General Motors

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Type: Public
On the web: http://www.gm.com
Employees: 207,000
Employee growth: 2.5%

General Motors (GM), the world's largest auto manufacturer, makes cars and trucks, with brands such as Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC. GM also builds cars through its GM Daewoo, Opel, Vauxhall, and Holden units. Financing and insurance activities are conducted by Ally Financial (formerly known as GMAC), of which GM owns about a 10% stake. Throughout its financial woes, GM has received billions of dollars in loans from the Canadian and US governments, negotiated concessions with labor unions, and jettisoned brands. The auto giant went through a six-week bankruptcy protection in 2009; it issued an initial public offering and returned to the stock market in 2010.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2011:
Sales: $150,276.0M
One year growth: 10.8%
Net income: $9,190.0M
Income growth: 48.9%

Officers:
Chairman and CEO: Daniel F. (Dan) Akerson
SVP and CFO: Daniel (Dan) Ammann
Vice Chairman, Corporate Strategy, Business Development, Global Product Planning, Global Purchasing, and Supply Chain: Stephen J. (Steve) Girsky

Competitors:
Chrysler
Ford Motor
Toyota

Incorporated:1916
NAIC:336111 Automobile Manufacturing; 336112 Light Truck and Utility Vehicle Manufacturing; 336211 Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing; 336350 Motor Vehicle Transmission and Power Train Parts Manufacturing; 336510 Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing; 421110 Automobile and Other Motor Vehicle Wholesalers; 441110 New Car Dealers; 522220 Sales Financing; 522291 Consumer Lending; 522292 Real Estate Credit; 524126 Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Carriers; 532112 Passenger Cars Leasing

General Motors Corporation (GM) is the world's largest full-line vehicle manufacturer and marketer. Its arsenal of brands includes Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Saturn, Hummer, and Saab. Opel, Vauxhall, and Holden comprise GM's international nameplates. Through its system of global alliances, GM holds stakes in Isuzu Motors Ltd., Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corporation, Fiat Auto, and GM Daewoo Auto & Technology. Other principal businesses include General Motors Acceptance Corporation and its subsidiaries, providers of financing and insurance to GM customers and dealers. In the early 2000s, struggling under the weight of escalating healthcare and pension costs, GM sought to shed some of its less profitable activities. Toward that end, among other moves, the company sold its stake in Hughes Electronics, phased out production of the Oldsmobile, and discontinued the Chevrolet Camero and Pontiac Firebird. Facing a tough economic climate, GM has nevertheless retained its position as the world's leading automaker.

The beginning of General Motors Corporation can be traced back to 1892, when R.E. Olds collected all of his savings to convert his father's naval and industrial engine factory into the Olds Motor Vehicle Company to build horseless carriages. For several years, however, the Oldsmobile (as the product came to be known) did not get beyond the experimental stage. In 1895 the first model, a four-seater with a petrol engine that could produce five horsepower and reach 18.6 mph, went for its trial run.

Olds proved himself not only an innovative engineer but also a good businessman and was very successful with his first model, of which relatively few were built. As a result of his success, he founded the first American factory in Detroit devoted exclusively to the production of automobiles. The first car was a luxury model costing $1,200, but the second model was introduced at a list price of $650 and was very successful. At the turn of the century, Olds had sold more than 1,400 cars.

Also during this time, the Cadillac Automobile Company was established in Detroit, founded by Henry Leland, who built car engines with experience gained in the Oldsmobile factory, where he worked until 1901. By the end of 1902 the first Cadillac had been produced--a car distinguished by its luxurious finish. In the following year, tiller steering was replaced by the steering wheel, the reduction gearbox was introduced, and some cars were fitted with celluloid windscreens. Oldsmobile also reached its projected target of manufacturing 4,000 cars in one year. A third player, engineer David Buick, founded his own factory in Detroit during this time as well.

By 1903, a time of market instability, so many different manufacturers were operating that the financially weakest disappeared and some of the remaining companies were forced to form a consortium. William Durant, a director of the Buick Motor Company, was the man behind the merger. The nephew of a Michigan governor, and a self-made millionaire, Durant believed that the only way for the automobile companies to operate at a profit was to avoid the duplication that occurred when many firms manufactured the same product. General Motors Corporation was thus formed, bringing together Oldsmobile and Buick in 1903, and joined by Cadillac and Oakland (renamed Pontiac) in 1909. Positive financial results were immediately seen from the merger, although the establishment of the company drew little attention.

Other early members of the GM family were Ewing, Marquette, Welch, Scripps-Booth, Sheridan, and Elmore, together with Rapid and Reliance trucks. GM's other U.S. automotive division, Chevrolet, became part of the corporation in 1918. Only Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Oakland continued making cars for more than a short time after their acquisition by GM. By 1920 more than 30 companies had been acquired through the purchase of all or part of their stock. Two were forerunners of major GM subsidiaries, the McLaughlin Motor Company of Canada (which later became General Motors of Canada Limited) and the Fisher Body Company, in which GM initially acquired a 60 percent interest.

By 1911 the company set up a central staff of specialists to coordinate work in the various units and factories. An experimental or "testing" laboratory also was established to serve as an additional protection against costly factory mistakes. GM's system of administration, research, and development became one of the largest and most complex in private industry.

About the same time that GM was establishing itself in Detroit, an engineering breakthrough was taking place in Dayton, Ohio: the electric self-starter, designed by Charles F. Kettering. GM introduced Kettering's invention in its 1912 Cadillacs, and with the phasing out of the dangerous and unpredictable hand crank, motoring became much more popular. Kettering's Dayton Engineering Laboratories were merged into GM during 1920 and the laboratories were relocated in Detroit in 1925. Kettering later became the scientific director of GM, in charge of its research and engineering programs.

During World War I GM turned its facilities to the production of war materials. With no previous experience in manufacturing military hardware, the U.S. automobile industry completed a retooling from civilian to war production within 18 months. Between 1917 and 1919, 90 percent of GM's truck production was for the war effort. Cadillac supplied army staff cars, V-8 engines for artillery tractors, and trench mortar shells, while Buick built Liberty airplane motors, tanks, trucks, ambulances, and automotive parts.

It was at this time that Alfred Sloan, Jr., who went on to guide GM as president and chairman until 1956, first became associated with the company. In 24 years, Sloan had built a $50,000 investment in the Hyatt Roller Bearing Company to assets of about $3.5 million. When Hyatt became part of GM, Sloan joined the corporate management, becoming president in 1923. Overseas expansion soon commenced, with the 1925 purchase of U.K. automaker Vauxhall Motors and the 1931 acquisition of Germany's Adam Opel.

GM suffered greatly under the effects of the Great Depression, but it emerged with a new, aggressive management. Coordinated policy control replaced the undirected efforts of the prior years. As its principal architect, Sloan was credited with creating not only an organization that saved GM, but a new management policy that was adopted by countless other businesses. Fundamentally, the policy involved coordination of the enterprise under top management, direction of policy through top-level committees, and delegation of operational responsibility throughout the organization. Within this framework management staffs conducted analysis of market trends, advised policy committees, and coordinated administration. For a company comprised of many varied divisions, such a system of organization was crucial to its success.

By 1941 GM accounted for 44 percent of the total U.S. automotive sales, compared with 12 percent in 1921. In preparation for America's entry into World War II, GM retooled its factories. After Japan struck at Pearl Harbor in 1941, the industrial skills that GM had developed were applied with great effectiveness. From 1940 to 1945 the company produced defense material valued at a total of $12.3 billion. Decentralized and highly flexible local managerial responsibility made possible the almost overnight conversion from civilian production to wartime production. GM's contribution included the manufacture of every conceivable product from the smallest ball bearing to large tanks, naval ships, fighting planes, bombers, guns, cannons, and projectiles. The company manufactured 1,300 airplanes and one-fourth of all U.S. aircraft engines.

Car manufacturing resumed after the war, and postwar expansion resulted in increased production. The decade of the 1950s was characterized by automotive sales records and innovations in styling and engineering. The public interest in automatic gears convinced GM to concentrate their research in this field; by 1950, all of the models built in the United States were available with an automatic gearbox. Car body developments proceeded at the same time and resulted in better sight lines and improved aerodynamics.

During the Korean war, part of the company's production capacity was diverted into providing supplies for the United Nations forces (although to a smaller extent than during World War II). The reallocation reached 19 percent and then leveled off at about 5 percent from 1956 onward. Between 1951 and 1955 the five divisions of GM--Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac--all began to feature a new V-8 engine with a higher compression ratio. Furthermore, the electrical supply was changed from six to the more reliable 12 volts. Power-assisted steering and brakes appeared on all car models and the window dimensions were increased to further enhance visibility. Interior comfort was improved by the installation of the first air conditioning systems. Also during this period GM completely redesigned its classic sedans and introduced front seat safety belts.

The period between 1950 and 1956 was particularly prosperous in the United States, with a rise in demand for a second car in the family. Americans, however, were beginning to show real interest in smaller European cars. By 1956, a year of decreasing sales, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler Corporation, and GM had lost some 15 percent in sales while imports were virtually doubling their market penetration. The longer Detroit's automobiles grew, the more popular imports became. In 1957 the United States imported more cars than it exported, and despite a recession, imports accounted for more than 8 percent of U.S. car sales. Although GM promised that help was on its way in the form of smaller compact cars, the new models failed to generate much excitement; the company's market share slipped to just 42 percent of 1959's new car sales.

The 1960s were difficult years in Detroit. The 1967 riot in the neighborhoods surrounding GM's facilities forced management to recognize the urban poverty that had for so long been in their midst, and they began to employ more workers from minority groups. Much of the new hiring was made possible by the expansionist policies of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. GM prospered and diversified; its interests now included home appliances, insurance, locomotives, electronics, ball bearings, banking, and financing. By the late 1960s after-tax profits for the industry in general reached a 13 percent return on investment, and GM's return increased from 16.5 percent to 25.8 percent.

Like the rest of the industry, GM had ignored, in large part, the importance of air pollution control. However, new, costly federal regulations were mandated, and GM had to invest in developing devices to control pollution. By the early 1970s, this issue was temporarily overshadowed by the impact of the oil embargo. GM's luxury, gas-guzzling car sales were down by 35 percent in 1974, but the company's compacts and subcompacts rose steadily to attain a 40 percent market share. Ford, Chrysler, and GM had been caught unaware by a vast shift in consumer demand, and GM suffered the greatest losses. The company spent $2.25 billion in 1974 and 1975 to meet local, state, and federal regulations on pollution control. By the end of 1977 that figure had doubled.

Under the leadership of President F. James McDonald and Chairman Roger Smith, GM reported earnings declines from 1985 to 1992. The only respite came from an accounting change in 1987, which effected an earnings increase. McDonald and Smith attempted to place these losses in perspective by arguing that they were necessary if GM was to develop a strong and secure position on the worldwide market. Since the start of the 1980s, GM had spent more than $60 billion redesigning most of its cars and modernizing the plants that produce them. The company also acquired two major corporations, Hughes Aircraft, in 1986, and Electronic Data Systems (EDS), in 1984. Though expensive, the EDS purchase provided GM with better, more centralized communications and backup systems, as well as a vital profit center. GM also purchased a 50 percent stake in Saab Automobile AB, a Swedish maker of premium cars, in 1990. That same year Saturn Corporation was created as a subsidiary to produce compact cars in a Japanese-influenced factory in Tennessee; Saturns became popular because of their quality and the no-haggle method employed to sell them.

GM's market share dropped steadily from 1982 to 1992. In 1987 Ford's profits exceeded GM's for the first time in 60 years. From 1990 to 1992, the corporation suffered successive and devastating annual losses totaling almost $30 billion. Problems were myriad. Manufacturing costs exceeded competitors' due to high labor costs, overcapacity, and complicated production procedures. GM faced competition from 25 companies, and its market share fell from almost 50 percent to about 35 percent.

In 1992 Jack Smith, Jr., advanced to GM's chief executive office. He had earned respect as the engineer of GM Europe's late 1980s turnaround, and he quickly applied those strategies to the parent, focusing on North American Operations (NAO). During 1993, Smith simplified the NAO, cut the corporate staff, pared product offerings, and began to divest GM's parts operations. He was also hailed for his negotiations with the United Auto Workers (UAW). In 1993 he pledged $3.9 billion in jobless benefits, which raised the blue-collar payroll costs about 16 percent over three years. At the same time the contract gave Smith the ability to cut 65,000 blue-collar jobs by 1996 in conjunction with the closure of nearly 24 plants. Salaried positions were not exempted from Smith's job-cutting plan; staffing at the corporate central office was slashed from 13,500 to 2,300 in 1992.

In the early 1990s GM began to recapture the automotive vanguard from Japanese carmakers, with entries in the van, truck, and utility vehicle markets and the launch of Saturn. GM also gained an advantage in the domestic market because the weak dollar caused the price of imported cars to increase much faster than domestics. Market conditions along with Smith's strategies effected a stunning reversal in 1993, when GM recorded net income of $2.47 billion on sales of $138.22 billion. Riding the booming economy, the company recorded record profits of $6.88 billion on record sales of $163.86 billion in 1995. Despite the improved financial performance, GM's share of the U.S. car market continued its steady decline, falling to slightly more than 31 percent by 1995. The company's North American operations continued to be criticized by observers for its inability to produce innovative models, the glacial speed of its new product development, and the inefficiencies inherent in running six separate car divisions and a GMC truck division.

The mid-to-late 1990s saw a number of important initiatives in GM's non-automaking operations. In 1994 the renamed Hughes Electronics unit introduced Direct TV, a satellite-based direct-to-home broadcast service. The 1995 sale of the company's National Car Rental business was followed by the spinoff of EDS the following year. One year later, Hughes Electronics was revamped through the sale of its defense electronics operations to Raytheon Company and the merging of its automotive electronics activities (Delco Electronics) into GM's auto parts subsidiary, Delphi Automotive Systems. Hughes began concentrating on digital entertainment, information, and communications services and made a key acquisition in 1999 when it paid $1.3 billion for the direct-to-home satellite business of Primestar. In early 2000 Hughes would make a further divestment of a then noncore unit, selling its satellite manufacturing operations to the Boeing Company for about $3.75 billion. Delphi, meanwhile, would be completely separated from GM through a May 1999 spinoff to shareholders.

GM remained profitable through the end of the decade, but its U.S. market share dipped below 30 percent by 1999; at times GM's share was less than that of the combined share of all Asian automakers, an unprecedented development. While continuing to attempt to reverse the now three-decades-long fall, GM began looking for future growth from Asia, where early 21st-century growth in car sales was expected to surpass both North America and Europe. Instead of attempting to directly sell its own models, GM began assembling a network of alliances with key Asian automakers for its push into that emerging continent, aiming to increase its market share across Asia from its late 1990s level of 4 to 10 percent by 2005. The company already had a 34 percent stake in Isuzu Motors Ltd., which it had bought in 1971, and a 3 percent stake in Suzuki Motor Corporation, obtained in 1981. In 1998 GM increased its stake in Suzuki to 10 percent and agreed to build cars with the Japanese automaker. The following year GM increased its stake in Isuzu to 49 percent; acquired a 20 percent stake in Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., maker of Subaru all-wheel-drive vehicles; and entered into an alliance with Honda Motor Co., Ltd. involving Honda producing low-emissions gasoline engines for GM and Isuzu producing diesel engines for Honda.

In May 2000 GM, Fuji, and Suzuki agreed to develop compact cars for the European market. Another deal involving Europe was reached in early 2000, when GM agreed to acquire a 20 percent stake in the Fiat Auto S.p.A. unit of Fiat S.p.A., the number six automaker in the world, in exchange for Fiat taking a 5.1 percent stake in GM. Through this deal, GM aimed to grab a larger share of the market for the small vehicles popular in Europe and Latin America but shunned in the United States. In mid-2000 GM and Fiat jointly bid to acquire troubled South Korean carmaker Daewoo Motor Company but were outbid by Ford. Also in 2000, GM acquired the 50 percent of Saab Automobile that it did not already own.

Closer to home, GM began building a factory in Lansing, Michigan, its first new plant in 15 years. In another key early 2000 development, the company agreed to join with DaimlerChrysler AG and Ford to create an Internet-based global business-to-business supplier exchange, Covisint LLC, that would be open to all suppliers and automakers. This would create the world's largest virtual marketplace. Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) quickly opened a preliminary antitrust inquiry into the plan, clearance was eventually gained and the Covisint venture went forward.

In June 2000 G. Richard Wagoner was promoted from president to CEO, with Smith remaining chairman. At the age of 47, Wagoner became the youngest CEO in GM history and faced the daunting task of running what was still considered by many observers to be an excessively bureaucratic and overly complex organization, which was extremely resistant to change and seemingly unable to anticipate most market trends.

The focus on strengthening its foothold in the Asian market continued into 2001. Ford suddenly announced that it was dropping its offer for Daewoo, leaving GM wide open to relaunch its bid. Negotiations began that year and were finalized in 2002. GM ended up acquiring a majority interest in Daewoo Motor, renaming it GM Daewoo Auto & Technology. At the same time, the company purchased an additional 10 percent of Suzuki, increasing its stake to 20 percent, and signed a deal with AvtoVAZ to build sports utility vehicles (SUVs) for the Russian market.

GM chalked up a solid performance during this period. While its competitors struggled with recalls, and quality and merger integration issues, the automaker appeared to have overcome the problems of its past. An April 2002 Fortune article noted that "some of what's driving GM is very basic: improvements in quality and productivity, the pruning of unprofitable vehicles, and frankly, weakness at its crosstown rivals Ford and Chrysler." GM's market share rose in 2001 and by early 2002 had reached 30.9 percent in the U.S. market. Chevrolet had also started to outsell Ford. This was due in part to the successful zero percent financing plans it introduced after the terrorist attacks in September 2001. The financing plan was advertised under the "Keep America Rolling" slogan. Sales of GM cars increased by 31 percent one month after its launch.

The company did face one major hurdle however--its $76 billion pension fund. Deals struck with the UAW in past years left GM forced to pay out costly health and retirement benefits. The company was the largest purchaser of health care in the United States, spending nearly $5 billion on healthcare alone in 2003. Word spread quickly that GM's pension fund was underfunded by nearly $18 billion at the start of 2003. The company was able to generate cash for the fund by selling off its Hughes Electronics stake to News Corporation in 2003 for approximately $3.1 billion. It also jettisoned its armored vehicles business in a $1.1 billion deal. The sale of its noncore assets, global debt offerings, and income from its automotive operations allowed to the company to fully fund its U.S. salaried and hourly employee pension plans by the end of 2003. Its automotive earnings, however, felt the crunch. Overall, the company's net income for 2003 reached $3.8 billion. The majority of earnings stemmed from its GMAC and Asian operations.

Smith retired in May 2003, leaving Wagoner at the helm. GM's management team continued to focus on controlling costs while phasing out car lines--including Oldsmobile, the Camero, and the Firebird--and launching such new products as the Cadillac CTS, the Hummer H2, and the Opel Vectra in Europe. GM faced a challenging road ahead. Rising healthcare costs, intense competition, and having to shore up its North American auto sales were just some of its obstacles. GM was, however, in the top position in its industry and was no stranger to adversity.

Principal Subsidiaries

General Motors Acceptance Corporation; General Motors Investment Management Corporation; GMAC Commercial Finance LLC; Saturn Corporation; Holden, Ltd. (Australia); General Motors do Brasil Ltda. (Brazil); General Motors of Canada, Ltd.; Adam Opel AG (Germany); General Motors de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.; Saab Automobile AB (Sweden); Saab Cars Holding Corporation; Vauxhall Motors Limited (United Kingdom).

Principal Operating Units

GM Automotive; Financing and Insurance Operations.

Principal Competitors

AmeriCredit Corporation; Bayerische Motoren Werke AG; Credit Acceptance Corporation; DaimlerChrysler AG; Ford Motor Company; Ford Motor Credit Company; General Electric Capital Corporation; General Electric Company; Honda Motor Co., Ltd.; Hyundai Motor Company; Mazda Motor Corporation; Mitsubishi Motors Corporation; Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.; PSA Peugeot Citron S.A.; Renault S.A.; Suzuki Motor Corporation; Toyota Motor Corporation; Volkswagen AG.

Further Reading

Bary, Andrew, "How to Fix GM," Barron's, July 5, 1999, pp. 18-19.

Cray, Ed, Chrome Colossus: General Motors and Its Time, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.

Dassbach, Carl H.A., Global Enterprises and the World Economy: Ford, General Motors, and IBM; the Emergence of the Transnational Enterprise, New York: Garland, 1989.

De Lorean, John Z., On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors, London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1980.

Geyelin, Milo, "Lasting Impact: How an Internal Memo Written 26 Years Ago Is Costing GM Dearly," Wall Street Journal, September 29, 1999, pp. A1+.

Hamper, Ben, Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line, New York: Warner Books, 1992.

Jacobs, Timothy, A History of General Motors, New York: Smithmark, 1992.

Keller, Maryann, Collision: GM, Toyota, Volkswagen, and the Race to Own the 21st Century, New York: Currency Doubleday, 1993.

------, Rude Awakening: General Motors in the 1980s, New York: Morrow, 1989.

------, Rude Awakening: The Rise, Fall and Struggle for Recovery of General Motors, New York: HarperCollins, 1990.

Kerwin, Kathleen, "For GM, Once Again, Little Ventured, Little Gained," Business Week, March 27, 2000, pp. 42-43.

Kerwin, Kathleen, and Joann Muller, "Reviving GM," Business Week, February 1, 1999, pp. 114+.

Kuhn, Arthur J., GM Passes Ford, 1918-1938: Designing the General Motors Performance-Control System, University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1986.

Madsen, Axel, The Deal Maker: How William C. Durant Made General Motors, New York: Wiley, 1999.

May, George S., R.E. Olds, Auto Industry Pioneer, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1977.

Meredith, Robyn, "Can GM Return to the Passing Lane?," New York Times, November 7, 1999, Sec. 3, p. 1.

Miller, Scott, "Open No Quick Fix for GM's 'Mr. Fix It'," Wall Street Journal, June 13, 2000, p. A22.

Osterland, Andrew, "Al and Me: Why General Motors Will Finally Get Serious About Downsizing," Financial World, December 16, 1996, pp. 39-41.

Palmer, Jay, "Reviving GM," Barron's, June 22, 1998, pp. 31-35.

Pollack, Andrew, "Paper Trail GM After It Loses Injury Suit," New York Times, July 12, 1999, p. A12.

Ramsey, Douglas K., The Corporate Warriors: Six Classic Cases in American Business, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987.

"Rick Wagoner's Game Plan," Business Week, February 10, 2003, p. 52.

Rothschild, Emma, Paradise Lost: The Decline of the Auto-Industrial Age, New York: Random House, 1973.

Shirouzu, Norihiko, "GM Cracks Japan's Market with Its Wallet, Not Its Cars: Network of Alliances Aids Asia Expansion by Filling Gaps in Product Line," Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2000, p. A17.

Simison, Robert L., Fara Warner, and Gregory L. White, "Big Three Car Makers Plan Net Exchange," Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2000, pp. A3, A16.

Simison, Robert L., Gregory L. White, and Deborah Ball, "GM's Linkup with Fiat Opens Final Act of Consolidation Drama for Industry," Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2000, pp. A3, A8.

Sloan, Alfred, Jr., My Years with General Motors, New York: Doubleday, 1964.

Smith, Roger B., Building on 75 Years of Excellence: The General Motors Story, New York: Newcomen Society of the United States, 1984.

Taylor, Alex, III, "Finally GM is Looking Good," Fortune, April 1, 2002, p. 68.

------, "GM's $11 Billion Turnaround," Fortune, October 17, 1994, pp. 54-56+.

------, "GM Gets Its Act Together," Fortune, April 5, 2004, p. 136.

------, "GM: Some Gain, Much Pain," Fortune, May 29, 1995, pp. 78-80, 84.

------, "GM: Time to Get in Gear," Fortune, April 28, 1997, pp. 94-96+.

------, "GM: Why They Might Break Up America's Biggest Company," Fortune, April 29, 1996, pp. 78-82, 84.

------, "Is Jack Smith the Man to Fix GM?," Fortune, August 3, 1998, pp. 86+.

Weisberger, Bernard A., The Dream Maker: William C. Durant, Founder of General Motors, Boston: Little Brown, 1979.

Welch, David, "Has GM Outrun its Pension Problems?," Business Week, January 19, 2004, p. 70.

White, Gregory L., "As GM Courts the Net, Struggling Saturn Line Exposes Rusty Spots," Wall Street Journal, July 11, 2000, pp. A1, A10.

Zachary, Katherine, "Shopping Spree: GM Plunks Down Hard Cash to Add Strength in Asia," Ward's Auto World, February 29, 2000.

Zesiger, Sue, "GM's Big Decision: Status Quo," Fortune, February 21, 2000, pp. 101-02, 104.

— April Dougal Gasbarre

Under the leadership of William C. Durant, General Motors (GM) was formed from a number of earlier automobile manufacturing initiatives in the United States. These included the Olds Motor Vehicle Company (established 1897), the Cadillac Automobile Company (established 1902), the Buick Automobile Company(established 1903), the Oakland Motor Car Company(established 1907, later Pontiac Motor), and the Chevrolet Motor Company (established 1911). This diverse constituency was reflected in the company's devolved design policy with the different divisions designing, manufacturing, and styling under different brand names. Fundamental in the long-term success of the company was the election in 1923 of Alfred P. Sloan as GM president and chairman of its Executive Committee in 1923. This appointment, one that he held until 1956, was important in establishing GM as a serious rival to the Ford Motor Company, with Sloan's stated strategy of ‘a car for every purse and purpose’ (1924) instrumental in this. Equally significant was the appointment of Harley Earl as chief stylist to the company in 1925, who also enjoyed long-term employment at the company until 1959. One of Earl's first significant design projects was the 1927 Cadillac La Salle with its flowing lines, the first mass-production model worked on by a stylist. In the same year Earl became the first head of GM's Art and Colour Section which, a decade later, became the Styling Section (later retitled Design Staff in 1972 and Design Center in 1992). Another Harley Earl design of note in the interwar years was the Buick Roadmaster of 1936. In the following year Earl produced the first of GM's ‘concept’ or ‘Dream Cars’, the Buick Y Job. Long and low, with elegant chrome detailing and electric windows it gave the public a dramatic vision of GM cars of the future. The importance of styling and the annual model change was reflected in the growth of the Section, building from a staff of 50 in 1927 to more than 1,000 in the late 1950s. GM divisions were also responsible for innovations other than styling, including the introduction of synchromesh gears by Cadillac in 1928 followed by shatterproof safety glass in 1929. In the following year the Cadillac V-16 became the first production car with a sixteen-cylinder engine, setting new standards for power and performance. Further safety considerations were also informed by GM's introduction of impact and rollover tests in 1934. The interwar years also saw considerable expansion of the company into overseas markets, commencing in 1923 when GM established its first European assembly plant in Copenhagen, Denmark. Manufacturing operations commenced in South America in 1925, in Australia in 1926, in Japan in 1927, in India in 1928, and in 1929 GM acquired the Adam Opel automobile manufacturing company in Germany. The ambitions of General Motors by the end of the 1930s were epitomized by the corporation's striking Highways and Horizons exhibit at the New York World's Fair of 1939-40. Housed in a dramatic, streamlined building by architect Albert Kahn. Visitors were taken around the central display of Norman Bel Geddes's dramatic Futurama on a moving travelator, giving them a vision—with full commentary—of the landscape of the United States in 1960, as if seen from a low flying aircraft. The dramatic futuristic metropolis of 1960, the highpoint of the exhibit, was characterized by large skyscrapers and multi-laned highways with streamlined cars and commercial vehicles. Emphasizing how important motor transportation was to this corporate glimpse of the future, visitors to the GM Pavilion emerged from the travelator onto a full-scale rendering of a 1960 street intersection where traffic and pedestrians operated on different levels.

After the Second World War the visual symbolism of progressive technology, accompanied by a meta-language of scientific allusion, built on the futuristic visions portrayed by large-scale corporations at the New York World's Fair. Such ideas were introduced to the public by terms such as Hydra-matic (the first completely automatic shift transmission first introduced on Oldsmobile models of 1940), Dynaflow (the automatic transmission introduced by Buick in 1948), and Powerglide (introduced by Chevrolet in 1950). In the same period Cadillac and Oldsmobile introduced their high-compression V-8 engine, including the Oldsmobile Rocket, which went into production in 1948, commencing the ‘Rocket’ fever that gripped the stylists of the automobile industry over succeeding years. Harley Earl's styling of the chrome detailing and tail fins of the 1948 Cadillac derived from the P-38 Lightning bomber plane, features that were given fuller expression in other production models and a series of ‘Dream Cars’ or ‘Cars of the Future’ over the following decade. This was seen in the dramatic tail fins of the long, low Harley Earl-styled Buick Le Sabre of 1951 and a number of the futuristic ‘Dream Cars’ seen at the General Motors Motorama shows staged by GM between 1949 and 1961. These included the XP 21 Firebird experimental gas turbine car (1954), the Firebird II and the ‘Highway of Tomorrow’ (1956), and the Firebird III (1959). Something of this progressive vocabulary was also visible in the styling of the Chevrolet Corvette sports car, which was put into volume production in 1953 as a counter to the growing number of sports cars being imported to the United States from Europe (11,000 in 1952).

General Motors had many other manufacturing interests, including aviation, railways, and domestic appliances. The latter were embraced by the Frigidaire Division, which mounted a series of promotional events for ‘space age’ kitchens that paralleled the futuristic aspects of the Motoramas. Entitled ‘Kitchens of Tomorrow’, these shows commenced in 1956 with complete room settings designed by GM Styling and built by the H. B. Stubbs Company.

With Earl's retirement from GM as vice-president in 1959, until 1977 Bill Mitchell played an important role in redefining the appearance of the corporation's automobiles, moving away from the extravagant styling and conspicuous consumption that had characterized American cars of the 1950s. He was more sympathetic to the more compact forms of European models that influenced the aesthetic of the 1959 Chevrolet Corvair. Subsequent figures of importance to design and styling at GM included Irvin W. Rybicki, Charles Jordan, and Wayne Cherry, the Advanced Concepts Center being established in 1983.See also Mitchell, William.

General Motors is a worldwide corporation that produces everything from microchips to locomotives. William Crapo Durant of Flint, Michigan and a small group of investors formed the General Motors Company (GM)16 September 1908 in Trenton, New Jersey. Durant, who already owned Buick Motor Company, bought small car and parts manufacturers and incorporated them into GM. Among Durant's first acquisitions were Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Oakland (Pontiac). By 1920 GM had purchased more than 30 companies. After World War I GM experienced a decline so severe Durant resigned his post as president. In 1923 the Board of Directors elected Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. president (10 May 1923–3 May 1937)and Chairman of the Executive Committee (3 May 1937–2 April 1956). Sloan, whose Hyatt Roller Bearing Company joined GM in 1919, utilized creative management techniques that made GM the largest car and truck manufacturer in the world. Under Sloan's leadership, GM developed a number of firsts including independent front wheel suspension and the automatic transmission. While GM participated in all U. S. war efforts, its most dramatic contribution was during World War II. From 1942 through the end of the war, GM's plants stopped all non-military production. Producing ball bearings to bombers, GM was responsible for 13,000 planes and a fourth of the engines produced for all planes. In all, GM produced 12. 3 billion dollars worth of military materials. After the war GM experienced its share of the postwar boom, and by the sixties and seventies it was taking advantage of new technologies to make cars more efficient and safe even before government regulations went into effect. During the oil crisis of the 1970s GM experienced a decline in sales but responded by designing lighter and more economical autos. During the 1980s and 90s, GM continued to expand and opened plants in Germany, Brazil, Thailand, and Spain. In order to compete with an expanding import market GM developed Saturn located in Spring Hill, Tennessee, in 1990 and in 1996 it developed its own version of the electric car. GM has also been involved in various humanitarian projects such as a housing project with Habitat for Humanity for its employees in Mexico and the "Care and Share" program to collect food.

Bibliography

Cray, Ed. Chrome Colossus: General Motors and its Times. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1980.

Madsen, Axel. Deal Maker: How William C. Durant Made General Motors. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1999.

Smith, Roger B. Building on 75 Years of Excellence: The General Motors Story. New York: The Newcomen Society of the United States, 1984.

—Lisa A. Ennis

General Motors Company

Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: GM TSX: GMM.U
Industry	Automotive
Founded	September 16, 1908
Founder(s)	William C. Durant
Headquarters	Renaissance Center Detroit, Michigan United States
Number of locations	156 facilities on six continents[1]
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Daniel F. Akerson, Chairman and CEO
Products	Automobiles Financial Services
Revenue	US$ 150.28 billion (2011)[2]
Operating income	US$ 9.287 billion (2011)[2]
Net income	US$ 7.585 billion (2011)[2]
Total assets	US$ 144.60 billion (2011)[2]
Total equity	US$ 38.99 billion (2011)[2]
Employees	207,000 (2012)[1]
Divisions	Chevrolet Buick Cadillac GMC
Subsidiaries	General Motors India ACDelco GM Components Holdings LLC OnStar Adam Opel AG GM Holden Ltd GM Financial GM Korea General Motors do Brasil Vauxhall Motors
Website	www.gm.com

General Motors Company (NYSE: GM, TSX: GMM.U), commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated (until 2009) as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's largest automaker, by vehicle unit sales, in 2011.^[3]

GM employs 202,000 people^[1] and does business in some 157 countries. General Motors produces cars and trucks in 31 countries, and sells and services these vehicles through the following divisions/brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Opel, Vauxhall, and Holden, as well as two joint ventures in China, Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile. GM's OnStar subsidiary provides vehicle safety, security and information services.

In 2009, the company emerged from a government backed Chapter 11 reorganization. In 2010, GM made an initial public offering that was one of the world's top 5 largest IPOs to date. GM has reported significant profits, posting a record annual profit in 2011.^[4]

On 17 May 2012, General Motors announced plans to move much of its Vauxhall Motors production to the United Kingdom. The company announced it would invest £125 million in the Ellsemere Port factory and spend about £1bn in the UK component sector.^[5]

Contents 1 Corporate governance 1.1 Financial results 2 World presence 2.1 North America 2.2 Asia 2.3 Africa 3 Motorsport 4 Research and development 5 Small car sales 6 Environmental initiatives 6.1 Hybrid electric vehicles 6.2 All-electric vehicles 6.3 Battery packs for electric vehicles 6.4 Hydrogen initiative 6.5 Flexible-fuel vehicles 7 History 7.1 Chapter 11 reorganization 8 Brand reorganization 8.1 Discontinued brands 8.2 Former subsidiaries 8.3 Former affiliates 8.4 Spin-offs 9 Philanthropy 9.1 General Motors Foundation 10 See also 10.1 People 10.2 Industry associations 10.3 Competitions 10.4 Lists 10.5 Category 11 References 12 Books cited 13 Further reading 14 External links

Corporate governance

Based on global sales, General Motors is currently the world's no. 1 automaker. Headquartered at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, GM employs approximately 202,000 people around the world. In 2009, General Motors sold 6.5 million cars and trucks globally. Much of General Motors' recent growth has been in the People's Republic of China, where its sales rose 66.9 percent in 2009, selling 1,830,000 vehicles and accounting for 13.4 percent of the market.^[6]

Calendar Year	U.S. sales	Chg/yr.
1998[7]	4,603,991
1999	5,017,150	9.0%
2000[8]	4,953,163	1.3%
2001	4,904,015	1.0%
2002	4,858,705	0.9%
2003	4,756,403	2.1%
2004[9]	4,707,416	1.0%
2005	4,517,730	4.0%
2006[10]	4,124,645	8.7%
2007	3,866,620	6.3%
2008[11]	2,980,688	22.9%
2009[12]	2,084,492	30.1%
2010[13]	2,215,227	6.3%
2011[14]	2,503,820	13.7%

On July 23, 2009, GM announced its new Board of Directors: Dan Akerson, David Bonderman, Robert D. Krebs, Patricia F. Russo and Ed Whitacre (GM Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer). Board members who are not GM employees will be paid US$200,000 annually.^[15]

Executive management:^[16]

• Daniel Akerson – Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of the Board of Directors
• Daniel Ammann – Chief Financial Officer
• Stephen J. Girsky – GM Vice Chairman, Corporate Strategy, Business Development, Global Product Planning and Global Purchasing and Supply Chain
• Mark Reuss – President, GM North America
• Karl-Friedrich Stracke^[17] – President, GM Europe; CEO, Adam Opel AG
• Timothy E. Lee – President, GM International Operations (Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa, and Middle East)
• Mary Barra – Senior Vice President of Global Product Development^[18]
• Edward T. Welburn – Vice President of Global Design for GM^[19]

As part of the company's advertising, Ed Whitacre announced the company's 60-day money-back guarantee and repayment of $6.7 billion loan from government ahead of schedule.^[20] On August 12, 2010 GM announced that Whitacre would relinquish the CEO position effective September 1, 2010 and that of Chairman of the Board at the end of the year, to be replaced in those functions by current board member Dan Akerson.^[21] From June 2009 to March 2011, the company had three chief executive officers and three chief financial officers.^[22]

Financial results

The company has reported annual profits since 2010. It can carry forward previous losses to reduce tax liability on future earnings. It earned $4.7 billion in 2010. The Wall Street Journal estimated the tax break, including credits for costs related to pensions and other expenses can be worth as much as $45 billion over the next 20 years.^[23]

In 2010, General Motors ranked second on the list with 8.5 million units produced globally.^[24] In 2011, GM returned to the first place with 9.025 million units sold worldwide, corresponding to 11.9% market share of the global motor vehicle industry. The top two markets in 2011 were the United States, with 2,503,820 vehicles sold, and China, with 2,547,203 units. The Chevrolet brand was the main contributor to GM performance, with 4.76 million vehicles sold around the world in 2011, a global sales record.^[25]

As of January, 2012, the US government's Troubled Asset Relief Program had about $25 billion invested in GM. Break even for the government was figured at $53.98 v. the then-current share price of about $25.^[26]

World presence

North America

GM World Headquarters in Detroit

GM products focus primarily on its four core divisions – Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC.^[27][28]

GM worldwide 2008 vehicle sales[29] (thousands)
Rank in GM	Location	Vehicle sales	Market share (%)
1	United States	2,981	22.1%
2	China	1,095	12.0%
3	Brazil	549	19.5%
4	United Kingdom	384	15.4%
5	Canada	359	21.4%
6	Russia	338	11.1%
7	Germany	300	8.8%
8	Mexico	212	19.8%
9	Australia	133	13.1%
10	South Korea	117	9.7%
11	France	114	4.4%
12	Spain	107	7.8%
13	Argentina	95	15.5%
14	Venezuela	91	33.3%
15	Colombia	80	36.3%
16	India	66	4.4%

In the mid 2005, GM announced that its corporate chrome power emblem "Mark of Excellence" would begin appearing on all recently introduced and all-new 2006 model vehicles produced and sold in North America. However, in 2009 the "New GM" reversed this, saying that emphasis on its four core divisions would downplay the GM logo.^[30]

Asia

The company manufactures most of its China market vehicles locally through Shanghai GM, a joint venture with the Chinese company SAIC Motor, which was created on March 25, 1997. The Shanghai GM plant was officially opened on December 15, 1998, when the first Chinese-built Buick came off the assembly line. The SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile joint-venture is also successfully selling microvans under the Wuling marque (34 percent owned by GM).

The Buick brand is especially strong in China, led by the Buick Excelle subcompact. The last emperor of China owned a Buick.^[31] The Cadillac brand was introduced in China in 2004, starting with exports to China. GM pushed the marketing of the Chevrolet brand in China in 2005 as well, transferring Buick Sail to that marque.

GM also maintains a dealership presence in Japan, called GM Chevrolet Shop, previously known as GM Auto World Shop. Current GM Japan dealerships were either former Saturn dealerships or Isuzu dealership locations. GM products are also sold by the company Yanase, Ltd.

In August 2009 the joint venture of FAW GM Light Duty Commercial Vehicle Co Ltd was formed that mainly produces Jiefang light-duty trucks.^[32]

General Motors vehicle sales in China rose 28.8 percent to a record 2,351,610 units in 2010.^[33] GM set up an auto research center as part of a USD250 million corporate campus in Shanghai to develop 'gasoline-hybrid cars, electric vehicles and alternative fuels, engines and new technologies'.^[34] The company plans to double its sales from 2010 to about 5 million units in China by 2015.^[35]

SAIC-GM-Wuling established the low-cost Baojun brand to better compete with domestic rivals, Chery, Geely and BYD for first-time buyers of cars priced around USD10,000. It is estimated that such market in China is about 5 million vehicles a year, larger than the auto market in France and Britain combined. However, some are worried that 'local brands like Baojun could eventually become threats to their parent brands if they compete more against established models over time'. Shanghai-GM-Wuling sold 1.23 million vehicles in 2010, mainly commercial vans and trucks, of which about 700,000 units were a van called Sunshine.^[36]

In August 2011, GM announced plans to build a plant in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia,which would produce 40,000 passenger cars per year for the Southeast Asian market. It is the third plant in Southeast Asia, after the Rayong plant, Thailand and the Hanoi plant, Vietnam.^[37]

In October 2011, President Obama, in a joint appearance at a GM plant in Michigan, said that the recently approved South Korea Free Trade Agreement would open up the South Korean auto market to American made cars.^[38]

Africa

General Motors has a long history in Egypt which began in the 1920s with the assembling of cars and light pickup trucks for the local market. In the mid of the 1950s, GM withdrew from the Egyptian market. Some year later, the Ghabbour Brothers began to assemble Cadillac, Chevrolet and Buick models up to the 1990s.

Since 1983 GM and Al-Monsour Automotive Company has founded the General Motors Egypt which is currently the only manufacturer of traditional GM branded vehicles in Egypt. The Speranza Motors is a big company which started in the 1990s with the SKD assembling of Daewoo cars. Today the main products of Speranza are from the Chinese Chery concern.

GM began operating in South Africa in 1913 through its wholly owned subsidiary, General Motors South Africa. Following the passage of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act in 1986, GM was forced to divest from South Africa, and GMSA became the independent Delta Motor Corporation. GM purchased a 49% stake in Delta in 1997 following the end of apartheid, and acquired the remaining 51% in 2004, reverting the company to its original name.

Another manufacturing base of the GM for the African markets is the Industries Mécaniques Maghrébines headquartered in Kairouan, Tunisia which assembles Isuzu and Mazda models for the Maghreb region.

General Motors East Africa (GMEA) located in Nairobi, Kenya assembles a wide range of Isuzu trucks and buses including the popular Isuzu N-Series versatile light commercial vehicle, TF Series pick-ups and Isuzu bus chassis. Formed in 1975, GMEA's facility is the largest assembler of commercial vehicles in the region exporting to East and Central African countries including Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Rwanda and Burundi. In addition to assembly, GMEA also markets the Chevrolet products Spark and Optra.

In the 1920s Miller Brothers Nigeria was founded as an importer of commercial vehicles of the Bedford brand into the country. In 1949, the company opened its own assembly plant and operated under the name Niger/Nigeria Motors. In 1965 the plant and its distribution network was split into different companies and renamed as Federated Motors Industries. In 1991 the company was taken in by a joint venture between General Motors and UACN of Nigeria.

Motorsport

2008 Chevrolet Impala driven by NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson

GM has participated over the years in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), 24 Hours of Le Mans, NASCAR, SCCA, and many other world venues.

Chevrolet Cruze in the WTCC

Corvette Racing Team in the American Le Mans Series

GM's engines were highy successful in the Indy Racing League (IRL) throughout the 1990s, winning many races in the small V-8 class. GM has also done much work in the development of electronics for GM auto racing. An unmodified Aurora V-8 in the Aerotech, captured 47 world records, including the record for speed endurance in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Recently, the Cadillac V-Series has entered motorsports racing.

GM has also used many cars in the American racing series NASCAR. Currently the Chevrolet Impala is the only entry in the series but in the past the Pontiac Grand Prix, Buick Regal, Oldsmobile Cutlass, Chevrolet Lumina, Chevrolet Malibu, and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo were also used. GM has won a total of 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series manufacturer's championships, including 34 with Chevrolet, the most of any make in NASCAR history, 3 with Oldsmobile, 2 with Buick, and 1 with Pontiac. GM leads all other automobile manufacturers in races won in NASCAR's premier series at 1,011. Chevrolet leads individual makes with 677 wins.

In Australia, there is the V8 Supercar Championship which is battled out by the two main rivals of (GM) Holden and Ford. The current Holden Racing Team cars are based on the Holden Commodore and run a 5.0-litre V8-cylinder engine producing 635 bhp (474 kW). These cars have a top speed of 298 km/h (185 mph) and run 0–100 km/h in 3.8 seconds. The Holden Racing Team is Australia's most successful team in Australian Touring Car History. In 2006 & 2007, the Drivers championship was won by the very closely linked HSV Dealer Team.

Research and development

Research and development (R&D) at General Motors began organically as the continuation of such R&D as the various divisions (e.g., Cadillac, Buick, Olds, Oakland) were already doing for themselves before the merger. Its character was entirely empirical; it was whatever key people in each company had been competent enough to organize and pursue.

Charles F. Kettering's Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (Delco), at Dayton, Ohio, was still an independent firm at this time. Its work was well known to GM central management through its relationship as a supplier and consultancy to Cadillac and Buick.

In 1916, Durant organized the United Motors Corporation as an amalgamation of parts suppliers, supplying GM and other OEMs but independent of GM.^[39] Alfred P. Sloan, head of the newly acquired Hyatt Roller Bearing Corporation, became United Motors' CEO. United Motors acquired Delco, and Kettering began his association with Sloan. United Motors also acquired at this time the original Remy corporation^[39] (called the Remy Electric Company), a competitor of Delco. In 1918 General Motors bought United Motors.^[39] Various entities grew out of the original Delco and Remy, including the Dayton Metal Products Corporation, the General Motors Research Corporation, the Delco Division and Remy Electric Division of GM, Delco Remy (now Remy International, Inc.), ACDelco, Delco Electronics, and others. Today's main successor corporation is Delphi Automotive, which nowadays is an independent parent corporation.

The General Motors Research Corporation, at Dayton under Kettering, became a true automotive research center. During the next few decades it led the development of:

• many electrical-appliance features for cars and trucks
• tetraethyllead and its widespread use as a gasoline additive (recognized today as a bad idea environmentally, but a technological wonder of its day)
• dichlorodifluoromethane refrigerant for HVAC and refrigeration applications (Freon, R-12; recognized today as a bad idea environmentally [being a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)], but a technological wonder of its day)
• commercially practical two-stroke diesel engines
• better transmissions for track-laying vehicles
• many other advancements

Although GM R&D (as it is known in colloquial shorthand) began as an organization largely built around one extraordinary man (Kettering), it eventually evolved into a more modern organization whose path is shaped by individuals but not dominated entirely by any of them. World War II was a turning point wherein military affairs, after mingling with the technologies of applied science for some 80 years, first started to become fundamentally reinvented by them. Civilian life, too, changed in this direction. By the 1950s, corporations such as GM and many others were facing a new era of R&D, different from earlier ones. Less about genius inventors and individual inventions, and more about organizational progress and integrated systems, it raised new questions about where the capital for R&D would come from in an era of limitless demand for R&D (although not necessarily for production). Alfred Sloan, longtime CEO of GM (1920s to 1960s), discussed in his memoir (also considered a seminal management treatise) the relationships between government, academia, and private industry in the areas of basic science and applied science, in light of this new era.^[40] The views he laid out reflected (and influenced) wide consensus on these relationships that persists largely to today.

Today, GM R&D, headquartered in Warren, Michigan, is a network of six laboratories, six science offices, and collaborative relationships in over twelve countries including working relationships with universities, government groups, suppliers, and other partners from across the globe.

Small car sales

Chevrolet Aveo Concept, later went into production as the Chevy Sonic

From the 1920s onward, General Motors always maintained an internal dialog about what its economy-car and small-car policies should be.^[41][42] The economy and size considerations often naturally overlapped, although a strong distinction was always drawn in the 20th century between policies for the U.S. market and policies for other markets. Economy (in some form) always had good demand anywhere, but its definition in the U.S. was long considered different from that in other markets. In this view, "economy" in the U.S. did not mean "small" in the sense of what qualified as "small" outside the U.S. The policy discussion often focused on topics like the higher demand for truly small cars in non-U.S. markets than in the U.S., and whether it made more sense to import a car into a certain country or to build it domestically within that country, either as some variant of knockdown or with truly extensive domestic sourcing.^[41] GM's acquisitions of Vauxhall Motors Ltd (UK, 1925)^[41] and Adam Opel AG (Germany, 1929),^[41] rather than starting new domestic companies to compete against them, were based on analyses that convinced GM managers that acquiring an existing domestic manufacturer was a better business decision.^[41]

Although GM since the 1920s has always offered economy models in the U.S. market (relative to that market's definition in any given decade), and had done research and development in the 1940s and 1950s in preparation for any potential rise of strong demand for truly small cars in the U.S. market,^[42] it has also been criticized over the decades for not doing enough to promote fuel efficiency in the U.S. market in the 1970s through 1990s. GM's response has been that it has always responded to market demands, and that most Americans, despite anything they said to the contrary, did not actually demand (at purchasing-decision time) small size or fuel efficiency in their vehicles to any great or lasting extent. Although some U.S. consumers flocked temporarily to the ideal of fuel economy whenever fuel supply crises arose (such as 1973 and 1979), they flocked equally enthusiastically to SUVs when cheap fuel of the 1980s and 1990s temporarily shielded them from any downside to these choices.

Since the return of high fuel prices in the 2000s and 2010s, GM's interest in [truly-]small-car programs for the U.S. market has been renewed. As part of General Motors Company development, it plans to revive one of its idled U.S. factories for the production of a small car in Orion, Michigan, with the creation of 1,200 American jobs. This will be the first time ever that a large manufacturer produces a supermini vehicle in the United States. The new small car will add to a group of small and fuel-efficient vehicles that the company is planning to roll out in the near future. This retooled plant will be capable of building 160,000 cars annually, including both small and compact vehicles.^[43]

Environmental initiatives

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in electric vehicle.

General Motors is one of the leading users in renewable energy. The company has published principles regarding the environment and maintains an extensive website to inform the public. In 2008, General Motors committed to engineering half of its manufacturing plants to be landfill-free. In order to achieve its landfill-free status, production waste is recycled or reused in the manufacturing process.

The world's largest rooftop solar power installation was installed at General Motors Spanish Zaragoza Manufacturing Plant in fall 2008. The Zaragoza solar installation has about 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m²) of roof at the plant and contains about 85,000 solar panels. The installation was created, owned and operated by Veolia Environment and Clairvoyant Energy, who lease the rooftop area from General Motors. ^[44][45][46] In 2011, the company also invested $7.5 million in solar-panel provider Sunlogics, which will install solar panels on GM facilities.^[47]

The company has long worked on alternative-technology vehicles, and has led the industry with ethanol-burning flexible-fuel vehicles that can run on either E85 (ethanol) or gasoline. The company was the first to use turbochargers and was an early proponent of V6 engines in the 1960s, but quickly lost interest as the muscle car race took hold. They demonstrated^[48] gas turbine vehicles powered by kerosene, an area of interest throughout the industry, but abandoned the alternative engine configuration in view of the 1973 oil crisis. In the 1970s and 1980s, GM pushed the benefits of diesel engines and cylinder deactivation technologies with disastrous results due to poor durability in the Oldsmobile diesels and drivability issues in the Cadillac V8-6-4 variable-cylinder engines. In 1987, GM, in conjunction with AeroVironment, built the Sunraycer, which won the inaugural World Solar Challenge and was a showcase of advanced technology. Much of the technology from Sunraycer found its way into the Impact prototype electric vehicle (also built by Aerovironment) and was the predecessor to the General Motors EV1.

GM supported a compromise version of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard increase from 27 mpg_-US (8.7 L/100 km; 32 mpg_-imp) to 35 mpg_-US (6.7 L/100 km; 42 mpg_-imp), the first such increase in over 20 years.^[49] GM announced they will introduce more Volt-based plug-in hybrids.

Hybrid electric vehicles

Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid

In May 2004, GM delivered the world's first full-sized hybrid pickups, the 1/2-ton Silverado/Sierra. These mild hybrids did not use electrical energy for propulsion, like GM's later designs. In 2005, the Opel Astra diesel Hybrid concept vehicle was introduced. The 2006 Saturn Vue Green Line was the first hybrid passenger vehicle from GM and is also a mild design. GM has hinted at new hybrid technologies to be employed that will be optimized for higher speeds in freeway driving.

GM currently offers the 2-mode hybrid system used by the Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon/Cadillac Escalade, and GM 1/2 half-ton pickups and will later be used on other vehicles.^[50]

GM introduced the Chevrolet Volt in 2010, an electric vehicle with back-up generators powered by gasoline. The production Chevrolet Volt was available in late 2010 as a 2011 model with limited availability.^[51] GM delivered the first Volt during December 2010.

The GM Magic Bus is a hybrid-powered bus.^[52]

All-electric vehicles

Further information: Who Killed the Electric Car?#Batteries

General Motors was the first company (in the modern era) to release an all-electric automobile. In 1990, GM debuted the "Impact" concept car at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It was the first car with zero-emissions marketed in the US in over three decades. The Impact was eventually produced as the EV1 for the 1996 model year. It was available through dealers located in only a few regions (e.g., California, Arizona, Georgia). Vehicles were leased, rather than sold, to individuals. In 1999 GM decided to cease production of the vehicles. When the individual leases had expired, they declined to renew the leases or allow the lessors to purchase them. All of the EV1s were eventually returned to General Motors and, with the exception of a few which were donated to museums, all were destroyed. The documentary film Who Killed the Electric Car? covered the EV1 story.

The EV1's cancellation had disappointed supporters of electric vehicles. In 2010, GM debuted the Chevrolet Volt, an electric vehicle with back-up generators powered by gasoline. General Motors has announced that it is building a prototype two-seat electric vehicle with Segway. An early prototype of the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility vehicle—dubbed Project P.U.M.A. – will be shown off in New York a day ahead of the press previews for the 2009 New York International Auto Show.^{[53][dated info]}

Battery packs for electric vehicles

GM builds battery packs in southern Michigan.^[51] GM also established an automotive battery laboratory in Michigan.^[54] GM will be responsible for battery management systems and power electronics, thermal management, as well as the pack assembly. An existing GM facility at Brownstown Township was chosen to be upgraded as battery pack plant.^[51] LG Chem's U.S. subsidiary, Compact Power of Troy, Michigan, has been building the prototype packs for the development vehicles and will continue to provide integration support and act as a liaison for the program.

Hydrogen initiative

Sequel, a fuel cell-powered vehicle from GM

GM has prided its research and prototype development of hydrogen powered vehicles,^[51] to be produced in early 2010, using a support infrastructure still in a prototype state. The economic feasibility of the technically challenging hydrogen car, and the low-cost production of hydrogen to fuel it, has also been discussed by other automobile manufacturers such as Ford and Chrysler.

In June 2007, Larry Burns, vice president of research and development, said he's not yet willing to say exactly when hydrogen vehicles will be mass produced, but he said it should happen before 2020, the year many experts have predicted. He said "I sure would be disappointed if we weren't there" before 2020.^[55]

Flexible-fuel vehicles

GM produces several flexible-fuel vehicles that can operate on E85 ethanol fuel or gasoline, or any blend of both. Since 2006 GM started featuring a bright yellow gas cap to remind drivers of the E85 capabilities,^{[56][57][58][59]} and also using badging with the text "Flexfuel/E85 Ethanol" to clearly mark the car as an E85 FFV.^[60][61]

GM is the leader in E85 flex fuel vehicles, with over 3 million FlexFuel vehicles on the road in the U.S. As of 2009, GM offers 18 ethanol-enabled FlexFuel cars and trucks in the US, and produces more than one million new FlexFuel vehicles. GM's goal is to have half of their annual vehicle production be E85 or biodiesel capable by 2012.^[62]

History

Main article: History of General Motors

The company was founded on September 16, 1908, in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for Buick, then controlled by William C. Durant.^[63] At the turn of the 20th century there were fewer than 8,000 automobiles in America and Durant had become a leading manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in Flint, MI, before making his foray into the automotive industry.^[64] GM's co-founder was Charles Stewart Mott, whose carriage company was merged into Buick prior to GM's creation. Over the years Mott became the largest single stockholder in GM and spent his life with his Mott Foundation which has benefited the city of Flint, his adopted home. It acquired Oldsmobile later that year. In 1909, Durant brought in Cadillac, Elmore, Oakland and several others. Also in 1909, GM acquired the Reliance Motor Truck Company of Owosso, Michigan, and the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan, the predecessors of GMC Truck. Durant lost control of GM in 1910 to a bankers' trust, because of the large amount of debt taken on in its acquisitions coupled with a collapse in new vehicle sales.

The longest-lived continuous automobile nameplate still in production is the Chevrolet Suburban

The next year, Durant started the Chevrolet Motor Car Company and through this he secretly purchased a controlling interest in GM. Durant took back control of the company after one of the most dramatic proxy wars in American business history. Durant then reorganized General Motors Company into General Motors Corporation in 1916. Shortly after, he again lost control, this time for good, after the new vehicle market collapsed. Alfred P. Sloan was picked to take charge of the corporation and led it to its post-war global dominance. This unprecedented growth of GM would last into the early 1980s when it employed 349,000 workers and operated 150 assembly plants.

GM led global sales for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007, longer than any other automaker. In 2008, 2009, and 2010, GM has ranked as the second largest global automaker by sales. GM is expected to retake the number one spot at the end of 2011 from Toyota.^{[65][dead link]}

Chapter 11 reorganization

Main article: General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization

On July 10, 2009, with financing partially provided by the US Government, General Motors emerged from reorganization. GM was re-listed on the NYSE on November 18, 2010, setting the record for the largest IPO in US history with a value of $20.1 billion.^[66] This company was formed by the United States government with a 60.8% stake, the federal government of Canada and provincial government of Ontario with a 11.7% stake, the United and Canadian Auto Workers unions VEBA fund^[67] with a 17.5% stake, and the unsecured bondholders of General Motors with a 10% stake.^[68] Before the IPO, the U.S. government owned a 27% stake in GM, and the Canadian government still owns a 12% stake in the company. The Ontario government has owned a 3.8% stake in the company since 2009.

GM had filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on June 8, 2009. Only the US Subsidiary was forced into bankruptcy. Shareholders were left without access to assets from GM owned assets in Asia or Europe. On July 10, 2009, General Motors emerged from Chapter 11 reorganization.^[69][70][71] The Company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange again on November 18, 2010 following a US$33-a-share initial public offering of US$23 billion, including preferred shares. The shareholding in the Company by the U.S. Treasury department is reduced from about 61% to about 33%, including preferred shares and accounting for stock options given to former GM bondholders.^[72][73] Disposal of such shares gave the Treasury department about US$13.6 billion in proceeds. It was previously estimated that the Treasury would have to sell GM shares at an average of $43.67 a share to break even. SAIC Motor, partner of GM in China and India, acquired just less than 1 percent of the GM shares for about $500 million.^[74][75] (Prior to chapter 11, the former GM stock hit a high of $93.63 on April 28, 2000.).

Brand reorganization

As part of the company reorganization, the content and the structure of its brand portfolio (its brand architecture) was reorganized.^[76] Some nameplates like Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn, Hummer, and service brands like Goodwrench were discontinued. Others, like SAAB, were sold.^[77] The practice of putting the "GM Mark of Excellence" on every car, no matter what the brand, was discontinued in August, 2009.^[78] The company has moved from a corporate-endorsed hybrid brand architecture structure, where GM underpinned every brand to a multiple brand corporate invisible brand architecture structure.^[79] The company's familiar square blue "badge" has been removed from the Web site and advertising, in favor of a new, subtle all-text logo treatment.^[76] In 2011, GM discontinued the Daewoo brand in South Korea and replaced it with the Chevrolet brand.^[80]

Brand	Year founded	Year began making autos	Year joined GM	Markets served today
Alpheon	2010	2010	2010	South Korea
Buick	1899	1903	1908	North America, China
Cadillac	1902	1902	1909	North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa
GMC	1901	1901	1909	North America, Middle East
Chevrolet	1911	1911	1911	Global, except Australia, New Zealand
Vauxhall	1857	1903	1925	United Kingdom
Opel	1862	1899	1929	Global, except North America, United Kingdom
Holden	1856	1908	1931	Australia, New Zealand

Discontinued brands

• Welch (1903–1911)
• Rainier (1905–1911)
• Welch-Marquette (see Marquette)
• Cartercar (1905–1915)
• Elmore (1909–1912)
• Rapid Truck (1909–1912)
• Reliance Truck (1909–1912)
• Welch-Detroit (1910–1911)
• Marquette (1912)
• Peninsular (1912) (see Marquette)
• Samson Tractor (1917–1922)
• Scripps-Booth (1917–1923)
• Marquette (1930)
• Oakland (1909–1931)
• Viking (1929–1931)
• LaSalle (1927–1940)
• McLaughlin (1918–1942)
• Yellow Coach (1925–1943)
• Sheridan (1921–1922)
• Beaumont (1966–1969)
• Envoy (1960–1970)
• Acadian (1962–1971)
• Ranger (1968–1976)
• Bedford Vehicles (1927–1987)
• General Motors Diesel Division (1938–1987)
• Passport (1988–1991)
• Asüna (1993–1995)
• Geo (1989–1997)
• Oldsmobile (1897–2004)
• Pontiac (1926–2010)
• Saturn (1985–2010)
• Hummer (1992–2010)
• Daewoo (1982–2011)

Former subsidiaries

• Frigidaire (1919–1979), sold to Ohio-based White Consolidated Industries
• Lotus (1986–1993), sold to Luxembourg-based A.C.B.N. Holdings S.A.
• Saab (1990–2010), sold to Dutch sports car manufacturer Spyker Cars N.V.^{[citation needed]}

Former affiliates

• Fiat (2000–2005), GM owned 20 percent at one time with put option^[81]
• Fuji Heavy Industries, manufacturer of Subaru (1999–2006), GM owned 20 percent at one time^[82]
• Isuzu (1971–2006), GM owned 49 percent at one time^[83]
• Suzuki (1981–2008), GM owned over 20 percent at one time^[84]

Spin-offs

• GM Defense 1950–2003 was once part of General Motors Diesel Division and as General Dynamics Land Systems division of General Dynamics
• Electro Motive Division of General Motors was also once part of General Motors Diesel Division and now known as Electro-Motive Diesel
• Detroit Diesel sold to Penske Corporation; broken up and portion sold to the former Daimler-Chrysler AG (now Daimler AG); now part of Daimler AG
• Transit division was sold to Motor Coach Industries and Transportation Manufacturing Corporation
  • RTS and Classic bus rights owned by MCI And TMC were sold off to Nova Bus; now produced by Millennium Transit Services
• Diesel Division of General Motors of Canada Limited spun off and later acquired by General Motors Canada as Diesel Division of General Motors of Canada Limited
• EDS – Electronic Data Systems
• Hughes Electronics sold to News Corporation in 2003
• 1999 GM spun off its parts making operations as Delphi

Philanthropy

General Motors is a leading contributor to charity. In 2004, GM gave $51,200,000 in cash contributions and $17,200,000 in-kind donations to charitable causes.^[85]

Through 2002, the Pace Awards program, led by GM, EDS, and SUN Microsystems, has given over $1.2 billion of in-kind contributions which includes computers to over 18 universities to support engineering education.^[86] In 2009, the GM led group has helped the Pace Awards program worldwide.^[87]

General Motors Foundation

Further information: General Motors Foundation

The General Motors Foundation (GM Foundation) receives philanthropic bequests from General Motors. It is a 501(c)(3) foundation incorporated in 1976.^[88]

Since 1996, the GM Foundation has been the exclusive source of funding for Safe Kids USA's "Safe Kids Buckle Up" program, a national initiative to ensure child automobile safety through education and inspection.^[89][90]

See also

• Automotive industry
• History of General Motors
• General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization
• Motors Liquidation Company

• Logo Gallery
• 

  General Motors

• 

  Buick

• 

  Cadillac

• 

  GMC

• 

  Chevrolet

• 

  Vauxhall

• 

  Opel

• 

  Holden

People

Main page: :Category:General Motors people

Industry associations

• Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
• United States Council for Automotive Research

Competitions

• EcoCAR

Lists

List of GM engines List of GM factories

List of GM platforms List of GM transmissions

Category

• GM vehicles by brand

References

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• GM gets 60 days, names Henderson CEO
• GM CEO: Bankruptcy looks more probable

Books cited

• Sloan, Alfred P. (1964), McDonald, John, ed., My Years with General Motors, Garden City, NY, USA: Doubleday, LCCN 64011306, OCLC 802024, http://books.google.com/books?id=qHJEAAAAIAAJ. Republished in 1990 with a new introduction by Peter Drucker (ISBN 978-0385042352). 

Further reading

Articles

• "G.M.’s Road From Prosperity to Crisis". The New York Times. May 31, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/05/31/business/20090531_GM_TIMELINE.html. Retrieved June 1, 2009. 
• Bunkley, Nick (undated). "Automotive Industry Crisis". The New York Times. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/credit_crisis/auto_industry/index.html. Retrieved June 1, 2009. 

Books

• Barabba, Vincent P. (2004). Surviving Transformation: Lessons from GM's Surprising Turnaround. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-517141-9. OCLC 474580094. http://books.google.ca/books?id=VvbDYad7cLoC&lpg=PP1&dq=Surviving%20Transformation%3A%20Lessons%20from%20GM's%20Surprising%20Turnaround&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true. 
• Chandler, Alfred D., Jr. (1964). Giant Enterprise: Ford, General Motors, and the Automobile Industry. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World. ISBN 978-0-405-13349-7. OCLC 63017200. 
• Cray, Ed (1980). Chrome Colossus: General Motors and Its Times. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-013493-5. OCLC 6223723. 
• Farber, David R. (2002). Sloan Rules: Alfred P. Sloan and the Triumph of General Motors. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-23804-3. OCLC 49558636. http://books.google.ca/books?id=CysLGUDseQAC&lpg=PP1&dq=Sloan%20Rules%3A%20Alfred%20P.%20Sloan%20and%20the%20Triumph%20of%20General%20Motors&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true. 
• Gustin, Lawrence R. (2008) [1973]. Billy Durant: Creator of General Motors. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-03302-7. OCLC 179794253. 
• Halberstam, David (1986). The Reckoning. A Thomas Congdon book. New York: Morrow. ISBN 978-0-688-04838-9. OCLC 246158814. 
• Keller, Maryann (1989). Rude Awakening: The Rise, Fall, and Struggle for Recovery of General Motors. New York: Morrow. ISBN 978-0-688-07527-9. OCLC 423222597. 
• Kimes, Beverly Rae (editor) (1989). The Standard Catalogue of American Cars 1805–1942, 2nd edition. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-111-0. 
• Leslie, Stuart W. (1983). Boss Kettering. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-05600-7. OCLC 8845819. 
• Maxton, Graeme P.; Wormald, John (2004). Time for a Model Change: Re-Engineering the Global Automotive Industry. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83715-6. OCLC 54826137. http://books.google.ca/books?id=3aN6rxZG2p0C&lpg=PP1&dq=Time%20for%20a%20Model%20Change%3A%20Re-Engineering%20the%20Global%20Automotive%20Industry&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true. 
• Maynard, Micheline (2003). The End of Detroit: How the Big Three Lost Their Grip on the American Car Market. New York: Currency/Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-50769-1. OCLC 52623614. 
• Pelfrey, William (2006). Billy, Alfred, and General Motors: The Story of Two Unique Men, a Legendary Company, and a Remarkable Time in American History. New York: AMACOM. ISBN 978-0-8144-0869-8. OCLC 61362777. http://books.google.ca/books?id=HYFIiIll2eIC&lpg=PP1&dq=Billy%2C%20Alfred%2C%20and%20General%20Motors%3A%20The%20Story%20of%20Two%20Unique%20Men%2C%20a%20Legendary%20Company%2C%20and%20a&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true. 
• Rae, John Bell (1965). The American Automobile; A Brief History. The Chicago history of American civilization. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. OCLC 236834. 
• Robertson, Heather (1995). Driving force: The McLaughlin family and the age of the car. McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-7556-1. A history of the businesses of Samuel McLaughlin and family, and the beginnings of General Motors Canada Ltd. 
• Weisberger, Bernard A. (1979). The Dream Maker: William C. Durant, Founder of General Motors. Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-92874-8. OCLC 5736758. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: General Motors

• Official website
• GM wiki frozen in May 2010 as part of GM Heritage Center website
• General Motors Imagefilm (1964, Condor Films
• Works about General Motors in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

v t e General Motors Divisions / operating groups / joint ventures ACDelco Ally (4.0%) Buick Cadillac CAMI Automotive Chevrolet Chevrolet Europe Coskata, Inc. DMAX (engines) (50%) GM-AvtoVAZ GM Financial GM Performance Division GM Manufacturing Luton GMC General Motors América do Sul General Motors Canada GM Korea General Motors de Mexico General Motors do Brasil General Motors India Chevrolet Sales India Private Limited Opel India Private Limited General Motors Research Laboratories General Motors South Africa Global Hybrid Cooperation GM Components Holdings GM Goodwrench GM Powertrain Torino GM Service and Parts Operations GM Ventures Holden Holden New Zealand Holden Special Vehicles HRL Laboratories (50%) Isuzu Motors Polska OnStar Opel Opel Performance Center Vauxhall Motors SAIC-GM-Wuling (34%) Shanghai GM (49%) Former divisions and joint ventures Allison Engine Company (1929–1995) Allison Transmission (1929–2007) Atlantic Aircraft Dayton-Wright Company (1919–1923) Delco Electronics Delphi (1994–1999) Detroit Diesel (1938–1988) DirecTV (1994–2003) Electro-Motive Diesel (1930–2004) Electronic Data Systems (1984–1996) Euclid Trucks (1953–1968) Fisher Body Fleetwood Metal Body Frigidaire (1919–1980) General Motors Europe (1986–2010) General Motors Diesel Division (1938–1987) General Motors Diesel (1949–1969) Ghandhara Industries (1953–1963) GM Defense (1950–2003) GMAC Real Estate (1998–2008) GM Truck & Bus Group (1943–1981) GMC Heavy Trucks Hughes Aircraft (1985–1997) Hughes Electronics (1985–1997) Hughes Network Systems (1987–2003) HughesNet (DirecWay/DirecPC) (1996–2003) Hummer (1992-2010) Kettering University National City Lines NUMMI (1984–2009) New Venture Gear (36%, 1990–2002) Nexteer (2009–2010) North American Aviation (1933–1948) Nuvell Financial Services (1997–2008) PanAmSat (1995–2003) Remy Electric (1918–1994) Rochester Products Division Terex Saab Automobile (1989-2010) Saturn Corporation (1985–2010) Terminal Taxi Cab United Australian Automobile Industries (1989–1996) Winton Motor Carriage Company Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company (1925–1943) Products and faciliites Factories Platforms Engines Transmissions Vehicles Renaissance Center GM Technical Center GM Proving Grounds Other General Motors Foundation History General Motors Motorama People Category Commons

v t e Automotive marques of General Motors Wholly owned Current Alpheon Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GMC Holden Opel Vauxhall Discontinued Acadian (1962–1971) Asüna (1992–1995) Beaumont (1966–1969) Bedford (1930–1986) Cartercar (1905–1915) Daewoo (1982–2011) Elmore (1893–1912) Geo (1989–1997) Hummer (1992–2010) LaSalle (1927–1940) Marquette (1929–1930) McLaughlin (1918–1942) Oakland (1907–1931) Oldsmobile (1897–2004) Passport (1988–1991) Pontiac (1926–2010) Ranger (1968–1976) Saturn (1985–2010) Scripps-Booth (1913–1923) Sheridan (1920–1921) Statesman (1971–1984) Viking (1929–1931) Yellow Coach (1925–1943) Former Lotus (1986–1993) Saab (1989–2010) Shareholdings and joint ventures Current Baojun1 Wuling1 Former Fiat (2000–2005; up to 20%) Isuzu (c.1971–2006; up to 49%) Subaru (c.1999–2006; 20%) Suzuki (1985–2008; up to 15%) 1Marques of SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile (GM 34%) Category

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Madoff Investment Securities LLC BI-LO (United States) Blockbuster Inc. Borders Group Boscov's Charter Communications Chrysler (Chapter 11 reorganization) Circuit City Stores CIT Group Citadel Broadcasting Conquest Vacations DSB Bank Eastman Kodak Eddie Bauer FairPoint Communications Friendly's Ice Cream General Growth Properties General Motors (Chapter 11 reorganization) G.I. Joe's Great Southern Group Hostess Brands Icesave Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander KB Toys Lehman Brothers (bankruptcy) Linens 'n Things Mervyns Midway Games Movie Gallery (Hollywood Video) NetBank New Century Nortel Petters Group Worldwide Real Mex Restaurants R. H. Donnelley Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler Saab Automobile Sbarro Sentinel Management Group Silicon Graphics Stanford Financial Group Sun-Times Media Group Syms Corporation (Filene's Basement) Terra Securities (scandal) Thornburg Mortgage Tribune Company Tweeter Opco, LLC Uno Chicago Grill Washington Mutual Waterford Wedgwood Woolworths Group Yamato Life Government interventions, rescues, and acquisitions (listed alphabetically) ACC Capital Holdings Allied Irish Banks American International Group Anglo Irish Bank (nationalisation) Bank of America Bank of Antigua Bank of Ireland Bear Stearns Bradford & Bingley Chrysler Citigroup CL Financial Dexia Fannie Mae (takeover) Fortis Freddie Mac (takeover) General Motors Glitnir HBOS Hypo Real Estate IndyMac Federal Bank ING Group Kaupthing Bank Landsbanki Northern Rock (nationalisation) Parex Bank The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Straumur Investment Bank U.S. Central Credit Union Company acquisitions (listed alphabetically) Alliance & Leicester Ameriquest Mortgage Barnsley Building Society Bear Stearns Blockbuster Inc. Cheshire Building Society Countrywide Financial Derbyshire Building Society Dunfermline Building Society HBOS Merrill Lynch National City Corp. (acquisition by PNC) Scarborough Building Society Sovereign Bank Wachovia Washington Mutual   Other topics Alleged frauds and fraudsters Nicholas Cosmo Fairfield Greenwich Group Seán FitzPatrick (Anglo Irish Bank hidden loans controversy) Paul Greenwood Angelo Mozilo Arthur Nadel Kazutsugi Nami (Enten controversy) Stanford Financial Group (Allen Stanford; James M. Davis; Laura Pendergest-Holt) Barry Tannenbaum UBS Stephen Walsh Proven or admitted frauds and fraudsters Marc Stuart Dreier Joseph S. Forte Norman Hsu Du Jun Bernard Madoff (Madoff investment scandal; Frank DiPascali; David G. Friehling) Tom Petters Raj Rajaratnam (Galleon Group) Scott W. Rothstein Mahindra Satyam (Satyam scandal; Byrraju Ramalinga Raju) Related entities Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Federal Home Loan Banks Federal Housing Administration Federal Housing Finance Agency Federal Housing Finance Board Federal Reserve System Government National Mortgage Association Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Office of Financial Stability UK Financial Investments Limited United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Securities involved and financial markets Auction rate securities Collateralized debt obligations Collateralized mortgage obligations Credit default swaps Mortgage-backed securities Secondary mortgage market Social reactions 2008 Greek riots 2009 California college tuition hike protests 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests 2009 May Day protests 2010 French pension reform strikes 2010 UK student protests 2010–2012 Greek protests 2011 United Kingdom anti-austerity protests 2011 United States public employee protests PIIGS Tea Party protests Occupy movement Other Effects of the late-2000s financial crisis on museums 2000s energy crisis (2008 Central Asia energy crisis) 2007–2008 world food price crisis Future of newspapers

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