Editing General Motors (section)

=== Founding and consolidation ===
By 1900, [[William C. Durant]]'s [[Durant-Dort Carriage Company]] of [[Flint, Michigan]], had become the largest manufacturer of [[horse-drawn vehicle]]s in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wynn |first=Neil A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m-ismXvbPkwC&pg=PA74 |title=The A to Z from the Great War to the Great Depression |date=2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6330-9 |language=en}}</ref> Durant was averse to automobiles, but fellow Flint businessman [[James H. Whiting]], owner of [[Flint Wagon Works]], sold him the [[Buick|Buick Motor Company]] in 1904.<ref name=story/> Durant formed the General Motors Company in 1908 as a [[holding company]], borrowing a naming convention from [[General Electric]].<ref name="Kollewe">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/apr/30/general-motors-gm-history |title=The history of General Motors |first=Julia |last=Kollewe |work=The Guardian |date=April 30, 2009}}</ref> GM's first acquisition was Buick, which Durant already owned, then [[Oldsmobile|Olds Motor Works]] on November 12, 1908.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The end of the road for Oldsmobile |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-end-of-the-road-for-oldsmobile |access-date=May 2, 2022 |website=History |date=November 13, 2009 |location=US}}</ref> Under Durant, GM went on to acquire [[Cadillac]], [[Elmore Manufacturing Company|Elmore]], [[Welch Motor Car Company|Welch]], [[Cartercar]], [[Oakland (automobile)|Oakland]] (the predecessor of [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]]), the [[Rapid Motor Vehicle Company]] of [[Pontiac, Michigan]], and the [[Reliance (automobile)|Reliance Motor Car Company]] of [[Detroit, Michigan]] (predecessor of [[GMC (automobile)|GMC]]) in 1909.

Durant, with the board's approval, also tried acquiring [[Ford Motor Company]] in 1909, for $8 million,<ref>[https://www.gm.com/heritage/durant#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20Durant%20almost%20purchased,become%20a%20division%20of%20GM. "The Fearless Spirit of William Durant "], gm.com</ref> but the banks refused to lend him the initial $2 million down payment.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.autonews.com/article/20080914/OEM02/309149927/durant-almost-landed-ford-but-couldn-t-come-up-with-2-million |title=Durant almost landed Ford, but couldn't come up with $2 million |work=Automotive News |date=September 14, 2008 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> Durant over-[[Leverage (finance)|leveraged]] GM in making acquisitions, and was removed by the board of directors in 1910 at the order of the bankers who backed the loans to keep GM in business.<ref name="story">{{cite web | url=https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/historical-brochures/Anniversaries/Story_of_General_Motors.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108052738/https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/historical-brochures/Anniversaries/Story_of_General_Motors.pdf |archive-date=January 8, 2022 |url-status=live | title=Story of General Motors }}</ref> The action of the bankers was partially influenced by the [[Panic of 1910–1911]] that followed the earlier enforcement of the [[Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890]]. In 1911, [[Charles F. Kettering]] of [[Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company]] (DELCO) and [[Henry M. Leland]] invented and patented the first electric [[Starter (engine)|starter]] in America.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 15, 2012 |title=Cadillac's Electric Self Starter Turns 100 |url= https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2012/Feb/0215_cad_starter.html |access-date=May 2, 2022 |website=media.gm.com |language=en}}</ref> In November 1911, Durant co-founded [[Chevrolet]] with race car driver [[Louis Chevrolet]], who left the company in 1915 after a disagreement with Durant.<ref>{{cite web |title=Louis Chevrolet {{!}} Biography & Facts |url= https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Chevrolet |access-date=May 2, 2022 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:General Motors Company 1916.jpg|thumb|left|General Motors Company share certificate issued October 13, 1916]]

GM was reincorporated in [[Detroit]] in 1916 as General Motors Corporation and became a [[public company]] via an [[initial public offering]]. By 1917, [[Chevrolet]] had become successful enough that Durant, with the backing of [[Samuel McLaughlin]] and [[Pierre S. du Pont]], reacquired a controlling interest in GM. The same year, GM acquired [[Samson Tractor]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Zp8TAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA4308 | title=A Study of the Antitrust Laws: General Motors Corporation |author=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary |publisher=United States Government Printing Office | year=1955}}</ref> Chevrolet Motor Company was consolidated into GM on May 2, 1918, and the same year GM acquired [[United Motors Company|United Motors]], a parts supplier founded by Durant and headed by [[Alfred P. Sloan]] for $45 million, and the [[McLaughlin Motor Car Company]], founded by [[Robert McLaughlin (industrialist)|R. S. McLaughlin]], became [[General Motors of Canada]] Limited.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lassa |first=Todd |date=September 15, 2008 |title=Happy 100th Birthday, General Motors |work=Motor Trend |url= https://www.motortrend.com/features/general-motors-100-year-anniversary/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gm-buys-chevrolet | title=GM buys Chevrolet | date=November 13, 2009 |publisher=History.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.nytimes.com/1918/02/24/archives/general-motors-finances-plan-for-absorbing-chevrolet-company.html |title=General Motors Finances; Plan for Absorbing Chevrolet Company Indicated |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 24, 1918 |url-access=limited}}</ref> In 1919, GM acquired [[Guardian Frigerator Company]], part-owned by Durant, which was renamed [[Frigidaire]]. Also in 1919, the [[General Motors Acceptance Corporation]] (GMAC), which provides financing to automotive customers, was formed.<ref name="tarp">{{cite news | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vqb8SDu4pv0C&pg=PA12 | title=Unique Treatment of General Motors Acceptance Corp. (GMAC) Under the TARP | publisher=Diane Publishing | first=Elizabeth | last=Warren | author-link=Elizabeth Warren | year=2011| isbn=978-1-4379-3080-1}}</ref><ref name=story/>

In 1920, du Pont orchestrated the removal of Durant once again and replaced him with Sloan.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. |url= https://www.automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/alfred-p-sloan-jr/ |access-date=May 2, 2022 |website=automotivehalloffame.org}}</ref> At a time when GM was competing heavily with [[Ford Motor Company]], Sloan established annual model changes, making previous years' models "dated" and created a market for [[used car]]s.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 25, 2008 |title=Annual model change was the result of affluence, technology, advertising |url= https://www.autonews.com/article/20080914/OEM02/309149950/annual-model-change-was-the-result-of-affluence-technology-advertising |access-date=May 2, 2022 |work=Automotive News |language=en}}</ref> He also implemented the pricing strategy used by car companies today. The pricing strategy had [[Chevrolet]], [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]], [[Oldsmobile]], [[Buick]], and [[Cadillac]] priced from least expensive to most, respectively.<ref>{{cite book |last=English |first=Paul F. |title=Safety Performance in a Lean Environment |date=2011 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9781439821138 |location=United Kingdom |page=3}}</ref>

In 1921, [[Thomas Midgley Jr.]], an engineer for GM, discovered [[tetraethyllead]] (leaded gasoline) as an antiknock agent, and GM patented the compound because [[ethanol]] could not be patented.<ref>{{cite web |title=Thomas Midgley, Jr. {{!}} American chemical engineer |url= https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Midgley-Jr |access-date=May 2, 2022 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> This led to the development of higher compression engines resulting in more power and efficiency. The public later realized that lead contained in the gasoline was harmful to various biological organisms including humans.<ref name="Kitman">{{cite magazine |last=Kitman |first=Jamie |url= http://www.thenation.com/article/secret-history-lead?page=full | title=The Secret History of Lead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140510105351/http://www.thenation.com/article/secret-history-lead?page=full |archive-date=May 10, 2014 |magazine=The Nation |date=March 2, 2000}}</ref> Evidence shows that corporate executives understood the health implications of tetraethyllead from the beginning.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Eschner |first=Kat |title=Leaded Gas Was a Known Poison the Day It Was Invented |url= https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/leaded-gas-poison-invented-180961368/ |magazine=Smithsonian | date=December 9, 2016}}</ref> As an engineer for GM, Midgley also developed [[chlorofluorocarbon]]s, which have now been banned due to their contributing to [[ozone depletion]] in the upper [[atmosphere]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-man-two-deadly-substances-20th-century-180963269/ |title=One Man Invented Two of the Deadliest Substances of the 20th Century | first=Kat |last=Eschner |magazine=Smithsonian |date=May 18, 2017}}</ref>

Under the encouragement of GM President Alfred P. Sloan Jr., GM acquired [[Vauxhall Motors]] for $2.5 million in 1925.<ref name="selling">{{cite news |url= https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2017/03/06/look-history-opel-and-vauxhall-european-brands-gm-selling/98758574/ |title=A look at the history of Opel and Vauxhall, the European brands GM is selling |first=Brent |last=Snavely |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |date=March 6, 2017}}</ref> The company also acquired an interest in the [[Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company]] the same year, and its president, [[John D. Hertz]], joined the board of directors of GM; it acquired the remainder of the company in 1943.<ref name="story" />