THE BEGINNING
General Motors was founded on September 16, 1908 in Flint MNichigan, as aholding company for Buick, then controlled by William C. Durant, and acquired Oldsmobile later that year. The next year, Durant brought in Cadillac, Elmore, Oakland (later known as Pontiac) and several others. In 1909, General Motors 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 - around US$1.0 million.
DISTINGUISHING THE BRANDS
By 1958, the divisional distinctions within GM began to blur with the availability of high-performance engines in Chevrolets and Pontiacs. The introduction of higher trim models such as the Chevrolet Impala and Pontiac Bonneville priced in line with some Oldsmobile and Buick offerings was also confusing to consumers. By the time Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick introduced similarly styled and priced compact models in 1961, the old "step-up" structure between the divisions was nearly over.
COMPACTS ARRIVE
The 1960s saw the creation of compact and intermediate classes. The Chevrolet Corvair was a 6-cylinder answer to the VW Beetle, the Chevy II was created to match Ford's conventional Falcon and the Chevrolet Camaro/Pontiac Firebird was GMs counter measure to the Ford Mustang. Among intermediates, the Oldsmobile Cutlass nameplate became so popular during the 1970s that Cutlass applied the Cutlass name to most of its products in the 1980s. By the mid 1960s, most of GM's vehicles were built on a few common platforms and in the 1970s GM began to use nearly identical body panel stampings, differing only in internal and external trim items.
The 1971 Chevrolet Vega was GMs launch into the new subcompact class. Problems associated with its innovative aluminum engines would damage GMs reputation more than perhaps any other vehicle in its history. During the late 1970s, GM would initiate a wave of downsizing starting with the Chevrolet Caprice which was reborn into what was the size of the Chevrolet Chevelle, the Malibu would be the size of the Nova, and the Nova was replaced by the troubled front-wheel drive Citation.
REBADGING ERA
By the 1980s, GM frequently "rebadged" one division's successful vehicle into several models across the divisions, all positioned close to one another in the market place. Thus a new GM model's main competition might be another model spawned off the same platform. This led to market "cannibalization" with the divisions spending time stealing sales from one another. The company's GMT360 mid-sized light truck platform has spawned the basic Chevrolt TrailBlazer, Oldsmobile Bravada, GMC Envoy, Isuzu Ascender, Buick Rainier and Saab 9-7X. Though each model had a more or less unique mission, the trucks can hardly be discerned from one another.
GM IN THE NEW CENTURY
In the late 1990s, the U.S. economy was on the rise and GM and Ford gained market share producing enormous profits primarily from the sale of light trucks and sport-utility vehicles. From 2000 to 2001, the Federal Reserve in a move to quell the stock market, made twelve successive interest rate increases. Following the 9/11 attacks, a severe stock market decline caused a pension and benefit fund underfunding crisis. GM began its Keep America Rolling campaign, which boosted sales, and other auto makers were forced to follow suit. The U.S. automakers saw sales increase to leverage costs as gross margins deteriorated. Although retiree health care costs remain a significant issue, General Motors' investment strategy has generated a $17.1 billion surplus in 2007 in its $101 billion U.S pension fund portfolio, a $35 billion reversal from its $17.8 billion of underfunding.
In 2004, GM redirected resources from the development of new sedans to an accelerated refurbishment of their light trucks and SUVs for introduction as 2007 models in early 2006. Shortly after this decision, fuel prices increased by over 50% and this in turn affected both the trade-in value of used vehicles and the perceived desirability of new offerings in these market segments. The current marketing plan to extensively tout these revised vehicles as offering the best fuel economy in their class (of vehicle). GM claims its hybrid trucks will have gas-mileage improvements of 25%.
In the summer of 2005, GM announced that its corporate chrome emblem "Mark Of Excellence" will begin appearing on all recently introduced and all-new 2006 model vehicles produced and sold in North America. The move is seen as an attempt by GM to link its name and vehicle brands more closely.
In 2005, GM promoted sales through an employee discount to all buyers. Marketed as the lowest possible price, GM cleared an inventory buildup of 2005 models to make way for its 2006 lineup. While the promotion was a temporary shot in the arm for sales, it did not help the company's bottom line. GM has since changed its marketing strategy to a no haggle sticker policy in which all vehicle prices are lowered, but incentives are reduced, if not eliminated.
In March 2005, the Government of Canada provided C$200 million in incentives to General Motors for its Ontario plants, and last fall it provided C$100 million to Ford Motor Co. to expand production and provide jobs, according to Jim Harris. Similar incentives were promised to non-North American auto companies like Toyota, Premier Dalton McGuinty said the money the province and Ottawa are pledging for the project is well-spent. His government has committed C$400 million, including the latest Toyota package of C$125 million, to the province's automobile sector, which helped finance $5 billion worth of industry projects. Canada's single payer health system has helped reduce health care costs for the U.S auto industry.For the first time, in 2004 the total number of cars produced by all makers in Ontario exceeded those produced in Michigan. For the first time in 2004 GM sold more vehicles in other countries than inside the US.
AUTO RACING
General Motors has an extensive history in numerous forms of racing. Vehicles of most, if not all, of GM's brands have been represented in competition, with perhaps Chevrolet being the most prominent. In particular, the Chevrolet Corvette has long been popular and successful in international road racing. GM also is a supplier of racing components, such as engines, transmissions, and electronics.
GM's Oldsmobile Aurora engine platform was successful in open-wheel Indy-style racing throughout the 1990s, winning many races in the small V-8 class. 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 Monte Carlo is the only entry in the series but in the past the Pontiac Grand Prix, Buick Regal, Oldsmobile Cutlass, Chevrolet Lumina and Chevrolet Malibu were also used. Starting in March 2007, the Chevrolet Impala will be phased into the series.
In touring cars (mainly in Europe) Vauxhall is a key player and former champion in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) series and competes with a Vauxhall Astra VXR in BTC spec. Opel is one of the three participants in the DTM series (along with Audi and Mercedes Benz) and is a former champion and competes with a unique 500 bhp vehicle that resembles the Opel Vectra. Chevrolet competes with a Lacetti in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).
In Australia, there is the prestigious V8 Supercar Championship which is battled out by the two main rivals of Holden& Ford. The current Holden Racing Team cars are based on the Holden Commodore and run a 5.0-litre V8-cylinder engine producing 650+BHP (approx 480Kw Power) @ 7500rpm). These cars have a top speed of 300+km/h (185mph) and run 0-100km/h in less than 4 seconds. The Holden Racing Team is Australia's most successful team in Australian Touring Car History. In 2006 both the Teams and Drivers championship was won by the very closely linked Toll HSV Dealer Team.
