The History of General Motors Contributions to the Automobile Industry

By: Jason Petrina



While numerous auto manufacturers continue to flood the market, General Motors is one company that has proven it has the ability to withstand the test of time. Comprised of two separate divisions, Chevrolet and GMC, General Motors produces a line of trucks in addition to passenger vehicles. Technically termed a truck, one of the most innovative and popular vehicles of the General Motors line of vehicles is the Hummer; originally manufactured for military use.

Like many other auto manufacturing companies, General Motors was founded just after the turn of the century in 1902 in Flint, Michigan. While General Motors has served as the largest employer and auto manufacturer in the US at various times, it’s surprising to note that the company was originally funded with capital of only $50,000. It was originally a holding company for Buick and the family soon went on to include Oldsmobile and Cadillac. Greyhound bus lines were added to the lineup a couple of decades later.

The General Motors line of vehicles has offered a number of industry firsts. For example, Cadillac was the first vehicle to offer closed bodies beginning in 1910. Until that time, standard options on vehicles included open bodies. This form of all weather comfort galvanized the automobile industry. Just four years later, Cadillac would once again be the first to make an innovative introduction with the production of a V-type water cooled eight cylinder engine. This would become the first step in the development of higher powered and speed vehicles. By the next year the V-8 engine would become standard in all Cadillac vehicles.

In 1919, the company began to invest and experiment in the production of a new refrigerated food storage system. The Frigidaire Corporation was introduced just a few months later. The next few years also saw a variety of introductions, such as the production of ethyl gasoline; which had been originally developed by General Motors Research Laboratories. The 1920’s saw the introduction of several first for the General Motors Corporation, such as the first implementation of chrome plating on vehicles; adopted by Cadillac and the introduction of a room air conditioner by Frigidaire.

Safety became a major consideration in the 1930’s as America struggled with the Great Depression. General Motors was the first in the automotive industry to conduct a rollover test in 1934; conducting the experiment at the top of a hill using a ramp. The following year the very first Suburban was introduced, a ½ ton truck that had the capacity to seat up to eight passengers. Dual windshield wipers were introduced the following year and by the end of 1939, the 1940 Oldsmobile models were impressing everyone with the introduction of the first completely automatic shift transmission. That same year, the first rear turn signals were installed on Buick models.

The Forties started off with a bang as the 25 millionth General Motors vehicle rolled off the assembly line and Buick introduced the first torque converter automatic transmission. Fully automatic transmission arrived on the scene in 1950; once again an industry first from General Motors; this time via the Chevrolet division. Two years later power steering was offered by Buick, Oldsmobile and Cadillac.

By 1954, General Motors was celebrating it’s 50 millionth vehicle (a tribute to the post-war economy) and Cadillac became the first to offer both automatic windshield wipers and power steering as standard on all vehicles. While later years were marked with accusations of monopolies and strikes, General Motors did manage to still turn out a few innovations including the first air cushion restraint system option in 1973 and the catalytic converted the following year.



Jason Petrina is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com