Preview

William C Durant's Short Biography

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
523 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
William C Durant's Short Biography
After investing in Buick in 1903, William C. Durant quickly put together the companies that became General Motors. It was first incorporated on September 16, 1908 with its headquarters being located in Detroit, Michigan. A few years after becoming incorporated, General Motors acquired big names including Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Oakland, which is now known as Pontiac. After a financial crisis in 1910, Durant had to step down as president of General Motors, but that didn’t keep him from the auto-industry for long. “Durant quickly joined forces with race-car driver Louis Chevrolet to create a new brand to challenge the Ford Model T. Louis Chevrolet’s successes as a race-car driver and determination at the wheel of early racing machines gained

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The man who founded General Motors. His vision was to combine several smaller auto companies into one large conglomerate that could offer "a vehicle for every purse and purpose." C. William C. "Billy" Durant…

    • 2064 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although the United States has one of the largest automotive markets in the world and is home to 13 auto manufacturers. I am very passionate towards General Motors (GM). General “Motors was founded by William “Billy” Durant on September 16, 1908. Durant had become a leading manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in Flint, MI before making his foray into the automobile industry. At its inception GM held only the Buick Motor Company, but in a matter of years would acquire more than 20 companies including Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Oakland, today known as Pontiac”, (GM, 2014) “General Motors has played a pivotal role in the global auto industry for more than 100 years. From the first Buick horseless carriages to technological marvels like the Chevrolet Volt, our products and innovations have always excelled at putting the world on wheels” (GM, 2014). I think one of the reasons I am partial to GM is that my family has always owned them. I can remember my father telling me, “Son there’s nothing like American steel and there certainly isn’t anything better than an American made automotive.” On certain occasions my father would take me to the dealership and seeing how the Service staff provided high level of prestige service just because he owned a 1972 GMC Sierra 1500. Like days of old, GMC is the flagship series line of GM vehicles, a symbol that a person had money and is…

    • 972 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    D.O.B-D.O.B: September 6, 1817 - September 19, 1893, in London, England and came to Canada in 1835 to work for the British American Land Company.…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ford vs Chevy

    • 1307 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ford and Chevrolet (Chevy) are in the automotive industry and have been in completion for many years start back in 1908, both companies started in the state of Michigan and have been battling it out for profits, market share and hometown bragging rights. Ford was founded in the suburb of Dearborn, Michigan and Chevy was founded in Flint, Michigan.…

    • 1307 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It was just two weeks until school. And cross country practice started. The practices were hard at first but then the got a little bit easier. And time trials came. I was not looking forward to it, but when it came I was like “this is easy.” When school came, the cross country meets came, too. Boy are the meets fun! They were getting harder and harder at every meet and once I had to run two miles around a golf course. The abs workouts are hard still today, it helps me with other sports like soccer.…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Forty-five years later in 1850, Bernhard Stroh opened Stroh Brewery Company, though the years Bernard acquired several brands including Old Milwaukee, and Colt 45. Almost fifty years later Ford established the Detroit Automobile Company, and a single year later Ransom Olds opened Detroit’s first automobile manufacturing plant. In 1903 Ford started the Ford Motor Company, soon after Henry Ford would move the Ford operations to the suburbs of Dearborn, Michigan. On September 16, 1908 William Durant and Charles Mott founded General Motors in Flint, Michigan. Today, GM is now the only major U.S. automaker that is still headquartered in downtown Detroit. Following GM, Walter Chrysler started the Chrysler Corporation, in Detroit. Like Ford, Chrysler would also move their…

    • 1864 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Henry Crapo Durant

    • 1904 Words
    • 8 Pages

    A boy born into a wealthy family, a multi-millionaire, and a reckless investor, many people would assume William Crapo Durant was much like the shrewd and cut throat entrepreneurs associated with his times. He was not. Instead Durant became a captain of industry thanks to his boundless enthusiasm and charm. He dominated meetings with intensity when dealing with top businessmen of his time, and in turn was noted as being a gentle and compassionate individual when interacting with everyday folk. His most notable business venture was without a doubt the creation of the largest industrial operation in the history of the world, General Motors. William Crapo Durant changed the face of Michigan starting in the late nineteenth century and his effects are still prevalent today. He is not remembered as well as other auto industry leaders such as Ford and Chrysler due to the fact the car that bore his name was unsuccessful, and that he died without enough funds to institute beneficial organizations such as Henry Ford Hospital or the Mott Foundation. Despite this Durant was one of the most influential businessmen of his time, and he remains historically significant in both Michigan and the nation’s history.…

    • 1904 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The interwar years was a time of revolution. Many things were changing during this time period. The way of living, entertainment and technology was taking a big bend. One of the big discoveries or the era was insulin the person who discovered it had faced many challenges during the process. This discovery also had a big impact on society.…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sir Frederick Banting was born in Alliston, about forty minutes north of Toronto, approximately two hours and thirty minutes from Peterborough. Banting was an average student who struggled through secondary school and failed first year Arts, he still managed to maintain high hopes for becoming a doctor (Library and Archives Canada).…

    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Durant in 1908 . GM was the major competitor for Ford. The President of GM Alfred Sloan began realizing that they had and advantage over Ford Motor Company. Ford only had one body style car.GM had several different varieties of cars. GM began making four, six, and eight cylinder cars. GM started doing inventory control, and discontinued any line cars that were not popular with consumers. GM began making annual model changes and began advertising. GM was able to defeat Ford Motor company due to the changes that Sloan had made. In 1921 General Motors sold over 457,000 cars and profited over 61…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He designed a small luxurious touring car. The new company, started in a Flint garage as a cooperative venture between a Belgian-born race-car driver named Louis Chevrolet and William Durant, entrepreneur and the founder of General Motors. The first Chevrolet was priced at $2,500. He instinctively knew that a high-style yet affordable car could challenge the domination of the utilitarian Ford Model T. Chevrolet joined into GM in 1917 as the car maker’s low priced brand and close to 10 years the Chevy became the number one selling car in the United States.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Model T was only produced in the color black. The Dodge brothers had helped Ford produce his company further after Ford had gone bankrupt with his last 2 companies. Henry Ford’s previous company that he left is now known today as Cadillac and owned by GM. GM or General Motors was founded by William Durrant, September 16th , 1908. Durant had spent $2000 licensing his company in new jersey (Automobile In American Life and Society).…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The automotive industry is a tremendous contributor to the comprehensive level of economic growth experienced throughout the twentieth century. With the peak of industrialization finally realized, there existed opportunity for development and modernization of societies around the world. With this in mind, opportunity was present for the production of automobiles for use around the world as well. This substantial demand created the economic opportunity for companies such as General Motors to begin building their empires. As one of the first companies to become a strong contributor in the industry, General Motors quickly placed itself…

    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Gm Avtovaz

    • 4895 Words
    • 20 Pages

    GM founded in 1908, was the largest automaker in the world. GM managed operations in over 50 countries and sold over $160 billion in sales with $4.4 in profits in 2000. Not all was well for GM due to the fact that their market share had been shrunk to a mere 13.6% of the global market share with Ford nipping at their heels with 11.9% and Volkswagen with 11.5% market shares respectively. Russia was considered an unclaimed territory that all automakers had their eyes on.…

    • 4895 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    produced automobiles around the globe for over 100 years. In 1908, the company created the…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays