Automobiles have a huge impact on our lives. They help us get from point A to point B. The average American travels about 4.8 trillion kilometers or 3 trillion miles per year. Whether you are looking for a new car or a used one, automobiles are a great way to make your daily commute a little more comfortable.
General Motors
General Motors is a multinational automobile manufacturing company with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, the United States. The company is the largest automaker in the United States, and was the largest in the world for 77 years before losing the top spot to Toyota in 2008. The company has many divisions, and its vehicles are available for purchase through various dealerships and through franchised outlets.
The company’s growth was fueled by the boom in the U.S. economy in the 1950s, and by the 1980s the company held 40 to 45 percent of the automotive market in the U.S. General Motors also acquired Hughes Aircraft Company and Electronic Data Systems Corporation. In the 1990s, General Motors began to diversify. The company’s Saturn division became a major competitor to Japanese imports. However, the company’s modernization efforts were not successful, and heavy losses in the early 1990s caused GM to shutter many plants and reduce its workforce by tens of thousands of people.
The company also operates manufacturing plants in eight different countries and owns brands in China. The company has interests in Wuling Motors and Baojun as well as DMAX. Other subsidiaries include BrightDrop delivery vehicles, OnStar, and ACDelco. Currently, General Motors operates four segments: North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and China. Its automotive division markets vehicles under the brands Buick, Chevrolet, and Cadillac. It sells cars to fleet customers and dealers, and provides auto parts and services.
Ford
The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automobile manufacturer with its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. The company was founded by Henry Ford on June 16, 1903. It sells vehicles under the Ford brand and the Lincoln luxury brand. As of this writing, it produces more than two million vehicles each year. You can find many different types of Ford cars for sale.
To create the Ford automobile, the company built a huge new factory in River Rouge, Michigan. The company wanted to be completely self-sufficient and to eliminate the need to purchase raw materials from outside sources. To make this a reality, Ford made its own parts and purchased various accessories from other companies in Detroit. As production increased, smaller operations were forced to expand their output, installing assembly lines and speeding up operations.
A patent for an automobile was filed in the early 1900s. Ford Motor Company re-registered as a Delaware corporation in July 1919. The Ford Motor Company’s River Rouge facility was a large integrated manufacturing and assembly complex that included a steel mill with significant capacity. It took more than two years for the patent to become effective.
Chrysler
If you’re looking for a quality, affordable vehicle, look no further than a Chrysler automobile. From the compact 200 to the midsize 300, Chrysler’s lineup offers excellent features and confident powertrains. Although its base models lack the elite luxury of some of the German carmakers, the top trims provide entry-level luxury for a reasonable price.
Founded in 1911, the Chrysler Corporation is credited with being Detroit’s “engineering company.” Early Chrysler innovations included the “Floating Power” motor, replaceable oil filters, and downdraft carburetors. Chrysler is also widely credited with introducing the minivan. A six-year development program bore fruit in the 1984 Dodge Caravan, which became the world’s first front-wheel drive minivan. The company also introduced the Plymouth Voyager in the mid-1980s.
During the 1970s, Chrysler’s sales were reduced by the introduction of fuel-efficient cars from Japan and the stricter environmental regulations. However, the company managed to post profit for a number of years. In 1998, the company was acquired by Daimler-Benz AG in a stock swap for $35 billion. The merger was completed on November 12, 1998, and the new company DaimlerChrysler was publicly traded in December.