On September 16, 1908, William Durant, head of Buick Motor Company, incorporated General Motors in New Jersey. He had made a fortune making horse-drawn carriages, and ironically he hated noisy, smelly and dangerous automobiles. Unlike Ford, GM bought 11 other automakers including Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Oakland (Pontiac), to sell many different cars to many people. Durant was forced out of the company, started Chevrolet, then was forced out of GM again. He spent his last years bankrupt, managing a bowling alley in Flint, MI. GM led global vehicle sales for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007, longer than any other automaker. Pictured: GM Parade of Products, Lansing, MI, 1927.
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