Dealer Team Vauxhall , commonly known as DTV , was a motorsport organisation.
53-464: In the absence of any official motorsport sponsorship by General Motors globally, and by its Vauxhall Motors subsidiary specifically, a group of London-based Vauxhall dealers decided to start an organisation to financially support racing and rallying of Vauxhall cars. It was established in January 1971. Initially the racing program was run by Bill Blydenstein , an engine tuner and racing driver, and
106-529: A 15% stake in AeroVironment . In 1989, GM acquired half of Saab Automobile 's car operations for $ 600 million. In August 1990, Robert Stempel became CEO of the company, succeeding Roger Smith . GM cut output significantly and suffered losses that year due to the early 1990s recession . In 1990, GM debuted the General Motors EV1 (Impact) concept, a battery electric vehicle , at
159-530: A British producer of high-performance sports cars . In 1987, in conjunction with AeroVironment , GM 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 . In 1988, GM acquired
212-510: A breakthrough in heat treating still in use today as ASTM A255. GM established Detroit Diesel the next year. In 1939, the company founded Motors Insurance Corporation and entered the vehicle insurance market. The same year, GM introduced the Hydramatic , the first affordable and successful automatic transmission , for the 1940 Oldsmobile. During World War II , GM produced vast quantities of armaments, vehicles, and aircraft for
265-530: A consuming interest in Flint Wagon Works' Buick automobile venture. Durant used his own capital and that of Durant-Dort to buy control of Buick. David Buick, already a minority partner in his own business, was left with a single share of his enterprise. However, Durant agreed to keep Buick on as an employee, and Buick remained with the firm until 1906, when Durant bought out his single share for $ 100,000. Other automobile pioneers were associated with
318-482: A continuation of its diversification plans, GMAC formed GMAC Mortgage and acquired Colonial Mortgage as well as the servicing arm of Norwest Mortgage in 1985. This acquisition included an $ 11 billion mortgage portfolio. The same year, GM acquired the Hughes Aircraft Company for $ 5 billion in cash and stock and merged it into Delco Electronics . The following year, GM acquired 59.7% of Lotus Cars ,
371-957: A controlling interest in North American Aviation and merged it with the General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation . The GM labor force participated in the formation of the United Auto Workers labor union in 1935, and in 1936 the UAW organized the Flint Sit-Down Strike , which initially idled two key plants in Flint, Michigan, and later spread to 6 other plants including those in Janesville, Wisconsin and Fort Wayne, Indiana . In Flint, police attempted to enter
424-594: A major rival of Flint Wagon Works . In 1906 they were making 480 vehicles each day with 1,000 workers. Durant-Dort owned not just the Flint manufacturing works, but also other vehicle assembly plants in Michigan, Georgia, and Ontario, together with timberland, lumber mills, a wheel manufacturer, the Flint Axle Works, and the Flint Varnish Works. A separate business named Diamond Buggy Company
477-542: A program to develop a lightweight two-stroke diesel engine for possible usage in automobiles. Soon after, GM acquired Electro-Motive Company and the Winton Engine Co. , and in 1941, it expanded EMC's realm to locomotive engine manufacturing. In 1932, GM acquired Packard Electric (not to be confused with the Packard car company, which merged with Studebaker years later). The following year, GM acquired
530-422: A strategy by CEO Roger Smith to derive at least 10% of its annual worldwide revenue from non-automotive sources. GM also intended to have EDS handle its bookkeeping, help computerize factories, and integrate GM's computer systems. The transaction made Ross Perot the largest shareholder of GM; however, disagreements with Roger Smith led the company to buy all shares held by Ross Perot for $ 750 million in 1986. In
583-720: A substantial capital, much of it raised from local investors, and leased a factory on Water Street originally used by the Flint Woolen Mills. There they assembled their road-carts from bought-in components. After that, Flint Road-Cart expanded by starting or buying other businesses that produced not only vehicles, but the components for vehicles as well. They marketed them as "Blue Ribbon Vehicles". Flint Road-Cart Company changed its name to Durant-Dort Carriage Company in November 1895. By 1900 they were building 50,000 vehicles each year, from around 14 locations and they were
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#1732790919546636-625: The Fortune 500 and 50th on the Fortune Global 500 . In 2023, the company was ranked 70th in the Forbes Global 2000 . In 2021, GM announced its intent to end production of vehicles using internal combustion engines by 2035, as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. By 1900, William C. Durant 's Durant-Dort Carriage Company of Flint, Michigan , had become the largest manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in
689-673: The 2-mode hybrid system in the Chevrolet Tahoe , GMC Yukon , Cadillac Escalade , and pickup trucks . Durant-Dort Carriage Company Durant-Dort Carriage Company was a manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in Flint, Michigan. Founded in 1886, by 1900 it was the largest carriage manufacturer in the country. This very successful business made the partners rich men and it became the core on which William C. Durant and J. Dallas Dort began to build General Motors . Durant sold out of this business in 1914 and it stopped manufacturing carriages in 1917. Durant-Dort Carriage Company
742-848: The Allies of World War II . In 1940, GM's William S. Knudsen served as head of U.S. wartime production for President Franklin Roosevelt , and by 1942, all of GM's production was to support the war. GM's Vauxhall Motors manufactured the Churchill tank series for the Allies, instrumental in the North African campaign . However, its Opel division, based in Germany, supplied the Wehrmacht with vehicles. Politically, Sloan, as head of GM at
795-522: The Cadillac V8-6-4 variable-cylinder engines. GM sold Frigidaire in 1979. Although Frigidaire had between $ 450 million and $ 500 million in annual revenues, it was losing money. Robert Lee of GM invented the neodymium magnet , which was fabricated by rapid solidification, in 1984. This magnet is commonly used in products like a computer hard disk. The same year, GM acquired Electronic Data Systems for $ 2.5 billion from Ross Perot as part of
848-520: The General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), which provides financing to automotive customers, was formed. In 1920, du Pont orchestrated the removal of Durant once again and replaced him with Alfred P. Sloan . At a time when GM was competing heavily with Ford Motor Company , Sloan established annual model changes, making previous years' models "dated" and created a market for used cars . He also implemented
901-682: The LA Auto Show . It was the first car with zero emissions marketed in the US in over three decades. The Impact was produced as the EV1 for the 1996 model year and was available only via lease from certain dealers in California and Arizona. In 1999–2002, GM ceased production of the vehicles and started to not renew the leases, disappointing many people, allegedly because the program would not be profitable and would cannibalize its existing business. All of
954-567: The Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan , and the Reliance Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan (predecessors of GMC ) in 1909. Durant, with the board's approval, also tried acquiring Ford Motor Company , but needed an additional $ 2 million. Durant over- leveraged GM in making acquisitions, and was removed by the board of directors in 1910 at the order of the bankers who backed
1007-765: The Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company the same year, and its president, John D. Hertz , joined the board of directors of GM; it acquired the remainder of the company in 1943. In 1926, the company introduced the Pontiac brand and established the General Motors Group Insurance Program to provide life insurance to its employees. The following year, after the success of the 1927 model of the Cadillac LaSalle designed by Harley Earl , Sloan created
1060-472: The corporate spin-off of Electronic Data Systems . In 1997, GM sold the military businesses of Hughes Aircraft Company to Raytheon Company for $ 9.5 billion in stock and the assumption of debt. In February 2000, Rick Wagoner was named CEO, succeeding Smith. The next month, GM gave 5.1% of its common stock, worth $ 2.4 billion, to acquire a 20% share of Fiat . In December 2000, GM announced that it would begin phasing out Oldsmobile . The brand
1113-537: The "Art and Color Section" of GM and named Earl as its first director. Earl was the first design executive to be appointed to leadership at a major American corporation. Earl created a system of automobile design that is still practiced today. At the age of 24, Bill Mitchell was recruited by Earl to the design team at GM, and he was later appointed as Chief Designer of Cadillac. After Earl retired in December 1958, Mitchell took over automotive design for GM. Also in 1926
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#17327909195461166-771: The Durant-Dort Carriage Company. R. S. McLaughlin headed the McLaughlin Motor Car Company in Oshawa, Ontario . Its carriage builder parent was started in 1867 and by 1900 built more carriages than any other Canadian business. W. C. Durant and his Canadian-born son-in-law and business confidant, Dr. Edwin Campbell, were friends with the McLaughlins and they made cross stock-holdings in each other's automobile businesses. Campbell
1219-588: The EV1s were eventually returned to General Motors, and except for around 40 which were donated to museums with their electric powertrains deactivated, all were destroyed. The documentary film Who Killed the Electric Car? covered the EV1 story. In November 1992, John F. Smith Jr. became CEO of the company. In 1993, GM sold Lotus Cars to Bugatti . In 1996, in a return to its automotive basics, GM completed
1272-497: The United States government and military, the vehicle safety, security, and information services provider OnStar , the auto parts company ACDelco , a namesake financial lending service , and majority ownership in the self-driving cars enterprise Cruise LLC . The company originated as a holding company for Buick established on September 16, 1908, by William C. Durant , the largest seller of horse-drawn vehicles at
1325-684: The United States. Durant was averse to automobiles, but fellow Flint businessman James H. Whiting , owner of Flint Wagon Works , sold him the Buick Motor Company in 1904. Durant formed the General Motors Company in 1908 as a holding company , borrowing a naming convention from General Electric . GM's first acquisition was Buick , which Durant already owned, then Olds Motor Works on November 12, 1908. Under Durant, GM went on to acquire Cadillac , Elmore , Welch , Cartercar , Oakland (the predecessor of Pontiac ),
1378-887: The automobile ruins you." Although Durant didn't act at the time, Hardy struck out on his own and established the Flint Automobile Company , Flint's first automotive manufacturer, in 1901. However, the company's Roadster failed to distinguish itself from the popular, lower-priced Oldsmobile , and in 1903 the Flint Automobile Company folded. Hardy returned to Durant-Dort and wound up as vice-president of General Motors until his retirement in 1925. Durant began to lose interest in Flint activities and set up an office in New York. A.B.C. Hardy tried to interest him in automobiles. Eventually James Whiting of Flint Wagon Works persuaded Durant to take what became
1431-512: The business in 1898 and didn't return until 1900. Hardy was sent on a tour of Europe in 1901. On that holiday he became fascinated by automobiles. In 1902 he established his Flint Automobile Company and built over fifty cars with Weston-Mott axles and W F Stewart bodies. The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers demanded a licence fee of $ 50 for each engine Hardy had built so he ended production and "moved to Iowa". Durant-Dort continued making horse-drawn vehicles until 1917 but from 1915
1484-452: The company acquired Fisher Body , its supplier of automobile bodies. GM acquired Allison Engine Company and began developing a 1,000 horsepower liquid-cooled aircraft engine in 1929. The same year, GM acquired 80% of Opel , which at that time had a 37.5% market share in Europe, for $ 26 million. It acquired the remaining 20% in 1931. In the late-1920s, Charles Kettering embarked on
1537-534: The company in 1915 after a disagreement with Durant. GM was reincorporated in Detroit in 1916 as General Motors Corporation and became a public company via an initial public offering . By 1917, Chevrolet had become successful enough that Durant, with the backing of Samuel McLaughlin and Pierre S. du Pont , reacquired a controlling interest in GM. The same year, GM acquired Samson Tractor . Chevrolet Motor Company
1590-494: The corresponding German Dealer Opel Team (DOT) under one marketing umbrella, resulting in a new organisation called General Motors DealerSport. General Motors General Motors Company ( GM ) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit , Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing four automobile brands: Chevrolet , Buick , GMC , and Cadillac . By total sales, it has continuously been
1643-661: The diesel-hybrid market, the Opel Astra diesel engine hybrid concept vehicle was rolled out in January 2005. Later that year, GM sold its Electro-Motive Diesel locomotive division to private equity firms Berkshire Partners and Greenbriar Equity Group. GM paid $ 2 billion to sever its ties with Fiat in 2005, severing ties with the company due to an increasingly contentious dispute. GM began adding its " Mark of Excellence " emblem on all new vehicles produced and sold in North America in mid-2005. However, after
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1696-513: The factory and office buildings refocused on the manufacture of Dort Motor Car Company automobiles. J. Dallas Dort began his own independent automotive business, Dort Motor Car Company , in 1915. Dort used the old Durant-Dort buildings but added more to them. Dort shipped 9000 cars in its first year. J Dallas Dort decided to retire and liquidated Dort Motor Car Company in 1924 and died the following year. Alexander Brownell Cullen Hardy (1869–1948) began working at Durant-Dort in 1889. By 1895, he
1749-728: The firm and manufacturing arrangements — to begin with the carts were made for them by William A. Paterson — while Durant handled sales and promotion. Their first office was in Durant's fire insurance agency in downtown Flint. Durant had bought the rights to the road-cart with borrowed money so newly married Durant immediately left Flint and set up a chain of jobbers to sell the carts as far away as Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago. With just one finished cart at home he returned from his first trip with orders for 600 road-carts. Flint Road-Cart sold 4000 carts its first year, and grew quickly from there. In 1893 they incorporated Flint Road-Cart Company with
1802-482: The first hydrogen fuel cell car ever produced. Though fuel cells have existed since the early 1800s, General Motors was the first to use a fuel cell, supplied by Union Carbide , to power the wheels of a vehicle with a budget of "millions of dollars". In the 1960s, GM was an early proponent of V6 engines , but quickly lost interest as the popularity of muscle cars increased. GM demonstrated gas turbine vehicles powered by kerosene , an area of interest throughout
1855-497: The gasoline was harmful to various biological organisms including humans. Evidence shows that corporate executives understood the health implications of tetraethyllead from the beginning. As an engineer for GM, Midgley also developed chlorofluorocarbons , which have now been banned due to their contribution to climate change . Under the encouragement of GM President Alfred P. Sloan Jr., GM acquired Vauxhall Motors for $ 2.5 million in 1925. The company also acquired an interest in
1908-664: The industry, but abandoned the alternative engine configuration due to the 1973 oil crisis . In partnership with Boeing , GM's Delco Defense Electronics Division designed the Lunar Roving Vehicle , which traversed the surface of the Moon, in 1971. The following year, GM produced the first rear wheel anti-lock braking system for two models: the Toronado and Eldorado. In 1973, the Oldsmobile Toronado
1961-492: The largest automaker in the United States, and was the largest in the world for 77 years before losing the top spot to Toyota in 2008. General Motors operates manufacturing plants in eight countries. In addition to its four core brands, GM also holds interests in Chinese brands Baojun and Wuling via SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile . GM further owns a namesake defense vehicles division which produces military vehicles for
2014-637: The loans to keep GM in business. The action of the bankers was partially influenced by the Panic of 1910–1911 that followed the earlier enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 . In 1911, Charles F. Kettering of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO) and Henry M. Leland invented and patented the first electric starter in America. In November 1911, Durant co-founded Chevrolet with race car driver Louis Chevrolet , who left
2067-486: The plant to arrest strikers, leading to violence; in other cities, the plants were shuttered peacefully. The strike was resolved on February 11, 1937, when GM recognized the UAW as the exclusive bargaining representative for its workers and gave workers a 5% raise and permission to speak in the lunchroom. Walter E. Jominy and A.L. Boegehold of GM invented the Jominy end-quench test for hardenability of carbon steel in 1937,
2120-528: The pricing strategy used by car companies today. The pricing strategy had Chevrolet , Pontiac , Oldsmobile , Buick , and Cadillac priced from least expensive to most, respectively. In 1921, Thomas Midgley Jr. , an engineer for GM, discovered tetraethyllead (leaded gasoline) as an antiknock agent, and GM patented the compound because ethanol could not be patented. This led to the development of higher compression engines resulting in more power and efficiency. The public later realized that lead contained in
2173-602: The rallying program by Chris Coburn. In 1976 Blydenstein became responsible for both racing and rallying. From 1978 on, the focus was entirely on rallying. Vauxhall models developed by DTV for racing and rallying include the Viva , Firenza , Magnum , Victor , and Chevette . Drivers included Gerry Marshall , Will Sparrow , Barrie 'Whizzo' Williams, Jimmy McRae , Pentti Airikkala and others. Rally co-drivers included Rodney Spokes, Nigel Raeburn and Don Barrow. The 1981 franchise merger of Vauxhall and Opel also brought DTV and
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2226-487: The reorganization in 2009, the company no longer added the logo, saying that emphasis on its four core divisions would downplay the GM logo. In 2005, Edward T. Welburn was promoted to the newly created position of vice president, GM Global Design, making him the first African American to lead a global automotive design organization and the highest-ranking African American in the US motor industry at that time. On July 1, 2016, he retired from General Motors after 44 years. He
2279-504: The time, was an ardent opponent of the New Deal , which bolstered labor unions and public transport . Sloan admired and supported Adolf Hitler . Nazi armaments chief Albert Speer allegedly said in 1977 that Hitler "would never have considered invading Poland" without synthetic fuel technology provided by General Motors. GM was compensated $ 32 million by the U.S. government because its German factories were bombed by U.S. forces during
2332-553: The time. The first half of the 20th century saw the company grow into an automotive behemoth through acquisitions; going into the second half, the company pursued innovation and new offerings to consumers as well as collaborations with NASA to develop the earliest electric vehicles . The current entity was established in 2009 after the General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization . As of 2024 , General Motors ranks 25th by total revenue out of all American companies on
2385-518: The war. Effective January 28, 1953, Charles Erwin Wilson , then GM president, was named by Dwight D. Eisenhower as United States Secretary of Defense . In December 1953, GM acquired Euclid Trucks , a manufacturer of heavy equipment for earthmoving , including dump trucks , loaders and wheel tractor-scrapers , which later spawned the Terex brand. Alfred P. Sloan retired as chairman and
2438-408: Was consolidated into GM on May 2, 1918, and the same year GM acquired United Motors , a parts supplier founded by Durant and headed by Alfred P. Sloan for $ 45 million, and the McLaughlin Motor Car Company , founded by R. S. McLaughlin , became General Motors of Canada Limited. In 1919, GM acquired Guardian Frigerator Company , part-owned by Durant, which was renamed Frigidaire . Also in 1919,
2491-650: Was dissolved in 1924. The premises were taken over by J Dallas Dort's Dort Motor Car Company which he closed in 1924. In 1886 William C. Durant rode in a friend's spring-suspension road-cart built by the Coldwater Road-Cart Company of Coldwater, Michigan . Impressed with the smoothness of the ride, Durant went to Coldwater and bought the road-cart's patent and manufacturing rights from Schmedlin and O'Brien for $ 1500. With Josiah Dallas Dort as an equal partner he founded Flint Road-Cart Company. Dort as president, handled administrative details for
2544-434: Was established in 1896 to build low-priced carts sold for cash only. The first plant manager was A.B.C. Hardy. Durant decided making their own components instead of buying them in would give Durant-Dort better control over costs and the ability to improve efficiency. All component factories were relocated to Flint to further speed production. These extra activities placed a lot of pressure on Durant's friends. Dallas Dort left
2597-560: Was eventually discontinued in 2004, seven years after it had become the first American car brand to turn 100. In May 2004, GM delivered the first full-sized pickup truck hybrid vehicles , the 1/2-ton Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra trucks. These mild hybrids did not use electrical energy for propulsion, like GM's later designs. Later, the company debuted another hybrid technology, co-developed with DaimlerChrysler and BMW , in diesel-electric hybrid powertrain manufactured by Allison Transmission for transit buses. Continuing to target
2650-566: Was replaced by Michael Simcoe . In 2006, GM introduced a bright yellow fuel cap on its vehicles to remind drivers that cars can operate using E85 ethanol fuel . They also introduced another hybrid vehicle that year, the Saturn Vue Green Line . In 2008, General Motors committed to engineering half of its manufacturing plants to be landfill-free by recycling or reusing waste in the manufacturing process. Continuing their environmental-conscious development, GM started to offer
2703-608: Was succeeded by Albert Bradley in April 1956. In 1962, GM introduced the first ever turbocharged production car in the world in the Oldsmobile Cutlass Turbo-Jetfire. Two years later, the company introduced its " Mark of Excellence " logo and trademark at the 1964 New York World's Fair . The company used the mark as their main corporate identifier until 2021. GM released the Electrovan in 1966,
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#17327909195462756-457: Was supervising production of the Diamond, a low-cost buggy. In 1898, J. Dallas Dort took a two-year leave of absence from his position as president of Durant-Dort, and Hardy stepped into his place. After Dort's return in 1900, Hardy took his own leave of absence, and while touring Europe discovered the automobile. On his return, he supposedly told Durant to "get out of the carriage business before
2809-502: Was the first retail car sold with a passenger airbag . Thomas Murphy became CEO of the company, succeeding Richard C. Gerstenberg in November 1974. GM installed its first catalytic converters in its 1975 models. From 1978 to 1985, GM pushed the benefits of diesel engines and cylinder deactivation technologies. However, it had disastrous results due to poor durability in the Oldsmobile diesels and drivability issues in
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