GM: A Family of Brands
By: Terry Brown
General Motors Corporation, which is also commonly known as GM, is an automobile maker that is based in the United States. However, this company has a wide scope and reach for it has operations worldwide and has a line up of brands under its name. GM automobiles are high ranking in terms of its overall capability for it has an outstanding commitment to give the automobile industry only the best kind of vehicles. And this commitment is very strictly incorporated with equally excellent quality auto parts. Its headquarters is found in the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan. Currently, the company is one of the world's largest vehicle manufacturers.
Founded in 1908, General Motors was then a holding company for Buick, which was then controlled by William C. Durant, and later on that same year had acquired Oldsmobile. Come the following year, General Motors had then expanded when Durant had bought Cadillac, Elmore, and Oakland and brought them into his company. Come 1909, General Motors was then able to acquire the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, which is the predecessor of the GMC truck. Through the years, General Motors was then able to take up under its wing different companies that would then come together to form up a whole new company of automobiles that come in different types and models. The first American corporation to make over one billion dollars in just a year was General Motors. This happened on December 31, 1955.
General Motors was actually named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004 by the Working Mothers magazine. However, due to its highly compensated workforce, GM has the highest health care and labor costs in the whole automotive industry. Some analysts had criticized the company for this very reason.
Recently, GM had redirected resources from the development of new sedans to an accelerated refurbishment of their light trucks and SUVs for introduction as 2007 models in early 2006. However, shortly after this decision was made, fuel prices had increased by over 50 per cent, thus affecting both the trade-in value of used vehicles and the perceived desirability of new offerings in these market segments.
Vehicles that were produced by the company were able to find distinction for itself because of the unique qualities that it each vehicle had. The GMC Truck produced strictly utilitarian products over a wide range of vehicle capacities. The Chevrolet was an entry-level brand that was offering high utility at a low price, with some light trucks and panel vans. The Pontiac was a brand that sold solid, extremely quiet vehicles that was considered attractive by the modest and reserved lower middle class. The Oldsmobile is a leading technical innovator with the first production automatic transmission that eventually became GM's first "performance" division. The Buick was a more expensive and luxurious brand for the upper middle class and was known to be the "doctor's car".
Auto Parts Information provides GM vehicle owners with a complete line of the highest quality GM parts. Their hassle-free website has a catalog that guarantees visitors a convenient shopping experience online. General Motors Corporation is known to manufacture different brands that include Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab, and Vauxhall.
About The Author:
Terry Brown is a 32 year old from Houston Texas, and an enthusiast for anything auto-related. He currently writes auto-related articles for several publications.