile industry but also the manufacturing industry while contributing to society in countless ways.

In 1910, due to the large amount of acquisitions the company had made, loans were not repaid and bankers ousted founder William Durant from GM. // google_ad_client = "pub-4956733744046268"; /* 468x80 */ google_ad_slot = "6693633725"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 80; // Throughout the years, Chevrolet and GMC trucks have mirrored each other. As the brand developed, so did sales, and when WWII came to be, GMC Truck was a major provider for the U.S. Based on a car-like platform, the GMC Acadia marked the first time since the 1987 Caballero that the marque sold a product not built on a traditional truck frame. When he bought back into GM in 1917, he brought along Chevrolet, which today remains the number one selling brand of GM. In 1912, the first mass produced truck was released and over 22,000 examples were produced and sold. In 1930, the

Chevrolet started in November 3, 1911 in Detroit, Michigan, United States. A swiss race car driver name Louis Chevrolet, also was an automotive engineer, he co-founded the the Chevrolet Motor Company in Detroit with William Durant. Along the years he first production of Chevrolet was the 1914 Royal Mail Roadster and the Baby Grand touring car the prices of these cars about $750 to $1475 and the production was huge for Chevrolet when the first car wearing a the Chevy bowtie logo is the Royal Mail Roadster. On the 23rd, of December in 1915, Chevrolet stockholders increased capitalization by a lot from $20 million dollars to $80 million dollars. Later on in 1919, Alfred Sloan, pick the Chevrolet brand to become the main leader in the General Motors family, selling ordinary cars to compete with Henry Ford’s Model T, and willing to overtake Ford as the best selling car in the United states by 1929.

General Motors is a company that dedicates themselves to earning costumers for life. The main product that General Motor produces is automobiles for the general consumer. GM also has established contracts with the military and other governmental agencies. GM was formed in 1908 as a holding company for Buick. William Crapo "Billy" Durant was the company owner at the time. During the company's early years, Durant went on a shopping spree for automobile manufacturers. That buy-out of 30 other companies came to an end in 1910. Durant had spent so much money that he was unable to hold his position, because banks were now unsure of the company's financial stability. Currently Mary Barra is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of

General Motors Corporation (General Motors or GM) was incorporated on August 11, 2009. Also known as GM, the company designs, builds and sells cars, trucks and automobiles parts globally and headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The company also provides automotive financing services through General Motors Financial Company, Inc. (GM Financial).

In its early years the automobile industry consisted of hundreds of firms, each producing a few models. William Durant, who bought and reorganized a failing Buick Motors in 1904, determined that if several automobile makers would unite, it would increase the protection for the group. He formed the General Motors Company in Flint, Michigan, in 1908.

There are few company names that are associated with Americana more than Chevrolet. From its initial beginnings in 1911, till today, Chevrolet has produced a wide variety of makes and models to meet customers’ expectations and demands. From sporty compact cars to heavy duty pickup trucks, the Chevy brand is known throughout the world. By releasing a wide variety of styles and models, Chevrolet manages to accommodate many different types of car buyers. Cars sold under the Chevy brand name automatically start with certain levels of excellence and popularity. That is one reason why parent company GM produces a wide variety of vehicles under the Chevrolet brand (Ferrell & Hartline, 2014).

The General Motors (GM) Foundation was fashioned in 1976 by its parent company, General Motors, with a purpose to support and strengthen communities across the country. However, in the past year GM has decided to take the foundation in a new direction renaming it GM Philanthropy and Corporate Giving with the transition taking place at the end of the 2016 calendar year (Cain, 2016). The foundation focuses on donating money to projects in the areas of sustainability, STEM education, safety, and to teamGM Cares which is comprised of employees who volunteer in the communities where GM operates (General motors, 2016). “In the last decade alone, the GM Foundation has provided more than $261 million in grants to American charities, educational organizations and disaster relief efforts worldwide,” reports the foundation’s parent company, General Motors (General motors, 2016). All funding for the GM Foundation is provided by General Motors unless in cases where the foundation matches donations given by its employees.

General Motors was founded by William Durant on September 16, 1908. At its inception, GM owned only the Buick Motor Company, but acquired Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Pontiac within ten years of its formation. Demand for automobiles heightened between 1910-1929, allowing General Motors to set the standard for production, design and marketing innovation. GM diversified their selection and opened more than a dozen new plants outside of the United States. In 1927, the head of GM's design studio, Harley Earl, designed the LaSalle which marked the beginning of true automotive design as it was far less boxy than the Ford Model T. "In 1940, former GM President William Knudesen was chosen by President Roosevelt as Chairman

General Motors has always had a reputation of diluted products. They had many vehicle lines with many differend brands. This idea was to offer a product that appealed to many different target markets. They have since simplified their product lines by selling off certain brands. Oldsmobile, Saturn, Saab, Hummer, and Pontiac have been disbanded and the new General Motors is a tighter more organized business as a result. Cadillac and Buick have seen steady growth within their sector and have been marketed very well to date. Cadillac is seen as prestigue symbol and has a larger pricetag than any of the other models. Buick is showing phenominal growth with an introduction of new products that is taking the focus of

One of the most important point of the competition between Ford and General Motors has been their control of the global automobile industry. Both companies have many customers in the United States of America and other parts of the world. This would not be the case had the two companies not been in direct competition with each other. Whenever Ford introduces a new model in the market, General Motors is always quick to do the same (Ford 14). Similarly, the development of new model by the General Motors Company serves a lead for Ford Motor Company to introduce a new brand. This neck to neck fight for the American and global market automobiles has positively affected the special success of both companies. In most cases, companies tend to view competition with understanding that is more or less negative.