[A-List] General Motors

["Charles Brown" <cbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

General Motors




General Motors
GM logo <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:GM%2C_logo.png> 	


<http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=GM> )	

Founded	 1908 	
Location	 Detroit, Michigan
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit%2C_Michigan> ; manufacturing
facilities in 30 U.S. states and 32 countries	
Key people	 Rick Wagoner <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Wagoner> ,
Chairman & CEO <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEO> 	
Industry  	 Automotive <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive> 	
Products <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_%28business%29> 	 automobiles

engines <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine> 	
Revenue <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue> 	 Image:green up.png
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Green_up.png> US$193.5 billion   USD
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._dollar>  (2004  )	
Operating income <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_income>
{{{operating_income}}}	
Net income <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_income> 	 {{{net_income}}}

Employees <	 324,000 (2004 <)	
Website <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website> 	 www.gm.com
<http://www.gm.com/> 	
{{{footnotes}}}	

), also known as GM, is a United States > -based automobile maker
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_maker>  with worldwide operations
and brands including Buick <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick> , Cadillac
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac> , Chevrolet
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet> , GMC
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMC_Truck> , Holden
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden> , Hummer
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummer> , Opel
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel> , Pontiac
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac> , Saturn
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_automobile> , Saab
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_Automobile>  and Vauxhall
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vauxhall_Motors> .

Chevrolet and GMC divisions produce trucks
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truck> , as well as passenger vehicles. Other
brands include AC Delco <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delco>  and Allison
Transmission  . GM also has stakes in Isuzu
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isuzu>  and Suzuki
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki>  in Japan
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan>  and a joint venture with AvtoVAZ
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AvtoVAZ>  in Russia
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia> . In December 2003
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003> , it acquired Delta
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Motor_Corporation>  in South Africa < ,
in which it had taken a 45 % stake in 1997  , and which is now a fully-owned
subsidiary, General Motors South Africa. General Motors is also a majority
shareholder (50.9%) in GM Daewoo <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Daewoo> .

GM's headquarters are in the Renaissance Center
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Center>  in Detroit, Michigan  .
The company is the world's largest vehicle manufacturer   and employs over
340,000 people. In 2001  , GM sold 8.5 million vehicles through all its
branches; in 2002  , GM sold 15 % of all cars and trucks in the world. They
also owned Electronic Data Systems
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Data_Systems>  from 1984   to 1996
and, prior to selling it to News Corporation



*	1 History <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors#History>

	*	1.1 General Motors Hughes Electronics
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors#General_Motors_Hughes_Electroni
cs>

	*	2 Corporate structure and issues
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors#Corporate_structure_and_issues>


	*	2.1 Social policies
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors#Social_policies>
	*	2.2 Subsidies
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors#Subsidies>
	*	2.3 Marketing problems
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors#Marketing_problems>
	*	2.4 Financial woes
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors#Financial_woes>
	*	2.5 Plant locations
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors#Plant_locations>
	*	2.6 Alternative vehicles
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors#Alternative_vehicles>
	*	2.7 GM in China
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors#GM_in_China>

	*	3 See also
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors#See_also>
	*	4 External links
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors#External_links>

	



History

Albert Kahn's General Motors Building, 3044 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit,
MI

General Motors (GM) was founded in 1908   in Flint, Michigan as a holding
company for Buick, then controlled by William C. Durant
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_C._Durant> , and acquired Oldsmobile
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile>  later that year. The next year,
Durant brought in Cadillac <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac> , Elmore
, and Oakland <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_automobile> . In 1909,
General Motors acquired the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac,
Michigan, the predecessor of GMC Truck. A Rapid become the first truck to
conquer Pikes Peak  in 1909.

During the 1920s  and 1930s  , General Motors bought out the bus   company
Yellow Coach <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Coach> , helped create
Greyhound bus lines <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhound_Lines> ,
replaced intercity train transport with buses, and established subsidiary
companies to buy out streetcar   companies and replace the rail-based
services with buses. GM formed United Cities Motor Transit
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_Cities_Motor_Transit&actio
n=edit>  in 1932 (see General Motors streetcar conspiracy
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy>  for
additional details).

General Motors bought the internal combustion engined
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_combustion_engine>  railcar   builder
Electro-Motive Corporation
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro-Motive_Corporation>  and its engine
supplier Winton Engine
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Winton_Engine&action=edit>  in
1930  , renaming both as the General Motors Electro-Motive Division
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Electro-Motive_Division> . Over
the next twenty years, diesel-powered locomotives and trains - the majority
built by GM - largely replaced other forms of traction on American
railroads. (During WW2, these engines were also important in American
submarines   and destroyer escorts .) Electro-Motive was sold in early 2005.

On December 31  , 1955  , General Motors became the first American
corporation to make over one billion   dollars  in a year.

After GM's massive layoffs hit Flint, Michigan
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint%2C_Michigan>  a strike
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_action>  began at the General Motors
parts factory in Flint on June 5  ,
1998  , which quickly spread to five other assembly plants and lasted seven
weeks.

At one point GM was the largest corporation ever in the United States, in
terms of its revenues as a percent of GDP. In 1953   Charles Erwin Wilson  ,
then GM president, was named by Eisenhower   as Secretary of Defense  . When
he was asked during the hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee
if as secretary of defense he could make a decision adverse to the interests
of General Motors, Wilson answered affirmatively but added that he could not
conceive of such a situation "because for years I thought what was good for
the country was good for General Motors and vice versa". Later this
statement was often garbled when quoted, suggesting that Wilson had said
simply, "What's good for General Motors is good for the country." At the
time, GM was the one of the largest employers in the world - only Soviet
state industries employed more people.




General Motors Hughes Electronics


Hughes Electronics <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_Electronics>  was
formed in 1985   when Hughes Aircraft
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_Aircraft>  was sold by the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hughes_Medical_Institute>  to General
Motors for $5 billion. General Motors merged Hughes Aircraft with its Delco
Electronics unit to form GM Hughes Electronics (GMHE). The group then
consisted of:

*	Hughes Aircraft
*	Delco Electronics
*	Hughes Space and Communications
*	Hughes Network Systems
*	Hughes Training

In August 1992   GM Hughes Electronics purchased General Dynamics
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics> ' Missile Systems business.
In 1994   Hughes Electronics introduced DirecTV
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirecTV> , the world's first high-powered
direct broadcast satellite
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_broadcast_satellite>  service. In 1995
Hughes Electronic's Hughes Space and Communications
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_Aircraft#Hughes_Space_and_Communication
s>  division became the largest supplier of commercial satellites. Also
s> in
1995 the group purchased Magnavox Electronic Systems
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Magnavox_Electronic_Systems&actio
n=edit>  from the Carlyle Group <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_Group>
. In 1996   Hughes Electronics and PanAmSat
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PanAmSat>  agree to merge their fixed
satellite services into a new publicly held company, also called PanAmSat
with GM Hughes Electronics as majority shareholder.

In 1997   GM transferred Delco Electronics to its Delphi Automotive Systems
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi_Corporation>  business. Late in the
year the defense operations of Hughes Electronics (Hughes Aircraft and
missile business) were merged with Raytheon.

Hughes Space and Communications remained independent until 2000 , when it
was purchased by Boeing <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing>  and became
Boeing Satellite Systems
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Satellite_Systems> .

In 2000, the remaining parts of Hughes Electronics: DirecTV, DirecTV Latin
America, PanAmSat and Hughes Network Systems, were purchased by NewsCorp
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NewsCorp>  and renamed The DirecTV Group.
Newscorp sold PanAmSat to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlberg_Kravis_Roberts_%26_Co.>  (KKR) in
August 2004.



Corporate structure and issues


Current members of the board of directors
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_of_directors>  of General Motors are:
Percy Barnevik <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Barnevik> , Erskine
Bowles <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erskine_Bowles> , John Bryan
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Bryan&action=edit> , Armando
Codina <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armando_Codina> , George Fisher
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_M._C._Fisher&action=edit>
, Karen Katen
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karen_Katen&action=edit> , Kent
Kresa <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kent_Kresa&action=edit> ,
Ellen Kullman
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ellen_Kullman&action=edit> ,
Philip Laskawy
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Philip_Laskawy&action=edit> , E.
Stanley O'Neal <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Stanley_O%27Neal> , Eckhard
Pfeiffer
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eckhard_Pfeiffer&action=edit> ,
and Rick Wagoner <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Wagoner>  (chairman).

Rick Wagoner is also the chief executive officer
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executive_officer>  of the company
(since June 1  , 2000 ), succeeding John F. Smith, Jr.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_F._Smith%2C_Jr.&action=edit>





Social policies


General Motors was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers
in 2004   by Working Mothers magazine.

Due to its highly compensated workforce GM has the highest health care and
labour costs in the industry, and some analysts have criticized the company
for this.




Subsidies


In March 2005  , the Government of Canada   "gave C$  200 million to General
Motors for its Ontario plants, and last fall it awarded C$100 million to
Ford Motor Co. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Motor_Co.>  to expand
their Canadian auto production, provide jobs and contribute to the economy,"
according to Jim Harris
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Harris_%28politician%29> . With additional
subsidies promised to non-North American auto companies like Toyota, Premier
Dalton McGuinty said the money the province and Ottawa are pledging for the
project is well-spent. His government has committed C$  400 million,
including the latest Toyota package of C$
125 million, to the province's automobile sector, which helped finance $5
billion worth of industry projects.



Marketing problems


GM corporate management has since 1955 allowed the gradual blurring of the
distinctions between its own divisions. These divisions were once each
targeted to specific market segments and, despite some shared components,
each vehicle distinguished itself from comparable GM stablemates with unique
styling and (to some extent) bespoke technology. The shared components and
common corporate management created substantial economies of scale
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_scale>  while the distinctions
between the divisions created an orderly upgrade path, with an entry-level
buyer starting out with a practical and economical Chevrolet and, (assuming
progressive prosperity of the buyer), moving through offerings of the
several divisions until the purchase of a Cadillac. The divisions were not
competing <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition>  with each other so
much but rather they were passing along the same customer, who would thus
always be buying a GM product, with the profits flowing to this single
corporation.

Before 1955:

*	GMC Truck   - produced
strictly utilitarian commercial vehicles over a wide range of capacities
*	Chevrolet   - an entry-level
brand offering high utility at low price, with some light trucks and panel
vans
*	Pontiac   - a brand that sold
solid, extremely quiet vehicles (these used a side valve straight eight),
attractive to a modest and reserved lower middle class
*	Oldsmobile <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile>  - a leading
technical innovator with the first production automatic transmission
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_transmission> , this eventually
became GM's first "performance" division, introducing the industry's first
short-stroke, high-compression overhead-valve V8 (the "Oldsmobile Rocket")
in 1949
*	Buick   - a more expensive and
luxurious brand for the upper middle class (often called the "doctor's car")
with four models - the small body/engine Special and Super and the larger
Century and Roadmaster, each emphasizing a soft ride, upscale interior, and
in the late 1940's an available "shiftless" automatic transmission and
hydraulic power windows
*	Cadillac  - the self styled
"standard of luxury", with large production competition only from rival
Packard

The postwar industry became enamored with the concept of "planned
obsolescence", implemented by both technical and styling innovations, with a
three year product cycle typical within the industry. In this cycle, a new
basic body shell is introduced and then modified for the next two years by
minor styling changes. GM, Ford  , and Chrysler
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Corporation>  competed vigorously in
this new environment.

By 1957, with a "horsepower race" active in the U.S. industry, Pontiac
became somewhat performance-minded, rivaled by some specific Buick models
(the Century for example), completing the evolution in the early and mid
1960's with the Bonneville and the GTO, with Oldsmobiles mostly later
becoming soft, comfortable, and (for larger families) practical vehicles.
High performance vehicles were available from all of the divisions, peaking
in 1970 and ending with the imposition of anti-smog   technologies that
severely impacted performance, drivability, and efficiency across the
industry in the early 1970's.

By the late 1960s, most of GM's vehicles were built upon a few common
platforms and in the 1970s, began to use nearly identical body panel
stampings, differing only in internal and external trim items. This was seen
especially in the compact passenger vehicles offered by the divisions.

Beginning in the 1980's, GM frequently "rebadged" one division's successful
vehicle into several models across the divisions, all positioned close to
one another in the market place. Thus, a new GM model's main competition
might be another model spawned off the same platform. This led to so-called
market "cannibalization  ", where GM's respective divisions spent time
stealing sales from one another, while other more co-ordinated efforts
(notably from the Japanese manufacturers) were allowed to increase their
market penetration. For instance, the company's GMT360 midsized light truck
platform has, since its inception in 2002, spawned the basic Chevrolet
Trailblazer, an extended version of the Trailblazer, the Oldsmobile Bravada,
the GMC Envoy, the Envoy XL (an extended Envoy with a reconfigurable
tailgate) and later, the Isuzu Ascender, Buick Rainier, and Saab 9-7X.
Though each model had a more or less unique mission, without bespoke engine
choices or radically different suspension settings and trim choices, the
cars can hardly be told apart.

Critics have suggested that this progressive blurring of well-defined brands
has been a large contributor the late 20th and early 21st century market
failures of GM.

During the 1980's and later GM divisions had market issues concerning
quality - not that the vehicles produced were especially bad but rather that
they did not compare well to foreign competition in matters of fit and
finish, durability of sheet metal, paint (which was not at all durable for
several years after a formulation change), and plastic components.

In 2004, GM redirected resources from the development of new sedans to an
accelerated refurbishment of their light trucks and SUVs
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUV>  for introduction as 2007 models in early
2006. Shortly after this decision, fuel prices increased by over 50 % and
this in turn affected both the trade-in value of used vehicles and the
perceived desirability of new offerings in these market segments. The
current marketing plan is currently to extensively tout these revised
vehicles as offering the best fuel economies in their class (of vehicle),
although such advantages are expected to be minor until the introduction of
new hybrid light trucks in 2007, with projected 25% milage improvements. In
contrast, Ford, GM's primary domestic competitor, has emphasized building
more and better passenger cars with attractive styling, features, and
quality, with profitability flowing from lower production costs through
reduction of excess plant capacity and firm consumer demand, which enables
avoidance of marketing incentives (such as low or zero interest, cash back,
or free or low cost added accessory, aappearance, and other packages  ).




Financial woes


As is the case with other U. S. automobile manufacturers, international
exchange rates tend to favor Japanese and Korean competitors. The expected
future entry of China   into the U. S.
automotive market is likely to be advantaged by unrealistic currency
exchange ratios that have become a structural problem owing to the Chinese
government's extensive purchase of U. S. government debt in the form of
bonds. European manufactures are somewhat disadvantaged by over-regulation.
Irrespective of these various manufacturing conditions, various foreign
manufacturers have demonstrated an ability to compete in the U.S. market
with vehicles assembled in various U.S. states and using a substantial
portion of domestic content. Such plants are advantaged over GM and Ford
through the employment of a younger, nonunion, and more generally healthy
workforce.

General motors has extensive "legacy" costs in pensions and health care
costs from retirees, some of these obligations taken at a time when GM had a
much larger share of the domestic U.S. market. GM has also obligated itself
(through union agreements) to pay ongoing wages to non-working employees
displaced by automation (the so-called Jobs Bank). The subsequent loss of
market share due to marketing and quality problems has severely impacted
GM's ability to carry these obligations.

In April 2005, General Motors posted a US$1.1-billion loss, for the first
quarter of that year. Its debt was also downgraded to junk bond
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_bond>  status. GM announced plans to cut
25,000 jobs in the United States, and included plans to shut down one of the
Oshawa, Ontario, plants by 2008.

By November 2005, within the first nine months of the year, GM had posted a
near $4 billion loss. On November 21  , 2005  , GM had announced a revised
plan of increased cuts. These cuts went from 25,000 to 30,000 employees, or
9% of its labor force. GM also increased the number of plant closings.
Originally, the company planned eight plant closings; the new plan calls for
the closing of twelve facilities.

In December, 2005, Standard and Poor's
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_and_Poor%27s>  further downgraded GM
bonds to "B", with the observation that it is "now dubious" whether the new
line of SUVs and trucks would return GM's North American auto business to
profitability (WSJ US edition, Dec 13, 2005, p. A3).

On December 21, 2005 Toyota Motor Corp announced that it would produce 9.06
million vehicles for 2006. Analysts estimate that GM will only produce
around 8.825 million cars for 2006, giving up the title of the world's
largest auto producer. GM has held the title for 74 consecutive years
without a doubt. However, GM's Wagoner is confident that GM will remain #1.

Despite these financial drains, GM continues to offer a substantial
dividend, which with the recent declines of share price produces a very
attractive yield. Cutting this dividend might severely impact the share
price, the likely reason that it is continuing.




Plant locations


The plants scheduled to be closed include (source: General Motors
Corporation):

Assembly plants	 Location	 Closing	 Products	 # Employees

Moraine Assembly
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moraine_Assembly&action=edit>
(3rd shift)	 Ohio	 2006	 Mid-size SUVs
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_utility_vehicle> 	 4,165	
Oklahoma City Assembly <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Assembly>
Oklahoma	 Early 2006	 Mid-size trucks
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truck>  and SUVs	 2,734	
Lansing Craft Centre <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lansing_Craft_Centre>
Michigan	 Mid-2006	 Chevrolet SSR
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_SSR>  roadster	 398	
Oshawa Car Assembly
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oshawa_Car_Assembly&action=edit>
No. 1 (3rd shift)	 Ontario	 Mid-2006	 Mid-size sedans
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-size_car> 	 3,600	
Spring Hill Manufacturing
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spring_Hill_Manufacturing&action=
edit>  Line 1	 Tennessee	 Late 2006	 Saturn Ion
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_Ion>  sedan and coupe	 5,776	
Oshawa Car Assembly
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oshawa_Car_Assembly&action=edit>
No. 2	 Ontario	 2008	 Midsize sedans	 2,700	
Doraville Assembly <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doraville_Assembly>
Georgia	 2008	 Crossovers <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_SUV>
and minivans <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minivan> 	 3,076	
Production facilities	 Location	 Closing	 Products	 #
Employees	
Lansing Metal Center
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lansing_Metal_Center&action=edit>
Michigan	 2006	 Metal fabricating	 1,398	
Portland Distribution Center
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Portland_Distribution_Center&acti
on=edit> 	 Oregon	 2006	 Parts distribution	 95	
Saint Louis Distribution Center
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saint_Louis_Distribution_Center&a
ction=edit> 	 Missouri	 2006	 Parts distribution	 182	
Pittsburgh Metal
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pittsburgh_Metal&action=edit>
Pennsylvania	 2007	 Metal fabricating	 613	
Ypsilanti Processing Center
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ypsilanti_Processing_Center&actio
n=edit> 	 Michigan	 2007	 Parts processing	 278	
St. Catharines Engine
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=St._Catharines_Engine&action=edit
> 	 Ontario	 2008	 Engine/Transmission parts	 1,699	
Flint North <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_North>  3800	 Michigan
2008	 Engines	 2,677	
Assembly plants	 Location	 Closing	 Products	 # Employees

Scarborough Assembly
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scarborough_Assembly&action=edit>
van plant	 Ontario	 1993	 vans	 2,700	

For the first time ever, in 2004   the total number of cars produced by all
makers in Ontario   exceeded those produced in Michigan > . GM officials
cited profitability of their Oshawa, Ontario  , plant in refusing to
distribute the job losses.




Alternative vehicles


General Motors has long worked on alternative-technology vehicles, but has
repeatedly failed to deliver them in a profitable way. The company was the
first to use turbochargers <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbocharger>  and
was an early proponent of V6 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V6>  engines in
the 1960s <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960s> , but quickly lost interest
as the muscle car <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_car>  race took hold.
They demonstrated [1] <http://www.conklinsystems.com/firebird/mlife.php>
gas turbine <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_turbine>  vehicles powered by
kerosene <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene> , an area of interest
throughout the industry in the late 1950's, but despite extensive thermal
recycling (developed by Chrysler) the fuel consumption was too high and
starting torque too low for everyday use. They were also an early licensee
of Wankel engine <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_engine>  technology,
even developing the Chevrolet Monza
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Monza>  around the powerplant, but
abandoned the alternative engine configuration in view of the 1973 oil
crisis <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis> . In the 1970s  and
1980s  , GM pushed Diesel <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel>  engines and
cylinder deactivation <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cylinder_deactivation>
technologies to disastrous results due to poor durability in the Oldsmobile
diesels (this was a modified gasoline engine) and drivability issues in the
Cadillac 4-6-8 variable cylinder engines.

In 1996  , GM introduced the EV1
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1> , the first modern
mass-produced electric car <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car> .
Despite the positive publicity generated by this vehicle, the company never
spread the technology beyond California  and Arizona > , and pulled the plug
on the program in 2003  .

GM was also an early innovator in hybrid vehicle
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_vehicle>  development, building
Diesel-electric trains since the 1930s
and buses  since the 1990s  (but without stored energy recovery), but did
not introduce a true hybrid passenger car until 2004  . Their earlier hybrid
pickup truck <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Silverado#Hybrid>  was
such a mild application of the technology that many criticized it for being
not a hybrid at all. The 2006   Saturn VUE Green Line
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_VUE>  will be the first hybrid
passenger vehicle from GM, but it too is a mild design. GM has hinted at new
hybrid technologies to be employed that will be optimized for higher speeds
such as are encountered in freeway <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeway>
driving. As a great bulk of GM's fleet fuel consumption is by high fuel
consuming light trucks and SUVs, a modest improvement in their mileage
applied across this large fleet (say twelve to fifteen percent) would in
fact conserve a great amount of refined fuels - far more fuel than would be
saved by a limited number of specialty hybrids similar to the Toyota Prius
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prius> .

Rather than effectively deliver hybrid and electric vehicles at the present
time, GM has extensively touted its research and prototype development of
hydrogen powered vehicles, to be produced at some unspecified future time
and using a support infrastructure yet to be built. Since production and use
of hydrogen from fossil fuels is at present about 1/6 as efficient as direct
use of the fuel (e.g, compressed natural gas), this is a future dependent
upon the availability of extremely low cost electricity - as might be
produced at some indefinite future time by speculative power sources such as
nuclear fusion.



GM in China


General Motors is the top-selling foreign auto maker in China  , with 11.2%
of the total market there.
The Buick   brand is especially strong, led by the Buick Excelle
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Excelle>
subcompact. Cadillac   initiated sales in China in 2004, starting with
imports. GM pushed the Chevrolet   brand there in 2005   as well,
transferring the formerly-Buick Sail to that marque. The company
manufactures most of its China-market vehicles locally, through its Shanghai
GM <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_GM>  joint venture. The
SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAIC-GM-Wuling_Automobile>  joint-venture is
also successful selling trucks and vans under the Wuling
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wuling&action=edit>  marque.



See also


*	Alfred P. Sloan <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_P._Sloan>
*	Buick <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick>
*	Cadillac <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac>
*	Chevrolet <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet>
*	DuPont <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuPont>
*	General Motors Acceptance Corporation
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Acceptance_Corporation>
*	General Motors streetcar conspiracy
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy>
*	GMC <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMC>
*	Hummer <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummer>
*	Oldsmobile <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile>
*	Pontiac <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac>
*	List of GM platforms
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GM_platforms>
*	List of GM engines <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GM_engines>

*	List of GM factories
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GM_factories>
*	List of GM VIN codes
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GM_VIN_codes>
*	GM vehicles by brand
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:General_Motors_vehicles>
*	EPA 2004 fuel economy report (General Motors)
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPA_2004_fuel_economy_report_appendix_M2#Gener
al_Motors>



External links


*	Official Website <http://www.gm.com/>
*	GMAC Financial Services <http://www.gmacfs.com/us/en/index.html>
*	GMability, GM's corporate responsibility site
<http://www.gmability.com/>
*	GM's K-12 education site <http://www.gmability.com/education/>
*	GM's Fastlane Blog <http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/>
*	Corporate history
<http://www.gm.com/company/corp_info/history/gmhis1900.html>
*	General Motors Holden VL Turbo <http://www.vlturbo.com/>
*	Cheers & Gears <http://www.cheersandgears.com/>  GM Enthusiast forum

*	GMInsidenews <http://www.gminsidenews.com/>  GM Enthusiast forum
*	GM picture galleries <http://www.netcarshow.com/gm/>