GMC (automobile)
General Motors Company, formally the GMC Division of General Motors LLC, is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors that focuses on trucks and utility vehicles. GMC sells pickup and commercial trucks, vans, military vehicles, sport utility vehicles marketed worldwide by General Motors. In North America, GMC dealerships are always Buick dealerships, allowing the same dealer to market both upmarket cars and upmarket trucks. GMC traces its history to the 1902 founding of the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company in Pontiac, MI. In 1909 William C. Durant gained control of Rapid Motor Vehicle Company and made it a subsidiary of his General Motors Company. In 1908 Durant gained control of Reliance Motor Car Company, another early commercial vehicle manufacturer. In 1911 General Motors formed the General Motors Truck Company and folded Rapid and Reliance into it. In 1912 the Rapid and Reliance names were dropped in favor of “GMC.” All General Motors truck production was consolidated at the former Rapid Motor Plant 1 in Pontiac, MI.
GMC maintained three manufacturing locations in Pontiac, Oakland and Saint Louis, Missouri. In 1916, a GMC Truck crossed the country from Seattle to New York City in thirty days, in 1926, a 2-ton GMC truck was driven from New York to San Francisco in five days and 30 minutes. During the Second World War, GMC Truck produced 600,000 trucks for use by the United States Armed Forces. In 1925, GM purchased a controlling interest in Yellow Coach, a bus and taxicab manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, founded by John D. Hertz; the company was renamed Yellow Truck & Coach Manufacturing Company, a affiliated subsidiary of General Motors. All manufacturing operations of General Motors Truck Company were placed under YT&CMC. In 1928 Plant 2 opened and all headquarters staff moved to the administration building at 660 South Boulevard E in Pontiac, MI. In 1943, GM renamed it GMC Truck and Coach Division. In 1981, GMC Truck & Coach Division became part of GM Worldwide Bus Group. Bus production ended in May 1987 and the division name was changed from GMC Truck & Coach to GMC Truck Division.
The Canadian plant produced buses from 1962 until July 1987. GM withdrew from the bus and coach market because of increased competition in the late 1970s and 1980s. Rights to the RTS model were sold to Transportation Manufacturing Corporation, while Motor Coach Industries of Canada purchased the Classic design. In 1998, GMC's official branding on vehicles was shortened from "GMC Truck" to "GMC". In 1996, GM merged GMC Truck Division with the Pontiac Motor Division in order to "give the combined division a brand image projecting physical power and outdoor activity"; this coincided with many GMC dealerships merging with Pontiac dealerships, allowing a single dealer to offer both trucks and entry-to-mid-level cars. While many GMC and Chevrolet trucks are mechanically identical, GMC is positioned as a premium offering to the mainstream Chevrolet brand, with luxury vehicles such as the Denali series. In 2002, GMC celebrated its 100 anniversary and released a book entitled GMC: The First 100 Years, a complete history of the company.
In 2007, GMC introduced the Acadia, a crossover SUV, the division's first unibody vehicle whose predecessor, the GMT-360 based Envoy, was discontinued with the closure of GM's Moraine, Ohio plant on December 23, 2008. In 2009, GMC ended production of medium-duty commercial trucks after over 100 years. In the same year, GMC introduced the Terrain, a mid-size crossover SUV based on the GM Theta platform shared with the Chevrolet Equinox, it replaced the Pontiac Torrent after the brand's demise. GMC manufactures SUVs, pickup trucks and light-duty trucks, catered to a premium-based market. In the past, GMC produced fire trucks, heavy-duty trucks, military vehicles, transit buses, medium duty trucks. Beginning in 1920, GMC and Chevrolet trucks became similar, built as variants of the same platform, sharing much the same body sheetwork, except for nameplates and grilles – though their differences engines, have varied over the years. GMC advertising marketed its trucks to commercial buyers and businesses, whereas the Chevy's targeted private ownership.
From 1939 to 1974 GMC had its own line of six cylinder engines, first the inline sixes known as "Jimmy's" from 1939–1959, their own Vee-six from 1960–1974, of which a V8 and a V12 version existed. Additionally, from 1955 through 1959, the less than 2-ton, domestic GMC gasoline trucks were equipped with Pontiac and Oldsmobile V8s—whereas the Canadian models used Chevrolet engines. New Chevrolet vehicles are sold at Chevrolet dealerships, GMC vehicles are sold alongside Buick and Cadillac dealerships. Stand alone GMC franchises exist for sales of the entire GMC line up and includes medium and light-duty commercial models as well; this crossover allowed GM dealers that did not sell Chevrolets to offer full lineups of both cars, SUVs by offering GMC's trucks and SUVs. Between 1962 and 1972, most GMC vehicles were equipped with quad-headlights, while their Chevrolet clones were equipped with dual-headlights. In 1971, GMC marketed their version of the Chevrolet El Camino, based on the Chevrolet Chevelle.
Called Sprint, it was identical to the El Camino, a sport version, the SP, was equivalent to the El Camino SS. In 1973, with GM’s introduction of the new "rounded line" series trucks, GMC and Chevrolet trucks became more
General Motors Canada
General Motors of Canada Company known as GM Canada, is the Canadian subsidiary of General Motors. It is headquartered at the Canadian Regional Engineering Centre in Oshawa, Canada. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, GM Canada received a combined loan commitment of C$3 billion of financial assistance from the federal and provincial governments amid declining sales. On November 26, 2018, GM announced the closure of its Oshawa plant, ending a century of automobile and related manufacturing operations in the city. McLaughlin Motor Car Company was founded in 1907. Samuel McLaughlin and William C. Durant the biggest carriage builders in Canada and the United States, contracted for Durant's Buick to supply McLaughlin with power trains for 15 years. McLaughlin fitted the power trains to running gear and chassis built by McLaughlin in Canada; the cars were branded McLaughlin until the end of the contract. McLaughlin-Buick was the brand between 1923 and 1942. In 1908 Durant and McLaughlin started General Motors Holding Company after Durant exchanged $500,000 of Buick stock for $500,000 of McLaughlin Motor Co. stock.
McLaughlin exchanged his Buick stock for General Motors stock, in 1910 was invited to be on the board of General Motors in Detroit. In 1915 McLaughlin acquired the Chevrolet Car Company of Canada, which built Chevrolets in Oshawa with Chevrolet motors and McLaughlin bodies. In 1918 he merged his company with it under the name General Motors of Canada Limited prior to his becoming director and vice president of General Motors on the approval of Durant, president of General Motors and owner of the Chevrolet Motor Co; the Corporation moved people in 1918 after McLaughlin allied his Company with the Corporation unknown to Robert McLaughlin. The McLaughlins were given GM stocks for the propriortorship of the Canadian Company and $10,000,000 to build Walkerville and Canadian Products, but not ownership. GM Canada is a private subsidiary, wholly allied noted by The Canadian Motor and Implement Journal 1919 by General Motors, so information such as assets and profits are not disclosed. Nonetheless, GM Canada has been one of the largest and most powerful corporations in Canada, being listed as the third "largest" in 1975, being comparable to several publicly traded companies such as BCE, George Weston Limited, Royal Bank of Canada.
General Motors of Canada opened its new head office building on the shore of Lake Ontario in 1989. It is a fixture on Highway 401 and displays an enormous picture of a new vehicle on its huge glass atrium; this is a rented structure of General Motors Corporation and today is called General Motors. General Motors of Canada built their first offices on Richmond street in Oshawa and had large General Motors of Canada signage from 1919; the McLaughlin plants were resigned by the McLaughlin Family. GM's Canadian Regional Engineering Centre opened in June 2001, it is responsible for managing the design and validation of vehicles which are manufactured in Canada, though it supports many joint development efforts with GM operations in other countries. The manufacturing plants located in Oshawa produced the Chevrolet from 1915, today the Camaro and included the Chevrolet Truck Company of Canada 1919. Cadillac and LaSalle were built here too; the Oshawa plants have garnered top quality ratings by J. D. Power.
The Oshawa facility was ranked number 1 facility in overall quality in North and South America by J. D. Power and Associates; the Truck Plant was closed to give industry to Mexico, reopen old Saturn Plants. General Motors of Canada announced a naming rights deal for the General Motors Centre in Oshawa on October 5, 2006; the centre's main tenants are the Oshawa Generals junior hockey team, who were named for the company in 1937. On April 27, 2009, GM Canada announced that it would cut over half of its Canadian jobs and close 40% of its Canadian dealerships by 2014 in response to its parent company's dire financial straits. Reducing its franchises in Canada from 709 dealerships to about 470 across the country, after General Motors bankruptcy; the Canadian Government sold its 12% of General Motors stock, purchased in 2009, in early 2015. General Motors and the Canadian Auto Workers union reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining contract on May 15, 2008, a full four months before the existing contract was due to expire.
As part of the agreement, GM pledged to maintain production at the Oshawa, Ontario pickup truck plant and made other production commitments. On June 3, 2008, less than three weeks after ratification of the new contract, GM announced that, due to soaring gasoline prices and plummeting truck sales, it would close four additional truck and SUV plants, including the Oshawa pickup plant. In response, the CAW organized a blockade of the GM of Canada headquarters in Oshawa; the blockade was ended after 12 days. Further discussions between GM and the CAW resulted in an agreement to compensate workers at the truck plant and additional product commitments for the Oshawa car assembly plant. GM opened their Technical Centre campus in Markham, Ontario, in 2017 located at the former American Express Canadian head office site; the planned closure of the Oshawa plant was announced on November 25, 2018, in a global reorganization effort. 2522 unionized positions face layoffs, no further auto assemblies were planned than December 2019.
Scarborough Van Assembly 1952–1993 Regina Car Plant 1931–1941 – produced Pontiac and Oldsmobile lines.
Anhui
Anhui is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the eastern region of the country. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, bordering Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, Shandong for a short section in the north. Anhui is the 22nd largest Chinese province based on area, the 8th most populous, the 12th most densely-populated region of all 34 Chinese provincial regions. Hefei is second largest city; the name "Anhui" derives from the names of two cities: Anqing and Huizhou. The abbreviation for Anhui is "Chinese: 皖; the administration of Anhui is composed of the provincial administrative system, led by the Governor, Provincial Congress, The People's Political Consultative Conference, Provincial Higher people's Court. Anhui is known as a province with political tradition in China's government system. Aside from managing provincial government departments, the provincial government manages 16 cities, 62 counties, 43 county-level districts and 1,522 townships.
By the end of 2016, the population registered in Anhui was 70.27 million. The total GDP of Anhui Province is listed as 12th of all 31 provincial regions in 2017. Anhui Province was established in the sixth year of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty; the province has another name, "Wan", during the Spring and Autumn Period, a small country named "Wan" was here and a mountain called "Wanshan" is in the province. Before Anhui was established, this land had a long history. Two million years ago, human beings inhabited this area, proven by some findings in Fanchang County. Archaeologists have identified the cultural domains of Yangshao and Longshan, dated to the Neolithic Age. In relation to these cultures, archeologists have discovered through excavation a 4500-year-old city called the Nanchengzi Ruins in Guzhen County, after they discovered a Neolithic city wall and a moat, part of a much larger and integrated city in the region during their 2013 disinterment. There are many historic sites found in the province from the period of the Xia dynasty to the Warring Kingdoms.
After the Qin dynasty unified China, this area belonged to different prefectures such as the Jiujiang, Zhang and Sishui Prefectures. Anhui became parts of Yang, Yu, Xu prefectures during Han dynasties. In the period of the Three Kingdoms, Anhui was separately dominated by the Wu Wei State. During the Jin dynasty and Southern dynasties and the Sui dynasty, Anhui was part of Yang, Xu and Yu prefectures, respectively. On, the Hui area flourished and the economy and culture of Hui Prefecture created great influence during Song Dynasty. During the Yuan dynasty, ruled by the Mongolian emperor, Anhui area was a part of Henan province. During the Ming dynasty, the area was directly managed by the administration of the Capital of Nanjing. Shortly after the Qing dynasty was established, this area and Jiangsu province were merged as one province until the sixth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign in the Qing dynasty. During the Qing dynasty, Anhui played an important role in the Self-Strengthening Movement led by Li Hongzhang, an important Prime Minister during the Qing Dynasty.
At this time, many western weapons and modern government concepts were introduced into China. Over the next 50 years, Anhui became one of the most aggressive areas with liberal thought. Within this environment, many ideologists appeared in Anhui. Several of them impacted the future of China including, Hu Shih, a Chinese philosopher and diplomat, Chen Duxiu, founder of the Chinese Communist Party and the first General Secretary of the CCP. In 1938, the north and central areas of the province were damaged because Chiang Kai-shek, the then-President of the Republic of China, broke the dam of Yellow River, hoping this strategy could slow down the invasion by the Imperial Japanese Army. Within only ten days of the dam breaking, the water and sands drowned all of north and middle area of this province, 500,000 to 900,000 Chinese lives were lost, along with an unknown number of Japanese soldiers; the flood prevented the Japanese Army from taking Zhengzhou. With the establishment of People’s Republic of China in 1949, the capital city of Anhui province moved to what was a small town, Hefei.
At the same time, the provincial government spent a lot of energy and money to develop this new capital city which has become China Top 25 city in 2010s. After 1949, the government launched many Water Projects to solve the hurt during World War II. In addition, many other areas of China supported Anhui’s development. In the 1990s, the province has become one of the fastest growing provinces in China. In 2010s, the province became a part of China Yangtze River Delta Economic Area, the most developed area of China, and the capital city, Hefei, is set as the sub-central city of this Economic Area, only after Shanghai and Hangzhou. In terms of culture, Northern Anhui was a part of the North China Plain together with modern-day Henan province, northern Jiangsu and southern Shandong provinces. Central Anhui was densely populated and constituted of fertile land from the Huai River watershed. In contrast, the culture of Southern Anhui, bordered along the Yangtze, was closer to Jiangxi and southern Jiangsu provinces.
The hills of southeastern Anhui formed a
Holden Special Vehicles
Holden Special Vehicles is the designated performance vehicle partner of Australian marque, Holden. Established in 1987 and based in Clayton, the company modified Holden models such as the standard-wheelbase Commodore, long-wheelbase Caprice and commercial Ute for domestic and export sale. Over the years, Holden Special Vehicles had modified other non-Holden cars within the General Motors portfolio, in low volumes. Cars produced by Holden Special Vehicles have, in the main, been marketed under the HSV brand name. However, in the early years, some have retailed under the Holden name in Australia whereas most cars for export have retailed under different names. Holden and Tom Walkinshaw Racing – an operation owned by Scottish racing-car driver and entrepreneur Tom Walkinshaw – established HSV as a joint venture in 1987. HSV replaced the Holden Dealer Team special-vehicles operation run by Peter Brock, after Holden severed its ties with HDT in February 1987 following the Energy Polarizer and "HDT Director" controversies.
With the more recent demise of TWR's global companies, HSV still remains a partnership between Holden and Walkinshaw, the joint ownership company being Premoso Pty Ltd. Over the years, HSV has built an array of modified vehicles, most of which have been based on Holden models powered by either Holden or GM sourced V8 engines; the first car developed by HSV was the Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV of 1988, badged and sold by Holden for Group A touring car racing homologation purposes. It went on to win the 1990 Bathurst 1000 race; the first car developed and sold as an HSV was the SV88. HSV will begin converting Chevrolet Camaro muscle cars and Silverado pick-ups from left-hand-drive to right-hand-drive to GM's factory standards from the middle of 2018; the cars will be sold with a factory warranty via selected Holden dealerships. To cope with the expansion, HSV will move into new premises in Clayton, in early 2018, it expects to boost job numbers from 130 to 150 staff once production ramps up.
The following is an alphabetical listing of the most notable and popular nameplates used by HSV. AvalancheThe HSV Avalanche is an all-wheel drive crossover SUV, produced from 2003 to 2005. Based on the Holden Adventra LX8 crossover wagon, the Avalanche range incorporated a dual-cab utility model known as the Avalanche XUV, derived from the Holden Crewman Cross8; the Avalanche has been built over the following series: Y Series Z Series ClubSportThe HSV Clubsport or ClubSport is a full size sports sedan that has represented the brand's highest volume seller since its introduction in 1990. It was based on the mainstream Commodore range and has been the entry-level HSV model except between 1995 and 1998, when that role was filled by the Manta range. In 1999, HSV introduced a higher specification known as the "R8"; the Clubsport has been built over the following series: VN VP VR VS VT VX Y Series Z Series E Series Gen-F CoupéThe HSV Coupé is a high performance grand tourer, produced from 2001 to 2006.
It was based on the Coupé adaptation of the third generation Holden Commodore. Its standard model range included the GTO and GTS. In 2004, the GTS was discontinued and the all-wheel drive Coupé4 introduced. Limited edition models included the GTO GTO Signature; the Coupé has been built over the following series: VX VX Series II VZ GrangeThe HSV Grange is a full size luxury sedan and it was based on the luxury Holden Statesman and Caprice twins. The Grange has represented the HSV brand's most top of luxury offering to date. Since 1997, this nameplate has replaced both Caprice models; the Grange has been built over the following series: VS WH Y Series Z Series E Series Gen-F GTSThe HSV GTS is a full size high performance sedan, based on the mainstream Commodore range. Excluding the special V6-engined editions sold in New Zealand in the VN and VP series, the proper and original V8-engined GTS was introduced in Australia in 1992 with the VP series; the GTS has represented the HSV brand's most powerful offering to date.
With the exception of the Z Series, when it was not part of the range, the GTS has been built over the following series: In 1990, HSV built special V6-engined GTS models for New Zealand in the VN and VP series. VP VR VS VT VX Y Series E Series Gen-F MalooThe HSV Maloo is a performance utility, produced since 1990 and was based on the Holden Ute, its distinguishing features have been high-performance V8 engines and full body kits. The name "Maloo" means "thunder" in an Aboriginal language, it is said that former HSV managing director, John Crennan, coined the name for the vehicle after reading a book on Aboriginal Australians. In 2001, HSV introduced a higher "R8" specification. In June 2006, a regular production Z Series Maloo R8 broke the record for the world's fastest production performance pickup, at 271 km/h, beating the previous record holder, a Dodge Ram SRT-10 by 22 km/h; the Maloo has been built over the following series: VG VP VR VS VU Y Series Z Series E Series Gen-F The most powerful and developed version was the Gen-F 430 kW GTS Maloo, launched in November 2014.
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General Motors
General Motors Company referred to as General Motors, is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Detroit that designs, manufactures and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts, sells financial services, with global headquarters in Detroit's Renaissance Center. It was founded by William C. Durant on September 16, 1908 as a holding company; the company is the largest American automobile manufacturer, one of the world's largest. As of 2018, General Motors is ranked #10 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. General Motors manufactures vehicles in 37 countries, it owns or holds controlling interest in foreign brands such as Holden, Wuling and Jiefang. Annual worldwide sales volume reached a milestone of 10 million vehicles in 2016. In addition to its twelve brands, General Motors holds a 20% stake in IMM, a 77% stake in GM Korea, it has a number of joint-ventures, including Shanghai GM, SAIC-GM-Wuling and FAW-GM in China, GM-AvtoVAZ in Russia, GM Uzbekistan, General Motors India, General Motors Egypt, Isuzu Truck South Africa.
General Motors does business in more than 140 countries. General Motors is divided into four business segments: GM North America, GM International Operations, GM Cruze, GM Financial; the company operates a mobility division called Maven, which operates car-sharing services in the United States, is studying alternatives to individual vehicle ownership. GM Defense is General Motors' military defense division, catering to the needs of the military for advanced technology and propulsion systems for military vehicles. General Motors led global vehicle sales for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007, longer than any other automaker, in 2012 was among the world's largest automakers by vehicle unit sales. General Motors acts in most countries outside the U. S. via wholly owned subsidiaries, but operates in China through 10 joint ventures. GM's OnStar subsidiary provides vehicle safety and information services. In 2009, General Motors shed several brands, closing Saturn and Hummer, emerged from a government-backed Chapter 11 reorganization.
In 2010, the reorganized GM made an initial public offering, one of the world's top five largest IPOs to date, returned to profitability that year. General Motors Company was formed with an escrow account set up by R S McLaughlin for 15 years of Buick Motors in 1907 on September 16, 1908, in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company controlled by William C. Durant, owner of Buick. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were fewer than 8,000 automobiles in the U. S. and Durant had become a leading manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in Flint helped by his purchase of the Carriage Gear patent from the McLaughlin family in Canada, in the 1880s and 1890s, before making his foray into the automotive industry in 1904 by purchasing the fledgling Buick Motor Company. GM's co-founder was Charles Stewart Mott, whose carriage company was merged into Buick prior to GM's creation in 1918. Over the years, Mott became the largest single stockholder in The USA, spent his life with his Mott Foundation, which has benefited the city of Flint, his adopted home.
GM acquired Oldsmobile that year. In 1909, Durant brought in Cadillac, Elmore and several others. In 1909, GM acquired the Reliance Motor Truck Company of Owosso and the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, the predecessors of GMC Truck. Durant, along with R. S. McLaughlin, lost control of GM in 1910 to a bankers who held the Escrow account' trust, because of the large amount of debt taken on in its acquisitions, coupled with a collapse in new vehicle sales; the next year, Durant started the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in the U. S. and in Canada in 1915, through this, he and McLaughlin in Canada secretly purchased a controlling interest in GM. Durant regained control of the company after one of the most dramatic proxy wars in U. S. business history. Durant reorganized General Motors Holding Company into General Motors Company in 1916, merging Chevrolet with GM and allying General Motors of Canada Limited in 1918 after McLaughlin Traded his Outstanding Stocks for GM stocks to allow the Corporation in the USA.
Shortly thereafter, he again lost control, this time for good, after the new vehicle market collapsed. Alfred P. Sloan was picked to take charge of the corporation, led it to its post-war global dominance when the seven manufacturing facilities operated by Chevrolet before Chevrolet acquired the company began to contribute to GM operations; these facilities were added to the individual factories that were exclusive to Cadillac, Oldsmobile and other companies acquired by the corporation. This unprecedented growth of GM would last into the early 1980s, when it employed 349,000 workers and operated 150 assembly plants in the USA. On July 10, 2009, General Motors emerged from government backed Chapter 11 reorganization after an initial filing on June 8, 2009. Through the Troubled Asset Relief Program the US Treasury invested $49.5 billion in General Motors and recovered $39 billion when it sold its shares on December 9, 2013 resulting in a loss of $10.3 billion. The Treasury invested an additional $17.2 billion into GM's former financing company, GMAC.
The shares in Ally were sold on December 2014 for $19.6 billion netting $2.4 billion. A study by the Center for Automotive Research found that the GM bailout saved 1.2 million jobs and preserved $34.9 billion in tax revenue. In 2009 General Motors of Canada Limited was not part of the General Motors Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, the company shed several brands
Holden
Holden known as General Motors-Holden, is an Australian automobile importer and former automobile manufacturer with its headquarters in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer in South Australia. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, becoming a subsidiary of the United States-based General Motors in 1931, when the company was renamed General Motors-Holden's Ltd, it was renamed Holden Ltd in 1998, General Motors-Holden in 2005. Holden sells the remaining stock of the locally produced range of Commodore vehicles, imported GM models. Holden has offered badge engineered models in sharing arrangements with Chevrolet, Nissan, Suzuki and Vauxhall Motors. In 2013, the vehicle lineup consisted of models from GM Korea, GM Thailand, GM in the US, the self-developed Commodore and Ute. Holden distributed the European Opel brand in Australia in 2012 until its Australian demise in mid-2013, the American Cadillac brand in 2009 until the brand's full launch was delayed indefinitely.
From 1994 to 2017, all Australian-built Holden vehicles were manufactured in Elizabeth, South Australia, engines were produced at the Fishermans Bend plant in Melbourne. Production or assembly plants were operated in all mainland states of Australia; the consolidation of final assembly at Elizabeth was completed in 1988, but some assembly operations continued at Dandenong until 1994. General Motors assembly plants were operated in New Zealand from 1926 until 1990 by General Motors New Zealand Limited in an earlier and quite separate operation from Holden in Australia. Although Holden's involvement in exports has fluctuated since the 1950s, the declining sales of large cars in Australia led the company to look to international markets to increase profitability. From 2010 Holden incurred losses due to the strong Australian dollar, reductions of government grants and subsidies; this led to the announcement on 11 December 2013 that Holden would cease vehicle and engine production by the end of 2017.
On 20 October 2017, the last existing vehicle plant located in Elizabeth, South Australia was closed. Holden continues as an importer of vehicles. In 1852, James Alexander Holden emigrated to South Australia from Walsall, England and in 1856 established J. A. Holden & Co, a saddlery business in Adelaide. In 1879 J A Holden’s eldest son Henry James Holden, became a partner and managed the company. In 1885, German-born H. A. Frost joined the business as a junior partner and J. A. Holden & Co became Holden & Frost Ltd. Edward Holden, James' grandson, joined the firm in 1905 with an interest in automobiles. From there, the firm evolved through various partnerships and, in 1908, Holden & Frost moved into the business of minor repairs to car upholstery; the company began re-body older chassis using motor bodies produced by F T Hack and Co from 1914. Holden & Frost mounted the body and trimmed it; the company began to produce complete motorcycle sidecar bodies after 1913. After 1917, wartime trade restrictions led the company to start full-scale production of vehicle body shells.
H. J. Holden founded a new company in late 1917, registered Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd on 25 February 1919 specialising in car bodies and using the former F T Hack & Co facility at 400 King William Street in Adelaide before erecting a large 4 story factory on the site. By 1923, HMBB were producing 12,000 units per year. During this time, HMBB assembled bodies for Ford Motor Company of Australia until its Geelong plant was completed. From 1924, HMBB became the exclusive supplier of car bodies for GM in Australia, with manufacturing taking place at the new Woodville plant; these bodies were made to suit a number of chassis imported from manufacturers such as Chevrolet and Dodge. In 1926 General Motors was established with assembly plants at Queensland. In 1930 alone, the still independent Woodville plant built bodies for Austin, Chrysler, DeSoto, Hillman, Humber and Willys-Overland as well GM cars; the last of this line of business was the assembly of Hillman Minx sedans in 1948. The Great Depression led to a substantial downturn in production by Holden, from 34,000 units annually in 1930 to just 1,651 units one year later.
In 1931 General Motors purchased Holden Motor Body Builders and merged it with General Motors Pty Ltd to form General Motors-Holden's Ltd. Throughout the 1920s Holden supplied tramcars to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board, of which several examples have been preserved in both Australia and New Zealand. Holden's second full-scale car factory, located in Fishermans Bend, was completed in 1936, with construction beginning in 1939 on a new plant in Pagewood, New South Wales. However, World War II delayed car production with efforts shifted to the construction of vehicle bodies, field guns and engines. Before the war ended, the Australian Government took steps to encourage an Australian automotive industry. Both GM and Ford provided studies to the Australian Government outlining the production of the first Australian-designed car. Ford's proposal was the government's first choice, but required substantial financial assistance. GM's study was chosen because of its low level of government intervention.
After the war, Holden returned to producing vehicle bodies, this time for Buick, Chevrolet and Vauxhall. The Oldsmobile Ace was produced from 1946 to 1948. From here, Holden continued to pursue the goal of producing an Australian c
Chevrolet
Chevrolet, colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors. Louis Chevrolet and ousted General Motors founder William C. Durant started the company on November 3, 1911 as the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Durant used the Chevrolet Motor Car Company to acquire a controlling stake in General Motors with a reverse merger occurring on May 2, 1918 and propelled himself back to the GM presidency. After Durant's second ousting in 1919, Alfred Sloan, with his maxim "a car for every purse and purpose", would pick the Chevrolet brand to become the volume leader in the General Motors family, selling mainstream vehicles to compete with Henry Ford's Model T in 1919 and overtaking Ford as the best-selling car in the United States by 1929. Chevrolet-branded vehicles are sold in most automotive markets worldwide. In Oceania, Chevrolet is represented by GM subsidiary, having returned to the region in 2018 after a 50-year absence with the launching of the Camaro and Silverado pickup truck.
In 2005, Chevrolet was relaunched in Europe selling vehicles built by GM Daewoo of South Korea with the tagline "Daewoo has grown up enough to become Chevrolet", a move rooted in General Motors' attempt to build a global brand around Chevrolet. With the reintroduction of Chevrolet to Europe, GM intended Chevrolet to be a mainstream value brand, while GM's traditional European standard-bearers, Opel of Germany, Vauxhall of United Kingdom would be moved upmarket. However, GM reversed this move in late 2013, announcing that the brand would be withdrawn from Europe, with the exception of the Camaro and Corvette in 2016. Chevrolet vehicles will continue to be marketed including Russia. After General Motors acquired GM Daewoo in 2011 to create GM Korea, the last usage of the Daewoo automotive brand was discontinued in its native South Korea and succeeded by Chevrolet. In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks.
Due to the prominence and name recognition of Chevrolet as one of General Motors' global marques, Chevy or Chev is used at times as a synonym for General Motors or its products, one example being the GM LS1 engine known by the name or a variant thereof of its progenitor, the Chevrolet small-block engine. On November 3, 1911, Swiss race car driver and automotive engineer Louis Chevrolet co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Company in Detroit with William C. Durant and investment partners William Little, former Buick owner James H. Whiting, Dr. Edwin R. Campbell and in 1912 R. S. McLaughlin CEO of General Motors in Canada. Durant was cast out from the management of General Motors in 1910, a company which he had founded in 1908. In 1904 he had taken over the Flint Wagon Works and Buick Motor Company of Michigan, he incorporated the Mason and Little companies. As head of Buick, Durant had hired Louis Chevrolet to drive Buicks in promotional races. Durant planned to use Chevrolet's reputation as a racer as the foundation for his new automobile company.
The first factory location was in Flint, Michigan at the corner of Wilcox and Kearsley Street, now known as "Chevy Commons" at coordinates 43.00863°N 83.70991°W / 43.00863. Actual design work for the first Chevy, the costly Series C Classic Six, was drawn up by Etienne Planche, following instructions from Louis; the first C prototype was ready months before Chevrolet was incorporated. However the first actual production wasn't until the 1913 model. So in essence there were no 1911 or 1912 production models, only the 1 pre-production model was made and fine tuned throughout the early part of 1912. In the fall of that year the new 1913 model was introduced at the New York auto show. Chevrolet first used the "bowtie emblem" logo in 1914 on The L Series Model, it may have been designed from wallpaper. More recent research by historian Ken Kaufmann presents a case that the logo is based on a logo of the "Coalettes" coal company. An example of this logo as it appeared in an advertisement for Coalettes appeared in the Atlanta Constitution on November 12, 1911.
Others claim that the design was a stylized Swiss cross, in tribute to the homeland of Chevrolet's parents. Over time, Chevrolet would use several different iterations of the bowtie logo at the same time using blue for passenger cars, gold for trucks, an outline for cars that had performance packages. Chevrolet unified all vehicle models with the gold bowtie in 2004, for both brand cohesion as well as to differentiate itself from Ford and Dodge, its two primary domestic rivals. Louis Chevrolet had differences with Durant over design and in 1914 sold Durant his share in the company. By 1916, Chevrolet was profitable enough with successful sales of the cheaper Series 490 to allow Durant to repurchase a controlling interest in General Motors. After the deal was completed in 1917, Durant became president of General Motors, Chevrolet was merged into GM as a separate division. In 1919, Chevrolet's factories were located at Michigan. Y. Norwood, Ohio, St. Louis, Oakland, California, Ft. Worth and Oshawa, Ontario General Motors of Canada Limited.
McLaughlin's were given GM Corporation stock for the proprietorship of their Company article September 23, 1933 Financial Post page
