General Motors Automobile - History
General Motors began in 1908 when William Durant founded it as a holding company when he was manager of the Buick Motor Company . Buick was the first part of GM .
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Olds Motor Works (later named Oldsmobile) was purchased by GM in 1908 . In 1909 Durant acquired the Cadillac Automobile Company , the Oakland Motor Car Company , Elmore Manufacturing Company , Carter car , and Ewing automobile company . Reliant Motor Truck Company and Rapid Motor Vehicle Company were also purchased in 1909 ,and eventually became GMC Truck division of GM .
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In all over a dozen auto companies and ten parts makers were acquired by GM their first years of operation .
Durant was voted out of GM in 1910 , and in 1911 joined Louis Chevrolet to open the Chevrolet Motor Company . This proved so successful that by 1916 Chevrolet Motor Company had purchased controlling shares in General Motors , and Durant became manager of GM again .
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In 1918 GM purchased McLaughlin Motor Car Company in Oshawa , and renamed it General Motors of Canada . In 1925 GM Bought Vauxhall Motors of England . It 1926 GM introduced the Pontiac line and it replaced Oakland by 1931 . General Motors passed Ford Motor Company in automobile sales just pryor to 1930 .
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GM bough controlling shares in Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company , in 1925 and was instrumental in the start of the Grey Hound bus company in 1929 to creat a Market for there buses . GM also was involved in the closure of many streetcar lines in many major cities and the switch to bus services in their place in the 1930‘s and 1940‘s . GM was also in the building of armoured vehicles and airplanes during WW2 . GM introduced the Saturn division in 1985 and Oldsmobile was phased out by 2004 and replaced by Saturn .
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In 1998 GM bought Hummer .
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In 2008 GM began talks to buy the Chrysler Corporation but , a turn in the economy of the world ended the talks .
After loosing sales and going through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009 , General Motors is on the rebound and sales are gaining rapidly .
