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Happy 100th birthday, General Motors!
Filed under: Miscellaneous, Chevrolet
No matter whether it is a company or a person, reaching the age of 100 is a tremendous milestone. In the case of a business, it shows that you’ve been doing something right.
The year 2008 marks the 100th anniversary of General Motors.William Durant, owner of the Flint, Michigan Buick Motor Corporation, founded General Motors with the idea of consolidating some of the early U.S. auto brands into one controlling company. He had done the same thing for the carriage business.
Alfred Sloan from a key managerial position to become president and CEO of the company in 1923 and he remained at the helm of General Motors until 1956. In the '50s, the company presented many breakthroughs including automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, and fuel-injected engines. Of course, there was also the Corvette. After Ford came out with the Mustang, General Motors took on the challenge and released the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird to compete. The '70s were mixed. There was a strike by the United Auto Workers, an oil embargo, and stricter emission rules mandated by the federal government. In reaction, consumers turn to smaller, more fuel efficient foreign cars. This lead, in the 1980s, to General Motors' first annual loss since 1921. Soon began the plant closings. Closings continued through the 1990s. As things were going down hill domestically, GM was doing all right globally. Partnerships with South Korea’s Daewoo Motors helped GM make small cars more efficiently and GM grew in China. Today, people know what the state of the auto industry -- layoffs, plant closings, high cost of healthcare benefits for retirees and their families, etc. But despite this, GM continues to explore new technologies including the electric car, biofuel flex vehicles, etc. And the company continues to do well in sales in foreign countries including China, India, and Europe. Our take? To make a long story short, it has been a mixed bag for the auto maker giant. Makes sense. We are talking about a 100 year period of time now, aren’t we? Although the company has been going through tough times now, it has some things it can be proud of to look back on and point to. And the industry is tied to the hip with what is going on politically, socially, or any other aspect of today’s society. There are gong to be some topsy turvy times. Our take? Happy 100th, GM.
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