Chevrolet , GM and William Durant
William C Durant was one of the most prominent business figures in the evolution of the automobile and was the Founder of what would become the worlds largest auto maker .
Wm Durant was born in Boston Massachusetts in 1861 and was the son of a French Canadian couple . In his teens Billy went to work in his grandfathers lumber yard . In 1885 Durant started the Cold Water Cart Company , with a partner . It soon became the Durant-Dort Carriage Company . By 1900 the company became the largest horse-drawn wagon and carriage maker in America .
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In 1904 Durant was offered the position of general manager of the Buick Motor Company and accepted the offer . Billy as he was called , was so very successful at his management job , that he soon became president of Buick .
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In 1908 Durant organized the incorporation of a holding company , he named the ‘General Motors Corporation’ . His reputation for success in the management of his carriage company and then with Buick , aided him to sell shares in his new corporation . He sold 12 million dollars worth of shares in just twelve days . After founding General Motors and raising funds through sold shares , Durant bought the Buick Motor Company .
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Next Durant bought the Olds Motor Vehicle Company . Oldsmobile became a mid-luxury line of automobiles for General Motors . Oldsmobile would remain a division of GM until 2004 when it was replaced by the Saturn line .
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Durant then bought the Oakland Motor Company of Pontiac Michigan which later became Pontiac division of GM .
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Durant needed to use money from Buick’s bank account to purchase the Cadillac Motor Car Company --__
Durant also acquired a number of parts supply companies , one of which was AC Delco . The AC came from Albert Champion , who was the owner and founder of Delco .
In about 1 ½ years General Motors acquired about 25 auto makers Elmore Manufacturing Company and Reliant Motor Truck Company were among those companies . The investors were displeased when the acquiring of all these companies put a very heavy financial burden on General Motors and William Durant was relieved of his control of GM in 1910 .
Wm Durant was a part of the Little Motor Car Company for a time . During his time with Buick Motor Company , Durant had worked with a young man who drove a race car for Buick and had also worked as a Machinist . This man had a shop at home were he had designed and built his own engine . Durant talked this man named Louis Chevrolet , into a partnership and together they founded the Chevrolet Motor Company in 1911 . The Little Motor Car Company was acquired and its manufacturing facility became part of Chevrolet .
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Though the Chevrolet Motor Company was very successful , Louis Chevrolet had differences with Durant , and sold his shares of the company to Wm Durant . The Chevrolet Motor Company was so successful that Durant was able to buy enough shares of General Motors to gain controlling interest of the corporation again in 1915 . Due to William Durant’s very aggressive business manner ,
Durant was forced to resign from GM in 1920 .
Wm Durant started the Durant Motor Company in 1921 . He acquired the Locomotion auto company at a liquidation sale in 1922 . Durant also acquired Mason Truck company and had dealings with Dort-Frontenac company , Louis Chevrolets racer manufacturing company .
Due to a decline in sales during the Great Depression , the last US made Durant automobile was built in 1931 .
The Durant Motor Company , assembly plant , located in Lansing Michigan , was purchased by General Motors in 1935 and Buick , Oldsmobile and Cadillac automobiles were built there .
Durant-Frontenac automobiles were built in Canada until 1933 .
William Durant’s automotive career ended in 1933 , but he did move on to other business ventures .
William Durant was a brilliant business man of the early automotive world and the companies he founded General Motors and Chevrolet as well as Buick which he developed in its early years , are still among the largest auto makers in the world today .
Durant’s contribution’s to the automotive industry were Gigantic and topped only by those of Henry Ford .
William Durant passed away in 1947 .
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