General motors in a pioneer company that was formed by William Durant in the year 1908. It was initially formed by grouping few numbers of the small car builders and it was given the name general motors. The founder anticipated the future lies in the manufacture of the cars and hence he arrived at this move. The company was first based at Flint, Michigan but the headquarters was moved to Detroit, Michigan. The company has witnessed ups and downs throughout its operation. General motors are an extremely wide portfolio that deals with the manufacture of the trucks and the cars.
Brands of general motors
Some of the brands of the general motors include the Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac. The other units of the general motors consist of the Holden, Vauxhall, Opel and the gm Daewoo units. These companies are distributed worldwide and have produced leading cars. The Holden is a subsidiary of the general motors that is based in Australia and New Zealand. The Vauxhall units are present in UK region and the Opel is present in rest of the Europe. Previously Opel and Vauxhall used to manufacture similar car in UK, this led to competition between the two companies. Eventually the decision was made to stop Opel productions in UK. Durant was removed from his post in the year 1911. Durant then co founded the Chevrolet in the same year. He had done a remarkable job by achieving great sales for more than three years. Again in the year 1916, Durant was recalled to the General motors has a token of appreciation for the wonderful work he had done with the Chevrolet company. In the year 1918, Chevrolet was bought by the general motors.
Association with racing
There is a great association of the general motors with the racing. Especially the Chevrolet corvette is a wonderful racing car that has amazed the people with the exceptional racing capacity of the vehicle. General motors are also an important supplier of the auto components all over the world. The quality of the components is of the highest standards in the industry. In 1990s, the Oldsmobile brands aurora car performed sensationally in the Indy racing league, winning almost all the races and capturing many records. The wonderful maneuverability of the vehicle much attributed to the success of the vehicles. The implantation of the advanced electronics control system by the general motors group has revolutionized the car industry due to the superior control that is possible to achieve. In the touring cars section, the Vauxhall cars are the leading performers in the touring league held in UK.
Alternative fuel technology
The general motors have long been interested in exploring alternative technology for the operation of the cars. Some of the initiatives have failed. There are some alternative technologies such as the hybrid cars, electric cars that have gained good popularity in the industry. They have also ventured in producing the hydrogen fuel cars by 2010. Another technology is the operation of the car using the fuel cells; this is considered to be a promising concept due to the current fuel crisis.