A brief history of General Motors Corp.

[Oracle of Delphi]

By The Associated Press

12:04 AM CDT, September 15, 2008

As General Motors Corp. prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary, some key events in the giant automaker's history:

Sept. 16, 1908 - General Motors Company founded by William C. Durant.

1909 - GM sells 25,000 cars and trucks.

1910 - Durant brings the Buick, Olds, Pontiac, Cadillac, Champion ignition, AC spark plug and other companies into GM. Sales rise 60 percent, but earnings lag. Durant is ousted by bankers as company sinks into debt.

1911 - Electric self-starter first appears on a Cadillac.

1916 - GM incorporated as General Motors Corp. Durant, after founding company that builds Chevrolets, regains control.

1917-19 - GM shifts most truck production to war effort.

1920 - Durant resigns, later files personal bankruptcy and dies running bowling alleys.

1920s - GM creates product policy aiming Buick, Pontiac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Cadillac at five different groups of buyers.

1921 - GM accounts for 12 percent of U.S. car market.

1923 - Alfred P. Sloan named president and chief executive.

1925 - GM acquires Vauxhall Motors Ltd. of Great Britain.

1929 - GM acquires Adam Opel AG of Germany.

1937 - Violent sit-down strikes by GM hourly workers in Flint, Mich., shake company, lead to United Auto Workers representation.

1941 - GM market share grows to 41 percent.

1942 - Civilian auto production halted and plants turned to war effort.

1945-46 - Workers strike for 113 days.

1948 - First automobile fins unveiled, on a Cadillac.

1949 - After purchase of National City Lines of Los Angeles, GM accused of buying streetcar companies since 1920s and replacing them with bus systems. GM is convicted just once, of conspiracy in the Los Angeles case.

1953 - Air conditioning first offered, on a Cadillac.

1954 - GM's U.S. market share reaches 54 percent. Company makes 50 millionth car.

1955 - GM introduces Chevrolet V-8 engine.

1956 - Sloan retires as chairman.

1960 - Reacting to invasion of small European cars, GM introduces Chevrolet Corvair. Car later attacked by Ralph Nader, who wrote book "Unsafe at Any Speed" that led to congressional auto safety hearings.

Gap here, don't know why!

1979 - GM's U.S. employment peaks at 618,365, making it the largest private employer in the country. Worldwide employment is 853,000. Decade features sales decline, recession, Arab oil embargo and gains by Japanese automakers.

1980 - Roger B. Smith named chairman. GM loses more than $750 million as car and truck sales plunge 26 percent.

1981 - GM consolidates truck, bus and van operations. Auto workers bash Japanese cars with sledge hammers. Company earns $333.4 million on $62.7 billion in revenue.

1983 - GM and Toyota Motor Corp. of Japan form joint venture to build cars at a GM-owned plant in Fremont, Calif. Smith announces Saturn project to fight Japanese cars. GM makes $3.7 billion.

1984 - GM overhauls North American organization; acquires Electronic Data Systems Corp., owned by Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot, for $2.5 billion. Earnings rise to $4.5 billion on revenue of $84.9 billion.

1985 - Company forms new Saturn Corp. subsidiary. GM acquires Hughes Aircraft Co. for $5 billion. GM makes $4 billion.

1986 - GM announces plans to close 11 U.S. plants. Employment grows to 877,000 as earnings fall to $3.9 billion. After infighting, Perot resigns from board and gets $700 million in severance.

1987 - GM and UAW reach contract prohibiting closure of a plant unless its product sales fall. Earnings rise to $3.6 billion.

1988 - Earnings rise to $4.6 billion and revenue hits $123.6 billion. Employment drops to 766,000.

1989 - GM complies with federal regulations and equips about 15 percent of fleet with driver's air bags, blames devices for boosting car prices. Profits fall to $4.2 billion.

1990 - GM and Saab-Scania AB of Sweden form joint venture to make cars in Europe. Smith retires as chairman, succeeded by President Robert Stempel. GM launches Saturn, takes $2.1 billion charge for four plant closings, and profits fall to $102 million as auto sales plummet.

1991 - Company loses industry record $4.45 billion. Stempel announces GM will close 21 plants over the next few years and eliminate 9,000 salaried and 15,000 hourly jobs in 1992, in addition to layoffs at shuttered plants.

1992 - Board strips some of Stempel's authority. Stempel later resigns, saying rumors about his future compromised his ability to lead. Jack Smith gets title of chief executive officer and outside director John Smale is named chairman.

1996 - GM spins off Electronic Data Systems as a separate company.

1997 - GM sells defense electronics business of Hughes Electronics to Raytheon and merges Hughes' auto parts business with Delphi Automotive Systems (now Delphi Corp.).

1998 - Strikes at two Michigan parts plants shut down almost all North American production.

1999 - Delphi is spun off as a separate company. GM purchases rights to the Hummer brand from AM General.

2000 - President Rick Wagoner replaces Smith as CEO. GM cuts 10 percent of white-collar employment.

2002 - GM spends $251 million on 42 percent stake in South Korea's bankrupt Daewoo Motor and names it GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. Stake later increased to 51 percent.

2003 - GM sells defense unit to General Dynamics Corp. for $1.1 billion and sells 20 percent stake in Hughes Electronics to News Corp. for $3.1 billion.

2004 - Last model year for Oldsmobile.

2006 - About 47,600 GM and Delphi hourly workers take buyout or early retirement offers. GM investor Kirk Kerkorian suggests alliance with Nissan and Renault, which GM's board examines and rejects; Kerkorian sells much of his stake. GM sells 51 percent stake in GMAC Financial Services to group led by Cerberus Capital Management LP for $14 billion.

2007 - GM loses $38.7 billion, including $39 billion third-quarter charge for unused tax credits. It's the largest annual loss in auto industry history. GM reaches historic contract with United Auto Workers that shifts billions in retiree health care expenses to union-administered trust. Company agrees to pay $33.7 billion into trust. Contract also lets company to pay some new hires $14 per hour. U.S. market share is 23.7 percent. GM sells Allison Transmission to The Carlyle Group and Onex Corp. for $5.6 billion.

2008 - Gas prices hit $4 per gallon and truck sales plummet. GM announces plan to close four pickup and sport utility vehicle factories, plans to shed 8,350 jobs. GM announces new small car, plans for $15 billion in savings, with $10 billion in cost-cutting and $5 billion from asset sales and borrowing. Hummer brand put up for sale. Worldwide employment stands at about 266,000.

Link: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-...50.story?page=1

[Drew Dowdell]

1966 - Oldsmobile introduces first FWD car for the masses.

[balthazar]

More early specifics:

GENERAL MOTORS ~

"General Motors Company" incorporated 09-16-1908 in Detroit.

"General Motors Corporation" incorporated 10-13-1916 In Delaware.

"General Motors Company" dissolved 08-03-1917.

BUICK ~

"Buick & Sherwood Manufacturing Company", founded 1882, plumbing fixtures. Sold in 1899.

David Dunbar Buick began building internal combustion engines, 1897.

"Buick Auto-Vim & Power Company organized, 1899.

Reorganized as "Buick Manufacturing Company of Detroit", 1902.

Reorganized as "Buick Motor Company" on 05-19-1903.

Bought Pope-Toledo in 1904.

Brought into GM on 10-01-1908.

OLDSMOBILE ~

"Olds Gasoline Engine Works" organized, 1890.

"Olds Motor Vehicle Company" organized, 1897.

"Olds Motor Works" incorporated 05-08-1899 with merger of previous two companies.

Brought into GM on 11-12-1908.

OAKLAND ~

Incorporated 08-27-1907.

Brought into GM on 01-20-1909.

Discontinued at end of 1931 model year.

CADILLAC ~

"Leyland & Falconer", begin building internal combustion engines for street trolleys & power boats, 1896.

"Cadillac Motor Car Company" incorporated 08-22-1902 from liquidation assets of Henry Ford Company, using Leyland engine (marque founder: Henry Martin Leyland).

Brought into GM on 07-29-1909.

"Reliance Motor Truck Company", founded in 1902 in Owasso MI. Bought by GM in 1908.

"Rapid Motor Vehicle Corporation" founded 1902 in Detroit MI, bought by GM in 1909.

Both makes combined to form "General Motors Truck Company" on 07-22-1911.

Rapid & Reliance nameplates phased out during 1912-13.

Also durinf 1912, some elements of the to-be-discontinued CarterCar and the HD truck line from Randolph (the "Strenuous Randolph") were also folded into GMC.

CHEVROLET ~

Incorporated 11-03-1911 in Delaware.

Reorganized 09-13-1915.

Leveraged controlling stake in GM via Chevy stock 07-26-1918.

Some of the other early marques under General Motors :

CarterCar: Pontiac MI, 1906-1916, bought by GM in 1909.

Elmore Manufacturing Company : Clyde OH, 1908-1912.

Ewing Automobile Company : Geneva OH, 1908-1910.

Little Motor Company : 1911-

Marquette : 1911-1921.

Marquette Motor Company : Flint MI, 1929-1930.

Milburn Wagon Company : Toldeo OH, 1914-1923, Electric car & car body production.

Rainier : Saginaw MI, 1905-1911.

Randolph Motor Car Company : 1908-1912.

Scripps-Booth Corporation : Detroit MI, 1914-1921, absorbed by Chevrolet in 1917.

Sheridan : 1920-1922.

Viking : 1929-1931.

Welch Motor Car Company : Detroit MI, 1903-1911, bought by GM in 1911, merged with Rainer and reorganized as first Marquette.

Edited September 17, 2008 by balthazar

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

By The Associated Press

12:04 AM CDT, September 15, 2008

Gap here, don't know why!

I guess the muscle car era is a bit too much for the greenies to bear.

Here's to driving my 10MPG (Highway) Camaro!