Search results
People also ask
When did GM become GM?
What is GM's history?
When did GM start making cars?
How did GM become a major automaker?
May 21, 2024 · Early history. Under the leadership of William C. Durant, the General Motors Company was founded in 1908 to consolidate several motorcar companies producing Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Oakland (later Pontiac), Ewing, Marquette, and other autos as well as Reliance and Rapid trucks. GM introduced the electric self-starter commercially in its ...
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 the time.
Aug 4, 2023 · Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, GM has played a pivotal role in shaping the automotive landscape and has been at the forefront of innovation, producing iconic brands such as Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC. Throughout its history, GM has faced numerous challenges and triumphs.
- Jan. 29, 1886: Carl Benz Patents World’S First Automobile
- Porsche Shows First Hybrid Car at Paris World’S Fair
- Nov. 10, 1903: Woman Invents Windshield Wiper. Industry Ignores her.
- Dec. 1906: Newcomer Rolls-Royce Introduces ‘The Best Car in The World’
- Cadillac Makes The Engine Crank Obsolete
- African American Car Company Sets Up Shop
- Chrysler Airflow Streamlines Auto Design
- The Citroen Traction Avant: from Gangsters to The Gestapo
- May 1938: Hitler Launches The Volkswagen Beetle
- Nov. 14, 1940: Willys-Overland Delivers First-Ever Jeep
German mechanical engineer Carl Benz kicks off a transportation revolution when he applies for a patent for a “vehicle powered by a gas engine”—or what Mercedes-Benz now calls “the birth certificate of the automobile.” By July 1886, newspapers report public road sightings of the Benz Patent Motorwagen. The three-wheeled vehicle’s engine has just on...
Nearly a century before the Toyota Prius, Ferdinand Porsche debuts Austria’s Lohner-Porsche, a radical hybrid car that generates electricity from two small gasoline engines to power its front wheels. Buyers of the pricey model—which costs $2,900 to $6,840, or $91,000 to $216,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars—include Emil Jellinek, whose daughter Me...
Mary Anderson receives a patent for the first windshield wiper, a handle-operated, rubber-bladed system “to remove snow, rain or sleet” from the window of “modern electric motor cars.” (Yes, electric cars were a thing in 1903.) The Alabama native was inspired on a trip to New York, observing how streetcar drivers had to open windows to see ahead in...
Rolls-Royce shows its 40/50, the prototype for its iconic Silver Ghost. It’s among history’s most famously durable, luxurious and well-engineered cars—and the polar opposite of Henry Ford’s mass-market approach. The company hand-builds fewer than 8,000 copies of the Silver Ghost from 1907 to 1926, with the chassis alone (minus a custom body) costin...
Cadillac introduces the first electric starter on its Touring Edition, created by Charles “Boss” Kettering, a famous inventor and engineer. The starter eliminates the need for drivers to hand-crank cars to life—a process that led to broken arms and other injuries due to engine kickback.
C.R. Patterson & Sons of Greenfield, Ohio becomes history’s first and only African American-owned car company, joining hundreds of scrappy start-ups as horse-drawn vehicles give way to combustion-engine automobiles. After founder C.R. Patterson, born into slavery in 1833, builds a successful carriage-making firm after the Civil War, his son Frederi...
Innovation is great, but also requires timing. Chrysler arrives prematurely with its streamlined Airflow models, whose teardrop shape and forward-set cabin are inspired by aircraft and the first automotive wind-tunnel testing. The mold-breaking Airflows prove an epic sales flop, with production canceled after 1937. But other automakers quickly adop...
The Traction Avant, the brainchild of French engineer and industrialist Andre-Gustave Citroën, is credited as the world’s first mass-produced, front-wheel-drive car. Styled by sculptor Flaminio Bertoni, the sleek, lightweight unibody Citroën also pioneers independent suspension and hydraulic brakes. In production for more than 20 years, it becomes ...
Inspired by Model T inventor Henry Ford, Adolf Hitler conceives an affordable “people’s car” for the masses. He enlists carmaker Ferdinand Porsche, whose design consultants include Austrian Erwin Komenda and Hungarian Béla Barényi; the latter drew the Beetle’s iconic bubble design in 1925. Hitler lays the foundation stone for the Beetle factory in ...
With war looming, the U.S. Army seeks bids from 135 automakers to design a “light reconnaissance vehicle” that could handle tough military duty. Only three companies respond: Ford, Bantam and Ohio’s Willys-Overland. Completing its design in a remarkable 75 days, Willys delivers its prototype “Quad”—named for its four-wheel-drive system—and goes on ...
General Motors has over a century of history that has seen the company grow into one of the automotive industry's most iconic brands. This timeline highlights key events in GM's formation, global expansion, challenges and innovations from its founding in 1908 up through recent years. . EARLY HISTORY (1908-1929) © History Oasis. . 1908 — Founding.
Timeline of North American automobiles; Beginnings. Benz Patent Motorwagen ("patent motorcar"; 1885), a three-wheel vehicle widely regarded as the world's first production automobile; Benz Velo (1894), follow-up 4-wheel model of the Benz Patent Motorwagen; Early developments essential to the development of automobiles
Jul 2, 2008 · July 2, 2008. A timeline of key engineering and manufacturing milestones from GM's first century. General Motors Corp. (GM, Detroit) has a unique manufacturing heritage. For most of the 20th century, the company ranked as the world’s largest manufacturer.
