by David Thackston

Created on: April 07, 2008

With General Motors on the brink of celebrating 100 years since it was first founded, this seems like a good time to take a look at the company's long and illustrious history. General Motors took root in 1908 when it was acquired as part of the Buick company. William C. Durant, who had been appointed General Manager of Buick in 1904 incorporated General Motors into the current entity. By doing this he was the first to create a multi-brand holding company. This large company soon acquired the interest of Cadillac, Oldsmobile, various part and component manufacturers, and Rapid Motor Vehicle out of Pontiac, Michigan, as well as the Reliance Motor Truck Company. The latter of these soon formed GMC Truck, one of the company's most successful ventures.

The climb of General Motors to the top was no smooth ride however, in 1910 Durant over extended himself and lost control of the company. Soon after he began the Chevrolet Company with Louis Chevrolet, but after a fallout between the two men took place, Durant bought out his partner's share and took control of this company as well. While enjoying the success of the Chevrolet corporation Durant acquired more companies, Republic Motors, and United motors, consolidating brands, parts manufacturers, and most importantly, his competition. With this new success Durant was once again able to acquire General Motors, only to lose it soon after to the controlling interest of Dupont.

Since the 1920's the General Motors Corporation has been the industry leader in automobile production and sales globally. After the Second World War General Motors experienced great success with a variety of brands. One of the company's signature brands, Cadillac, had been the leader in luxury since 1912 with the introduction of the first electric self starter. These innovations continued throughout the years within the brands the company sub-segmented the market with so effectively.

With a clear focus on research and development geared towards the future, GM has managed to stay ahead of it's nearest competitors. There is a constant strive to be the best implanted within the corporate culture, and with GM's varying interest's in automotive racing of all sorts, the company stays on the learning track constantly. GMC and Chevrolet have enjoyed clear market leader success throughout the years, while Pontiac, Buick, and Oldsmobile finished out the lineup with their own uniquely appealing products. GMC's competition was hard pressed to compete with so many distinct brands, market dominance belonged to GMC undoubtedly.

Over the years GM has added additional brands to it's lineup, such as Saab, Hummer, and Saturn. All have succeeded in the same manner as the company did in it's infancy. This success has been due in part at least to the concept of tailoring to various market segments by brand rather than offering expensive assembly line options. By using this technique GM has created a strong brand loyalty among the users of their various product lines. At the same time GM has cut options costs, though still offers the consumer the options that they want through their various brands. Each company, whether it be Cadillac, or Saturn, has it's own identity, though all carry the same GM guarantee. Today the company enjoys unrivaled success and continues their dominance of the market by offering new hybrid vehicles to fit the needs of today while still maintaining the high level of craftsmanship that the brand has come to stand for during the last century.

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