Categories: This Day

September 16, 1908 – The birth of General Motors

Buick Motor Car company owner William C. Durant leveraged an engine supply deal with McLaughlin Motor Car Company of Canada to found General Motors on this day in 1908. In the beginning, the Detroit headquartered GM , which positioned it self as an automotive holding company, had only Buick, under its umbrella. Within a decade it would acquire more than twenty companies.

Above: A woman driving a 1910 Buick. Top: William Durant with Chevrolet 490

Durant would acquire Oldsmobile later in 1908, bringing GM’s holdings to two. The next year, GM purchased Cadillac, Cartercar, Elmore, Ewing, Oakland, Reliance Motor Truck Company and Rapid Motor Vehicle Company. The latter two being the predecessors to GMC. That same year, Durant initiated an attempt to purchase Ford Motor Company for $8 million. Henry Ford agreed, but the payment had to be under his terms and made in solid gold. When Durant failed to close the deal because hesitant bankers refused to loan him the capital, the board-of-directors booted him from the cash-strapped company.

General Motors Building in Detroit. The GM headquarters from 1923 to 1996. It’s now known as Cadillac Place and is a National Historic Landmark.

Durant’s Rebuild

In 1911, after being forced out of GM, Durant co-founded Chevrolet Motor Company with Louis Chevrolet. In 1916, after a stock buying campaign, Chevrolet came to own 54.5% of GM stock, putting Durant back in the driver’s seat of the holding company he founded. He continued his original buying spree, this time going international. GM bought Vauxhall of England in 1925, 80 percent of Germany’s Opel in 1929, and Holden of Australia became a GM property in 1931. Today General Motors builds Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, and Wuling.

Durant’s ride with GM lasted through 1920, when to board kicked him out once again. He’d go on to found Durant Motors, which wouldn’t survive the Great Depression. He would eventually manage a chain of bowling alleys, but ultimately died living on a pension from old friends. Upon his death, the Durants faced bankruptcy, forcing them to sell their art collection.

Brian Corey

Recent Posts

November 12, 1908 – GM buys Oldsmobile

On this day in 1908 the newly formed General Motors snapped up another automotive Brand.…

2 days ago

November 11, 1926 – Maria Teresa de Filippis, first female F1 driver, is born

Born to a wealthy Italian family on November 11, 1926, Maria Teresa de Filippis grew…

3 days ago

November 10, 1885 – The first motorcycle rider

On this day in 1885, the first test ride of what is often considered the…

4 days ago

November 9, 1937 – Patent issued for flying car dubbed the “Arrowbile”

The Arrowbile in flight c. 1947 In the golden age of aviation, the skies were…

5 days ago

November 8, 1866 – Herbert Austin, founder of Austin Motor Company, is born

An Austin Motor Company showroom in London in 1910. In the annals of automotive history,…

6 days ago

November 7, 1907 – Jesús García saves a town by driving a burning train full of dynamite away

The location of the explosion, outside of Nacozari. Jesús García Corona, born on November 13,…

7 days ago