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Article: General Motors
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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GENERAL MOTORS
GENERAL MOTORS
is a worldwide corporation that produces everything from microchips to locomotives. William Crapo Durant of Flint, Michigan and a small group of investors formed the General Motors Company (GM)16 September 1908 in Trenton, New Jersey. Durant, who already owned Buick Motor Company, bought small car and parts manufacturers and incorporated them into GM. Among Durant's first acquisitions were Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Oakland (Pontiac). By 1920 GM had purchased more than 30 companies. After World War I GM experienced a decline so severe Durant resigned his post as president. In 1923 the Board of Directors elected Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. president (10 May 1923
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