General Motors is one of the Big Three US automakers. It is also the sixth biggest vehicle manufacturer in the world with operations in six continents. The company has also made its place among the most popular used American car makes in the UAE. Let’s go through some important facts about General Motors in detail.
Discover Some Interesting General Motors Facts
In this section, we discuss some of the most interesting facts about General Motors.
GM Was Founded in 1908
The multinational corporation was originally founded in 1908 by William C. Durant on September 16. Originally, a carriage maker, Durant had his own company called the Durant-Dort Carriage Co. Back in the day, this Miami based company was the largest carriage making company in the world.
As for General Motors, Durant just had a capital of $2000 when he decided to establish General Motors. Case in point: Durant set up GM to buy a tyre company that had gone bankrupt. The main purpose of GM was to be used as a holding company for Buick.
However, as General Motors history has it, within the next two years, many popular car companies including Oldsmobile and Cadillac were acquired by GM. Today, GM is among the most famous American car brands.
General Motors has Acquired Several Car Brands
The company bought and sold many known auto brands throughout its history. Some famous auto brands owned by GM are:
- Cadillac
- Chevrolet
- Buick
- Hoden
- Wuling
- GMC
At one time, international and domestic subsidiaries included Pontiac, Hummer, Oldsmobile, Saab and Saturn.
Environment Initiatives by GMC
GMC has been implementing environmental initiatives for a long time. The company spent several years researching and developing alternative technologies that aid in production of vehicles that help reduce the carbon footprint from the environment.
Case in point: GM started developing all-electric cars in the 1990s. The company produced its very first full-sized hybrid electric pickup in 2004. The Chevrolet Volt debuted in 2010.
Moreover, GM also produces battery packs for electric vehicles. As part of its environmental initiatives, the company also developed hydrogen fuel cell cars and flexible-fuel cars.
GM Motors EV Plans for the Future
GMC plans to put every driver in an electric car. By 2025, GM aims to produce 30 new electric vehicles. Moreover, the company is working towards earning a target of 280 billion dollars by 2030 – and the growth is expected to be driven by connected services, new business arena and electric vehicles. By 2023, GM plans to earn the ten-billion-dollar mark by the sales of electric vehicles.
In future, the company will also work with GE Renewable Energy to assess different ways to improve rare earth materials supply, magnets, steel and copper for the production of EVs.
Exclusive GM-owned brands for China
One of the biggest markets for General Motors vehicles is China. In fact, GM became the best-selling foreign automaker in China. Three car brands under the General Motors umbrella exclusively for the Chinese market are: Baojun, Jeifang and Wuling.
Baojon founded in 2010 and joined GM in the same year. Jeifang was founded in 2011 and Wuling was founded in 2002.
GMC Has Been a Supporter for Charities
The company is known for its philanthropic endeavors by donating millions of dollars to charity.
Among the many charities, GMC has been a supporter for the Nature Conservancy from 1994 to present. The company has donated over $23 million in cash and has also donated vehicles to this charity.
Furthermore, General Motors also actively raises awareness about breast cancer. They collaborated with the Fashion industry on a project known as GM/ CFDA Concept: Cure. GM’s involvement here was to customize five of their vehicles. Those vehicles were later auctioned off to raise funds for breast cancer research.
The Safe Kids Buckle Up scheme is another supported cause. The project raises awareness of the importance of car seatbelts. General Motors also donated over $1.2 billion in 18 universities across the world to support engineering education.
GM Has Been to the Moon
Among other important facts about General Motors, the most astonishing one is about the company’s contribution to the moon landing. Case in point: an essential era about astronautical investigations that included landing on the moon under the Apollo moon program which was facilitated by GM.
GM supports NASA and has worked within the space industry. The company delivered the navigation systems and the inertial guidance for the entire Apollo Moon program, including Apollo 11 and the first human landing in 1969. More so, the components and systems of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) was also developed by GMC. This was the vehicle used by Apollo 15 astronauts when they first drove on the moon.
They Dabbled in Many Sports Events
Much like other known car manufacturers, General Motors was interested in showcasing its vehicles by participating in some of the world’s biggest motorsports events. Famous motorsports events, GM participated in include Supercars Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the World Touring Car Championship, NASCAR and SCCA.
They Made Two Trains
Another lesser known yet fun fact about General Motors is that the company designed two concept trains. This happened back in the 1950s, when the company wanted their projects to diversify.
The Electro-Motive Division of GM developed the Autotrain. Only two trains were made with 10 passenger cars. In 1956, the trains made their debut to the public. However, they retired in 1966.
Moreover, GM also developed two miniature versions of the train, called Zooliner and Viewliner. The former was sent to Oregon Zoon, Portland. To date, the Zooliner transports people around the park. On the other hand, the Viewliner was sent to Disneyland and was put to use throughout the 1950s.
That is all on the interesting facts about General Motors. If you wish to buy a GM vehicle, take a look at these used GMC cars for sale in the UAE. Besides, if you want to browse through other car makes, here is a list of used cars for sale in the UAE.
Stay tuned to UAE’s top auto blog for more on car DIY solutions, car repair tips and much more.
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