General Motors Corp. (GM)

U.S. corporation, the world's largest automotive manufacturer for most of the 20th century and into the 21st. It was founded in 1908 by William C. Durant to consolidate several motorcar companies, and it soon included the makers of Buick, Oldsmobile (discontinued in 2004), Cadillac, and Oakland (later Pontiac) autos. GM acquired the Chevrolet auto company in 1918 and formed General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) in 1919. By 1929 GM had passed Ford Motor Co. to become the leading U.S. auto manufacturer and had added such overseas operations as Vauxhall of England. GM bought Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) in 1984, and in 1986 it bought Hughes Aircraft Co. (renamed Hughes Electronic Corp.). GM founded a new automotive division, Saturn, in 1984 to compete with Japanese automobiles. In renewing its focus on the automotive business, GM spun off EDS in 1996, sold portions of Hughes in 1997, and became the sole owner of Saab Automobile AB in 2000.

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