Young Automotive Group: 10 things I bet you didn't know about GENERAL MOTORS....

1. Founded by a Carriage Maker named Crapo

General Motors was founded in 1908 by William C. Durant. Durant founded GM with only $2,000 in capital.

2. GM's Logo: Mark of Excellence

In 1966, GM introduced a decal on the door jambs of its vehicles, with the phrase "Mark of Excellence."

3. Who Owns GM?

GM is a publicly traded company, with about 610.5 million shares outstanding. Today, ~91% of GM stocks are held by institutions.

4. GM Built War Machines for the Allied Forces ...

During World War II, GM led the largest commercial-to-military war production effort in American history. In 1942, the company converted all of factories to produce $12 billion worth of airplanes, trucks, tanks, guns, and shells for the US military. No other company delivered as much material to the Allied forces

5. ... and the Nazi

Adolf Hitler knew that he had to have an industrial partner to make military vehicles and weapons. And that partner wouldn't be Daimler or any other German automakers - the largest automobile manufacturer in German (actually, all of Europe) was General Motors.

6. GM Helped Build the First Car That Went Out of This World: The Lunar Rover

GM designed and built the mobility system for the Lunar Roving Vehicle, AKA the Lunar Rover or (my favorite) the Moon Buggy. The rover was first successfully used during the Apollo 15 mission.

7. Big in ... China!

GM's sales may have taken a nosedive in the United States, but it has become the top-selling foreign automaker in China. Chinese consumers snapped up more Buick cars in 2007 than any other automobiles by foreign car makers

8. Birth of the United Auto Workers

GM is inextricably linked with the birth of the United Auto Workers union. In December 1936, the fledgeling union staged a daring sit-down strike at GM's plant in Flint, Michigan.

9. GM's Car Troubles: Whose Fault Is It?

Many people blame the union. On average, Detroit union auto workers earn about $75 per hour (salary and benefits as well as the legacy costs of health care and pension costs of retired union workers). It all adds up to about an extra $2,000 to the car's cost. Strict work rules and job classifications led to thousands of redundant factory jobs

10. GM "Firsts"

Despite its current precarious financial troubles, GM had a long history of innovation and technological "firsts." To end on a (more) positive note, here are but a few of General Motors' achievements:

First V-8 Engine (1914, a 70 horsepower engine for the Cadillac)
First room air conditioner (remember to thank Frigidaire, then a GM subsidiary, who came up with the brilliant device in 1929)
First barrier impact and rollover tests (1934).
First concept car, the legendary Buick Y Job in 1938.
First fully automatic transmission (the Hydra-Matic in 1939).
First to put turn signals as standard-equipments on its cars (1939)
First mechanical heart pump (1952, built for Dr. Forest Dodrill by the GM Research Laboratory. The story is fascinating.)
First company to make $1 billion a year (in 1955)
First hydrogen fuel cell car (the 1966 Electrovan). After the project was scrapped because it was cost prohibitive, GM tried to give the Electrovan to the Smithsonian Institute. They refused the vehicle because they'd never heard of fuel cells before ...
First Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) in 1972.
First Electronic Fuel Injection (1979)