Why Chevrolet Spin Phase Out

How Chevrolet Started, Grew & Became $11.5 Billion Company

Success Secrets TV:

How Chevrolet Started, Grew & Became $11.5
Billion Company
The name Chevrolet originated from a Swiss-born
American racer Louis-Joseph Chevrolet, who
founded his company with William Durant in
1911, stayed for four years and then left
his own company to Durant in 1915.
The Chevrolet Company previously called the
Chevrolet Division of General Motors Company
and simply called the Chevy is the automobile
department of General Motors, a manufacturing
company in the United States.
How Chevrolet Began
Twenty years before Chevrolet, Durant was
the founder of a successful Durant-Dort Carriage
Company which manufactured horse-drawn vehicles.
And so Durant wouldn't even touch a car with
a ten-foot pole, let alone allow his daughter
to ride in what he called, "loud and dangerous
horseless carriages."
But as time passed he realized that there
were more cars than carriages on the American
streets; an experience that did not settle
well with the relatively tentative public.
As the government regulated cars for their
safety, Durant had other ideas.
Why not improve the security of these cars
instead?
In 1904, Durant approached a struggling Buick
Motor Company and became its controlling investor.
Within a span of four years, Durant demonstrated
his salesman attitude and transformed Buick
into a leading automobile name amongst the
likes of Ford, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac.
For Durant, however, it was only the start.
Durant figured he could further improve his
odds in the industry if he built a holding
company that would control several automobile
divisions, with each division manufacturing
their own car.
With the Buick's outstanding profits, Durant
had sufficient capital to found the General
Motors Company in 1908.
A year later, General Motors acquired several
car brands like Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac,
Elmore, and others.
Unfortunately,Durant got so carried away in
his "automobile acquisition crusade" that
GM suffered cash shortage with their sales
losing to Ford's.
And so, in 1910, General Motors showed Durant
the exit door.
But Durant did not give up.
Having regained his bearings, he reunited
with an old colleague from the days of the
Buick motor company, Louis-Joseph Chevrolet.
Durant knew the Swiss-born American as a man
whose competency for car mechanics matched
his passion for racing.
In 1909, Louis had participated in the Giant
Despair Hillclimb.
An oddly apt name, considering the Hillclimb
race was less about the racers themselves
and more about test-driving the competing
car brands they drove.
Therefore, when Durant offered a chance to
build more automobiles, Louis couldn't resist
signing his name on the dotted line alongside
Durant's.
In 1911, Louis co-founded the Chevrolet Motor
Company with Durant.
Durant used Louis’ racing status as a means
of building a motor company, and his way of
getting back at General Motors.
The first Chevrolet car, the Series C Classic
Six was designed by Etienne Planche with directions
by Louis.
The prototype was ready before the company
was incorporated even though the production
didn’t happen until 1913 where it was introduced
at an auto show in New York.
In 1914, Chevrolet redesigned its logo.
And so a "bowtie emblem" logo was used on
Chevrolet’s first produced cars in 1914:
the Chevrolet H series and L series models.
That same year, Durant and Louis argued about
their differing intentions for Chevrolet’s
future car designs.
Durant wanted simple and affordable cars that
would surpass those of Fords.
On the other hand, Louis preferred playing
it fast and loose, with luxury or racing cars.
These differences split these two associates
and Louis sold his shares of the company to
Durant.
Now alone at the helm, Durant was able to
focus on his next winning car design.
He achieved this in 1916 when the cheaper
Chevrolet Series 490 finally outpaced Ford
in sales and cemented Chevrolet’s place
among the big automobile names.
To say Chevrolet made huge profits during
this period would be a severe understatement.
Durant revisited General Motors as a controlling
investor, purchasing their stocks, which gave
him the leverage to launching himself into
leading General Motors once more.
By 1917, Durant had become the president of
General Motors.
All was right, now that Durant's "big automobile"
dream was back on track.
And of course, his first directive was merging
the highly successful Chevrolet into the parent
company General Motors as a separate division.
How Chevrolet Grew
In 1918, Chevrolet launched a new V8 powered
model, the Series D for open two-seat cars
and the touring cars that could seat 5 passengers.
These models didn't sell well though and they
were scrapped by the next year.
Given Chevrolet's successful track record
in the market, General Motors rebranded and
sold their commercial grade cars and trucks
as Chevrolet with similar appearances with
the Chevrolet’s vehicles in 1919 from Chevrolet
factories located in Flint, Michigan.
The automobile company built several branch
assembly plants in New York, Ohio, Missouri,
California, Texas, and Canada.
Somewhere between the 1920s and 1940s, Chevrolet
would see Durant's vision for "producing simple
and affordable cars" come true.
In fact, Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth were
known to Americans as "the low priced three".
During this period, one of Chevrolet's most
notable cars was the Stovebolt introduced
in 1929, which was tag-lined "a six for the
price of four".
This and several generations of the car model
blew away the competition of Ford and Plymouth.
In 1953, the Chevy Corvette, a sport’s car
with two seats and a fiberglass body debuted
to become the first mass-produced sports car
in the United States, championing the "America's
Sports Car" appeal.
The appeal of the Corvette and other Chevrolet
passenger cars would be enhanced with the
first-time introduction of Rochester Ramjet
fuel-injection engine as a high-performance
option for the price of $484.
The Chevrolet small block V8 car design made
its debut in 1955 and remained in circulation
longer than other mass produced engines around
the world.
Modifications to the V8 engine including the
aluminum block and heads, the electronic engine
management and the port fuel injection gave
birth to the designs in production today.
In 1958, Chevrolet introduced the Impala series,
which went on to become one of the best-selling
American cars in history experiencing popularity
during the 60s and 70s.
The parent company General Motors introduced
Chevrolet to Europe in 2005.
With rebranded cars manufactured from the
General Motors branch in Korea acquired Daewoo
Motors.
The economic depression between 2007 and 2010
hit Chevrolet hard.
But the road to recovery began in 2010 with
the introduction of fuel-efficient cars and
trucks to compete with foreign automobile
manufacturers.
Within the same year, Chevrolet introduced
the plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, Chevrolet
Volt in America, which was sold under the
name Opel/Vauxhall Ampera throughout Europe
with a record 5,268 units soldand became the
world's best-selling plug-in hybrid electric
vehicle (PHEV) car in 2012, winning the award
for the North American Car of the Year, European
Car of the Year and World Green of the Year.
The series was then named the combined Volt/Ampera
that was sold across the world.
It exceeded the 100,000 unit sales milestone
in late 2005 and eleven years later the Volt
family of vehicles had become the world's
best-selling plug-in hybrid as well as the
third best selling electric car after the
Tesla Model S and the Nissan Leaf cars.
In 2011, Chevrolet set a global sales record
of 4.76 million vehicles sold worldwide
In late 2013, the Chevy brand was withdrawn
from Europe by General Motors leaving the
Corvette and Camero lines.
In 2016, Chevrolet unveiled the first affordable
mass-produced all-electric car the Chevrolet
Bolt EV.
This car too has won several awards.
Where Chevrolet Is Today
Chevrolet now has its headquarters in Detroit,
Michigan, and operates throughout 140 countries
in North and South America, Asia, Australia,
South Africa, and Europe with over two million
vehicles sold annually in the US alone and
a brand value of $11.5 billion.
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Chevrolet

Audiopedia:

CHEVROLET ENGINEERING 🏁 Transmissions & Synchromesh (1936 Original Company Documentary)

HOT ROD 100:

HOT ROD 100 Presents...
Chevrolet Synchromesh
(Company Archive Footage)
meet mr. Archimedes of ancient Greece
long ago our key said give me a lever
long enough and I can move the world
what Archimedes meant was that the power
of a lever is practically unlimited
today almost everyone uses some form of
lever in his daily work the familiar can
opener is a lever with a sharp cutting
edge the playground seesaw is just a
simple lever - it takes a lot of force
to start a freight car moving yet the
railroad man can start the heaviest
freight cars easily with a pinch bar a
powerful lever which turns the wheel
tough luck old boy here's a place where
a lever comes in mighty handy let's take
the simplest kind of lever a rigid bar
working on a fixed support called a
fulcrum one end of this lever is twice
as long as the other let's put a
10-pound weight on this end and now
we'll put half as much weight on this
end five pounds balanced ten if we have
25 pounds to lift we just use a longer
lever the five pounds will now balance
five times as much let's raise the lever
in the air change its shape a little and
we have a crank or we can add a second
lever and have a double crank now the
short arm moves 1/4 the distance but we
get four times the force if we want
continuous motion
we need more arms now we have levers
that turn the larger paddle wheel makes
fewer turns but it delivers more force a
paddle wheel is nothing but a
never-ending series of levers we can
make the wheel stronger and lessen
friction where the wheels touch each
other by rounding off the edges and
shaping them into teeth that will slide
in and out smoothly now the power flows
smoothly and continuously
through spinning leverage of gear wheels
gears are made in many kinds and many
sizes little gears big gears worm gears
bevel gears and even lopsided gears over
a hundred million gears are spinning
over the roads and the transmissions of
our automobiles the transmission is
located right at the bottom of the gear
shift lever let's start from scratch and
put together a model of the gears that
we shift in our motor car the shaft on
the Left comes from the engine the shaft
on the right carries the power back to
the rear wheels to connect these two
with gears we'll need another shaft
known as a counter shaft these two gears
carry the power from the engine shaft to
the counter shaft and are always
connected or in mesh this gear on the
drive shaft going to the wheels is free
to turn around the shaft we'll put it in
mesh with another gear on the counter
shaft these gears are always in May and
keep turning while the engine is running
to switch from one set of gears to
another our transmission needs a short
shaft like this known as a clutch sleeve
it cannot turn on the drive shaft but it
is free to slide back and forth on the
sleeve will not a large gear which we
can shift back and forth to mesh with
the small gear in the middle of the
counter shaft
we are now in neutral the gears that are
always in mesh are turning over with the
engine but the shaft to the rear wheels
is standing still a three thousand pound
automobile takes a lot of force to start
so in low speed we get the greatest
leverage by letting the smallest gear on
the counter shaft turn the largest gear
on the drive shaft the engine on this
model is running at a constant speed of
90 revolutions a minute with low gears
in mesh the rear wheel is turning at 30
revolutions a minute about a third the
speed of the engine but with three times
the force the power is going through
these gears in the transmission
after we've started the car rolling we
want fast pickup so we shift into second
by sliding the sleeve backward to mesh
with this gear on the shaft to the rear
wheels the wheel is now turning at 60
revolutions a minute and the power flows
through these gears for higher speeds we
let the power go directly to the rear
wheels we shift the sleeve forward so
that it meshes with the shaft from the
engine the power travels straight from
the engine to the drive shaft now the
shaft to the wheels is turning at 90
revolutions a minute the same speed as
the engine but here's a problem an
automobile must be able to go backward
as well as forward so we add one more
set of gears to reverse the shaft to the
rear wheels with the gears shifted into
reverse the power travels through the
transmission in a path like this we now
have three sets of spinning levers for
going forward at one for Reverse with a
gear shift lever we can shift to any set
of gears we wish but with all these
spinning levers in the transmission came
noise and where experts could shift
gears quietly by careful timing of the
gear shift and the engine speeds but
most of us made plenty of noise until
new engineering developments made
possible a long series of improvements
that followed when we shifted gears we
got a clash because the gears were not
running at the same speed in other words
not synchronized so engineers set to
work to develop a synchronizer the
synchronizer works like a cork twisted
into the top of a bottle the cork will
turn until it is so tight that the
bottle turns with it synchro mesh
works the same way when we shift into
second or hi the synchronizer brings the
gears to the same speed before they come
together the drums won't let the gear
shift unless they are turning at the
same speed when the gears come together
there is no clash and the shift is made
quietly and easily in the transmission
of the up-to-date automobile we have a
powerful low gear to give us a strong
spinning leverage in starting a fast
turning motor must set the weight of the
car in motion in second speed we can
change leverage to get going fast at the
same engine speed with the leverage of
third gear power goes directly to the
rear wheels and we can go as fast as we
want now every driver can shift gears at
any time regardless of speed here is a
hill that will give us a real chance to
see how smoothly and reliably our
spinning levers work in our automobile
transmission this driver is going to let
her car gain a speed of 60 miles an hour
down the hill
then she will shift into second speed
and bring her card easily and safely
under control before it reaches the
bottom of the hill

When Dodge Bought Ford | WheelHouse

Donut Media:

Ferrari vs. Lamborghini, Mitsubishi vs Subaru,
BMW vs. Mercedes… the list goes on.
“Wait, wait.
How ‘bout we settle this on the blacktop
huh?”
There’s about as many automotive rivalries
as there are cars… and they all had to start
somewhere.
In fact, the first rivalry in American automotive
history- a rivalry that’s still alive today-
dates back to detroit as early as 1900.
Today on Wheelhouse we’re talking about
the strange origins of Dodge vs Ford.
John and Horace Dodge were born in Niles,
Michigan about 200 miles west of Detroit,
a city they would help turn into an automotive
Mecca.
Much like my own dad, their father was teaching
them to be machinists.
Horace invented a dirt proof ball bearing
and shared the patent credit with his brother.
The red-headed Dodge bros were super tight,
and a had a twin-like bond despite the 4 year
age difference.
They started their own shop building bikes
and automotive components, until they got
so much business building car parts that they
ditched the bikes and just focused completely
on cars.
A guy named Ransom Olds employed the Dodge
brothers to build engines and transmissions
for his new automobile company: Oldsmobile.
Ransom needed some good machinists to get
that done, and the Dodge brothers were really,
really good machinists.
The partnership between Olds and the Dodge
brothers made them pretty wealthy, but the
Dodge brothers were just getting started.
They wanted to grow their newfound money by
investing in more companies.
Meanwhile, a 33 year old Henry Ford was also
pursuing his passion of engineering and fabrication.
Like the Dodge brothers, Ford was born in
Michigan and worked as a machinist.
And like the Dodge brothers, Ford quit his
day job at the Edison Illuminating Company.
In 1896 Ford completed work of his first vehicle,
the Quadricycle.
Ford opened his first business, the Detroit
Automobile Company in 1899, it was the first
automaker with headquarters in Detroit.
Unfortunately, it only lasted two years.
Today, we think of Henry Ford as a marketing
genius who brought cars to the masses...
But the Ford of 1899?
Not so much.
Back then Henry was an engineer, a brilliant
one, the kind of engineer who forgot to tell
people to buy his cars.
The Detroit Automobile Company went belly
up in a matter of months.
But Henry didn’t give up.
Two years later in 1901, He built a racecar
to prove his worth as a car designer.The two
cylinder racer he built set a speed record
at a horse track, a feat for which Henry was
awarded $1000 cash, fame and for some reason-
a punch bowl.
With his renewed street cred, Henry Ford founded
the Henry Ford Company, with big investors
backing him up.
The investors wanted Henry to design a lightweight
passenger car they could sell for cheap.
But Henry had caught the speed bug and got
to work on a four cylinder race car to break
his old record.
The investors were like “no, that won’t
make us any money you weirdo,” so Henry
Ford left the Henry Ford Company in 1902.
With Henry gone, the investors restructured
and renamed the company to honor the founder
of Detroit: Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac.
Cadillac.
So by 1903, Ford starts another company.
Despite the fact that he builds great race
cars, nobody wants to give him any money,
because they think he might just blow it on
race cars again.
He’s going around town, looking for cash,
but Detroit back then was a small place…
people talked, and the word was that if you
invest in Henry Ford, you’re going to lose
money.
But there were two young rich guys who didn’t
care what people said… and those guys were
the Dodge brothers.
They’ve got that Oldsmobile money burning
a hole in their pocket and they want to expand...
The Dodge boys knew that Ford had his back
against the wall- he was in debt, he lost
all his money leaving what was now called
Cadillac, and couldn’t get anybody else
to give him money for his new car company.
So the Dodge Brothers worked out a deal to
give Ford $10,000 worth of cash and materials
for his new Ford Motor Company.
And in return, the Dodge brothers demanded
a ten percent share of the company, AND the
rights to all of Ford’s assets in case of
another bankruptcy.
Effectively, the Dodge Brothers owned Ford,
both the company and the man.
Work began on Henry’s new cars.
Dodge supplied the chassis complete with engine
and transmission, and the rest of the car
would be finished at Ford’s plant.
As the Ford Motor Company grew, Henry slowly
became increasingly more eccentric.
He began to think of his own body as an automobile.
He Reasoned that if his cars were designed
to run off the best fuel, the same should
true for himself.
He adopted a nearly vegetarian diet, eating
veggies from his garden and “roadside greens”-
roadside greens are weeds.
People thought this was kind of weird, I mean
can you imagine, seeing your boss pull weeds
out from behind your building, and throw them
into his salad?
I’ve seen Pumphrey do some weird stuff but
nothing like that.
In fact…
I’ve never seen pumphrey eat ANY vegetable.
Except pickles of course, but are pickles
vegetables?
Anyway, the Dodge brothers didn’t seem to
mind Ford’s weird eating habits because
he was making them buttloads of money.
Plus, they were too focused on climbing Detroit’s
exclusive social ladder to care.
But polite detroit society didn’t want them.
John and Horace were known for hanging out
with their employees after hours, hitting
the bars and getting crunk next to the same
people who built their engines.
This made them unsuitable for Detroit high
society.
“Oh those Dodge brothers, do display most
contemptible of behavior.”
“Oh I agree, I agree wholeheartedly.Shall
we hit the brothel down the street then?”
“Absolutely.”
“Splendid.”
So what do you do if you want to be high society,
but they won’t even let you go to the symphony?
You buy the symphony.
John and Horace Dodge assumed the financial
liability of the Detroit symphony, effectively
buying their way into the Detroit elite.
Oh, you won’t let us into your club?
How ‘bout we just buy your club?
How you like them apples?
How ‘bout you lick my apples dude!
America!
That’s how we do it.
Capitalism.
Both Ford and the Dodge brothers were aspiring
industrial titans, with their own strange
eccentricities: Ford with his dandelion eating
ways, and the Dodge’s chips on their shoulders.
Naturally, a partnership between the two would
not last.
For years, the Dodge brothers had been giving
Ford suggestions on how to improve the Model
T; but Henry’s pride and stubborn nature
got in the way of listening.
He just thought they were trying to screw
him for more money.
It started to become clear that Ford was a
little paranoid.
They also soon realized that Ford was prejudiced…
against redheads.
Yeah… the Ginger-haired Dodge Brothers were
10% partners with a man who thought they were
evil because of their hair color.
Tired of being ignored by Henry, Dodge completed
construction on a massive new facility in
1910.
Their plant featured a floor to floor assembly
line, medical wing, and a machine shop called
“the Playpen” for workers to invent stuff
in their spare time.
The Dodge Brothers even served beer on the
assembly floor when it was hot.
Honestly, doesn’t sound like a bad place
to work.
By contrast, Ford had a “Sociology Department”
within his company that was almost like a
secret police.
They’d show up to your house to make sure
it was clean, they’d ask you about your
marriage, and made sure you weren’t drinking.
Safe to say there wasn’t any beer being
served at the Ford Motor Company.
Ford was suspicious.
Why were those Dodge brothers building a factory
to rival his own?
“Henry they’re not even Irish they just
have red hair.”
“I don’t care, I could smell them for
miles.”
Initially, the plant was cranking out Model
T components, as the Dodge Brothers had been
doing all along.
But Henry suspected the Dodge Bros were planning
to do something against him, so he preempted
their preemptive strike with a new factory
for himself.
The River Rouge plant allowed Ford to rely
solely on his own employees, and would be
cheaper than outsourcing his work to Dodge.
Ford might have been a weirdo, but his suspicions
were correct.
The Dodge Brothers were finished with being
ignored and decided they were gonna make their
own damn automobile.
In 1913 John Dodge resigned from his position
of Vice President at Ford, and announced the
Dodge Brothers would stop building cars and
parts for the Ford Motor Company so they could
make their own.
The Dodge Model 30 made more power than the
Model T, it had an electric starter, and a
steel body.
By almost every measure it was a better car
than the Model T, but about twice as expensive.
True to form, when asked about the price difference,
John Dodge proclaimed, “Just think of all
those Ford owners who will someday want an
automobile”.
That’s talking shit, 1900s style
But remember, the Dodge brothers still owned
10% of the Ford Motor Company… while they’re
building, and making money selling Dodges.
They were using the dividends from Ford to
run Dodge.
Henry Ford was directly paying for the operations
of a competing company.
And he really hated that.
What’s a Ford to do?
He just stopped paying them, even though the
Dodge bros were rightfully entitled to their
dividends.
Ford was like, “I don’t care.
I’m not Paying.”
So John and Horace sued for their missing
money, and Ford lost.
He ended up paying them 19 million in back
dividends, AND had to resume paying them quarterly.
“Well that sucks.”
Ford needed the Dodge Brothers to disappear…
from his company.
To coax them into selling their stake in Ford,
Henry leaked a story to the Los Angeles Examiner
that he was going to leave Ford and start
a new company, that would sell an even cheaper
car.
If this was true, Ford undercutting himself
would tank the Ford Motor Company value.
But nobody believed it, because it was stupid,
so the company DIDN’T lose value.
THEN the Dodge brothers got a mysterious phone
call from an anonymous party, offering to
take the stock off their hands for a good
price.
“Hey I don’t know you, but I’d be willing
to take that stock off your hands for a nice
price because I know, and you know, that it’s
going down.
It’s going way down.
That’s what the newspapers say.
Uh my name?
It’s uhh, Fenry..uh Kenry Dord uh Henry
gah”
Again, they still didn’t believe it, and
weren’t going to sell for anything less
than what they thought their 10% stake was
worth.
It wasn’t long however, before the Dodge
boys got tired of getting weird phone calls
late at night from “Schmenry Schmord,”
or Fenry Hord, so they just auctioned off
the stock themselves for what it was worth,
making 25 million dollars in the process.
And Ford was finally free from Dodge.
The Dodge Brothers had turned an initial investment
worth about 250 thousand dollars today, into
the equivalent of 760 million dollars.
Not bad for a couple of boys from Niles.
If you’re from Niles, that’s cool.
Without the Dodge Brothers, Henry Ford might
never have built the Model T. But without
the Model T, the Dodge brothers might not
have built the first Dodge.
And the craziest part of all is that the rivalry
that started between Ford- a conservative
teetotaller and Dodge- the Maverick outsiders
is still raging over a century later.
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button!
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stuff we get to make for you.
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Car kind of person?
Or are you a Ford guy, are you a sensitive
boy, do you drive a Mustang?
Let me know in the comments.
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HISTORY OF CADILLAC ⭐ From the Ashes of Ford (America's Luxury Cars Industry )(Henry M. Leland)

HOT ROD 100:

HOT ROD 100 Presents...
The History of Cadillac
hello I'm ed Herman welcome to The
History Channel the dictionary defines
luxury as the enjoyment of the best and
most costly things for many Americans
another definition of luxury is Cadillac
over the years the Cadillac has
represented price enos and prestige it
was seen by some as the ultimate and
most desirable American car but like
most car makers Cadillac hasn't always
found the road smooth there have been
wrong turns even in the luxury lane join
us now as the History Channel presents
automobiles Cadillac while many people
wanted to build cars at the turn of the
century one man wanted to change the way
they were built he hoped to apply rigid
standards to the process and vastly
improved the products
Henry Leland became acquainted with
precision manufacturing techniques while
working for firearms makers he spread
the precision gospel wherever he went
in 1901 his machine shop was awarded in
order for 2,000 all mobile engines
because he demanded extremely high
tolerance levels his engines delivered
27% more horsepower than a competitor
was building an identical engine for
holes
Leland's powerful engines helped the
curve - oil field become the biggest
seller in the United States his work
came to the attention of Henry Ford's
backers who were losing patience with
Ford more than his investors had started
the Detroit automobile company to
initially build a moderately priced car
Ford had delivered but he wanted to
build a low-priced car for the masses
the investors wanted to move into the
luxury field the bankers began to search
for someone who shared their views the
conventional wisdom in Europe and in the
United States was that you only had to
build a few cars for the rich to make a
lot of money Ford had other ideas and
resigned from the Detroit auto company
Leyland was brought in and he was
determined to find a way to combine the
standards of excellence associated with
the production of luxury automobiles
with mass production a company's name
was changed to Cadillac
his first task was to build up a sales
force to sell the $750 cars now called
Cadillac
within a short time he never sales
outlet in nearly heavy part of the
United States as he took control he
started to stress the importance of
building reliable automobiles while
Leland was driving to develop a high
quality car for an elite clientele
he wasn't immune to engaging in lowbrow
attention-grabbing
publicity stunts
in 1905 he introduced his first
multi-cylinder touring car
the Cadillac model D but this cars still
like the precision wheel in front and
the lack of precisely manufactured parts
resulted in the production of cars that
were prone to rattling and shaking
Leyland knew that the novelty of owning
an automobile war people would demand
smoother ride and more reliable
performance he determined that the
tooling for the part had to be built
using standardized measurements
in Sweden he found an answer the
Johansson gauge blocks by basing all
dimensions in manufacturing on an exact
system of measurements Cadillac was able
to control the variations in parts using
the blocks as a guide more than 20000
precision measuring instruments were
created the accuracy of these
instruments was constantly tested by
referring to the Johansen gauges this
attention to detail allowed
interchangeable parts to be made and
high-quality mass production became
possible
this year the honor goes and most justly
filled through the Cadillac Motor Car
Company of America stability of reeling
claims the Royal Automobile Club invited
Cadillac to enter an international
quality contest three randomly selected
Cadillacs were driven to the Brooklands
racetrack and dismantled to test whether
they were truly interchangeable 89 parts
were replaced with new ones from his
massive material the three cars were
reassembled and then taken out onto the
track and driven for 500 miles the cars
stood up to the test Cadillac was
awarded the doers come Cadillacs growing
reputation attracted the attention of
the founder of General Motors Billy
Graham
the right approach
Cadillacs investors in 1909 and for over
five million dollars bought the company
and placed it under GM's umbrella
Leyland agreed to stay at Cadillac if
the land would let him have his way
though I'd agreed in 1909 cars were
still open to the elements on a drive on
a good road on a nice sunny day could be
pleasant the condition of most roads and
the cars and passengers usually were
halted by debris many wore coveralls
called dusters hats and goggles to keep
splattering oil and dirt off their
clothes
the first drops of rain triggered
frantic attempts with the top up and
sometimes the top cooperated often
everyone got wet to remedy the situation
and widely accepted for the automobile
Cadillac introduced the first all
enclosed body as standard equipment in
1910 Eiland saw another problem that
limited the growth of the automobiles
the difficulty of starting one and
francs required muscle stamina and luck
also they could be dangerous you to be
in trouble
one of Leland friends was injured when
he stopped to help a woman started car
well I was here - start the car
backfired the crank flew off and broke
his jaw I however a week later the man
died from complications stemming from
his injuries I just was afraid the fact
that a Cadillac was responsible for the
death of a friend prompted Leland to
find a substitute for the crank handle
he approached a noted engineer Charles
Kettering and told him the project took
priority over all others within a short
time
Kettering had developed a prototype
electric starter after thorough testing
his invention became standard equipment
on all Cadillacs beginning in 1912 the
Royal Automobile Club awarded the
Dewar's trophy for the second time to
Cadillac
the electric starter opened up the world
of motoring to everyone by 1916 98% of
American cars in production featured
Kettering's electric starter we learned
next challenge was to improved Cadillac
standard four-cylinder engine
Cadillacs engineers started a top-secret
project to design a commercially
successful v8 my 1914 Cadillac was ready
to unveil the first high-volume
production v8 engine the engine combined
with innovative body styles Kettering's
electric system and other engineering
enhancements created high volume cars
that offered exceptional performance and
features that were unheard of anywhere
else
people said Weyland had done for the
rich what Ford did for the poor
the onset of World War one in Europe had
distracted its auto manufacturers and
helped Cadillac establish its
technological supremacy over European
models between 1914 of 1916 Cadillac
produced a whole new breed of cars with
new engines chassis bodywork electrical
accessories and other mechanical
enhancement but its European competitors
were bogged down in the trenches
as it became clear that America would
enter the war Ligon and grew up plans to
build airplane engines for the Allies to
ran to pacifist veto this proposal what
Americans started shipping out the
patriotic Neyland resigned he started a
new company to build liberty aero
engines
many of Cadillacs employees followed him
to the new venture that was named after
the first American president Leland had
voted for Lincoln Durant had a change of
heart and tried to woo Leland back but
it was too late
ironically Cadillac also began to build
Liberty engines even though their
airplane motors had very little impact
on the outcome of the war
Cadillacs became popular at the front
General Pershing had liked to v8-powered
Cadillac she was chasing Pancho via the
Mexican border and he made Cadillac the
official staff car of the US Army during
the war almost three thousand Cadillacs
were pressed into service some were
outfitted with machine guns
when the war ended Cadillac was poised
for a new era the returning doughboys
would be looking for jobs new cars and a
part of the American Dream it would be a
time of growth and optimism for Cadillac
but it would be tempered by a new rival
Henry Leland Lincoln we now continue
with automobile after a short post-war
depression the US economy ignited and
launched a dizzy period of consumption
and abandoned Cadillac purchased surplus
government factories that had used
during the war and began building luxury
cars for the growing number of people
who wanted to go first class
many of these luxury cars were built by
people who have recently immigrated from
Europe with the skills to create
exquisite car bodies
the bodies for these cars were built out
of wood over which a thin sheet of
aluminum would be shaped and put into
place America responded the Cadillacs
creations and it became clear the bigger
factory had to be built
by 1922 Cadillac had added almost two
million square feet of factory space and
brought its widely scattered operations
under one roof production capacity
increased from nineteen thousand to over
thirty thousand cars without a night
shift
glandt lost control of GM and Alfred
Sloan replaced them he put in place a
staff and line pattern of organization
that gave the divisions of General
Motors virtual autonomy Cadillac
flourished across town Leyland Lincoln
has moved from aero engines to
automobiles the early Lincoln's came
with a v8 that was more powerful than
Cadillacs the fast and reliable
Lincoln's became popular with rum
runners and their pursuers
however Lincoln's uninspired styling
made little impression on the general
public and failed salt
Lincoln slipped into bankruptcy and was
bought by Leland's old rival Henry Ford
some think this was a way for Ford to
finally prove to the world that he was
better than Leland others think it was a
way for Ford to distract his ambitious
son Edsel and keep him out of Ford Motor
Company affairs
Edsel Ford was named president of the
Lincoln Motor Car Company and he began
to look for ways to enhance its body
image he was able to bring in two top
coach builders to design custom bodies
for Lincoln's
even the catalogues will a joyous artist
prepared renditions that show now the
cars colors who are inspired by the
plumage of different birds
General Motors bodybuilders the Fisher
brothers were responsible for most
Cadillac bodies to respond to the
stylish new Lincoln's they brought
Fleetwood a custom body works in
Pennsylvania and moved many of its
skilled artisans to Detroit
as the engineering differences between
cars began to disappear styling became
more important Cadillac continued to
pursue technological innovations but
there was a recognition that all things
being equal people responded to the look
of a car
to enhance its styling reputation than
bolster its chances of becoming the
styling leader Cadillacs president
Lawrence Fisher imported a talented
young stylist from California
Holly Earl
you sure put Earl to work on a roadster
project that would combine a new v8 with
west coast Claire Fisher wanted to surge
ahead of Lincoln and Packard
the 1927 LaSalle was the result of this
marriage of Technology and style
Fischer was happy with Earl's creation
and suggested to Sloane that will become
a permanent in-house lattice an
automotive first the Numa style helped
push Cadillacs worldwide sales to over
40,000 cars but the competition was
relentless Edsel Ford was pursuing
engineering and design excellence with a
personal passion that was influenced by
his interests in art to him the
automobile was an art form he treated
his cars like art objects he insisted
that each Lincoln be shipped in a lined
paper bag and sealed in a dust free
railway car this luxury ride came to an
abrupt halt in October of 1929 when the
stock market crashed
as the economy stumbled luxury car sales
all
the economic repercussions affected
millions of people who suddenly found
themselves out of work some had been
millionaires before the crash
now we reduce to selling apples even if
one had enough money for a new luxury
car it was no longer fashionable society
was in turmoil and there were reports of
limousines being stoned by angry mobs
the rich were in retreat
but it can be made plain that if the
strategy which meal established is
maintained and the battle not causes
might change in the midst of action we
shall win Cadillacs engineers shared
president Hoover's confidence and we're
sure that the market would bounce back
they were determined to be ready with
something new and exciting automobiles
will return in a moment here on the
History Channel
with automobile
by 1930 the Depression had crippled car
sales but Cadillac continued to develop
cars for a clientele they hoped would
appreciate precision luxury and quality
with audacity and some would say a total
disregard for reality Cadillac released
the world's largest automobile engine of
these 16 the V 16 was an immediate hit
there were enough people who still had
money in wanted the best and the v6
teams were designed to accelerate in
traffic with or ahead of a jam and take
all main roads go over hills or
mountains with ease and maintain high
speeds on the highway Cadillac continued
to refine the b16 and thus other
components during the 1930 he some
credit the stock market crash with the
technological advances that were made in
that era the depression caused people to
be less frivolous to demand real
improvements in products that would
provide value and not just minor
enhancements 34 another stylist stylist
or just as busy as the engineers cars
were lowered running boards withered and
pumps became a part of the body the
modern car began to take shape but it
was a difficult time and not every
styling change exceeded performance
you win comfort we say dangerous and
really nicely introduced aerodynamic
everything what the 1933 World's Fair
thought that its controversial sleek the
parents would delight the crowd the
first test is braking efficiency
probably the most important of all from
the standpoint of accident rebate
unfortunately the car was a flop so if
you cars sold chrysler dropped the car
after one year while it was a little
ahead of its time the airflow signaled
the direction that automotive filing
would take while Chrysler survived the
air flow some well as
luxury car manufacturers couldn't hold
on the gut Franklin Auburn pierce-arrow
all disappeared during the thirties
while others introduced lower priced
cars to survive
Packard was still the American luxury
leader in the late thirties but the
climbing sales forced it to introduce a
lower-priced model the 120 the 120
helped to shore up sale but the need to
build an inexpensive model was a signal
that Packard was weakening
Packard had to develop new larger cars
to maintain its reputation as a
manufacturer of fine cars
Valentin is a guarantee of the
continuity on the Packard Everett some
companies seem to be immune to the
country's economic woes after Cadillac
successful launch of the LaSalle its
rival Lincoln established its own
in-house design department the 1937
Zephyr was this group's first major
endeavor it was an aerodynamic fastback
with streamlined fenders and no running
boards somewhat reminiscent to the
airflow unlike Chrysler's disaster the
Zephyr was a commercial and artistic
success
heads go Ford was thrilled with the
acclaim the 90 mile per hour car
received but he still wanted more he
asked his design department to create a
car that would reflect the elegance of
Europe in an American Way in 1938 they
delivered the prototype of the
Continental to headful while he was
vacationing in Florida his fellow
travelers liked the car and he returned
home with over 200 orders for a
continental was immediately put into
production
Cadillac wasn't standing still while at
$1,600 sixty special was $300 more
expensive than a zephyr it was faster
and had a better transmission but
commercial rivalries were about to be
replaced by real fighting as World War
two began to draw the United States into
battle
the Cadillac began war production just
after Pearl Harbor and for four years
tanks replaced cars on this assembly
lines the Cadillac v8 and automatic
transmission were adapted for use on the
tanks the tanks actually required two
transmissions one for each track the
army was impressed with the performance
of the Cadillac components like legions
of Cadillac owners before them they
found that the engines were easy to
start Grande smoothly even at very low
speeds
since many military mechanics had
performed the same job as civilians they
were familiar with the Cadillac engine
and transmission
this made repairs Martita and saved an
enormous amount of time and money
after four years of combat the war was
over and Cadillac could retire its tanks
and return to making cars on October
17th 1945 the first post-war Cadillac
rolled off the line within a short time
production was back to pre-war levels
while the first cars were merely
reissues of the ones that Cadillac
stopped building in 1942 the race was on
to find a new styling direction the
stylist favored an idea they lifted from
the Lockheed p-38 fighters that failed
him a design revolution was about to
begin automobiles will return in a
moment here on this automobile Cadillacs
designers were taken with the look of
Lockheed p-38 fighter after seeing a
prototype before Pearl Harbor they
wanted to incorporate some of the
aspects of its design into their new
cars while a design change would have to
wait until the war ended many still hope
to add pontoon fenders airplane-like
comfits a propeller shaped nose and tail
fins to the corners only the tail fins
finally appeared on production cars some
called it a fish tail but it began a
trend and help to push Cadillac sales
past
Packard 12 years of painstaking research
and design rare materials and almost
forgotten craft art the demand for
Cadillacs outstripped the factory's
ability to produce the cars Cadillac
fever was epidemic and people were
forming pools to buy the cars and
sharing them two three and sometimes
five or six people would combine their
resources buy a Cadillac and rotate its
use Cadillac executives cashed in on the
bonanza they would buy the car that cost
drive them a year and sell them at a
profit the healthy post-war economy gave
an ever-increasing number of people the
means to afford a little bit of luxury
and they weren't afraid to spend their
new wealth to meet their growing
expectations Cadillac introduced a new
high-compression v8 air conditioning and
fully automatic transmission
the depression and the war were over
luxury was in and Cadillac virtually had
the field all to itself Packard was
slipping and Cadillacs main rival
Lincoln was feeling the effects of the
turmoil at Ford when Enzo Ford died the
Navy sent his son Henry Ford the second
home to take over the company from his
grandfather by 1945 the founder had
nearly run the company aground and the
War Department wanted to make sure the
Ford Motor Company's survived while
young Henry had kept the company
together during the war its lincoln
division was in no shape to do battle
with cadillac after the war Henry or
Hank The Deuce as he was called vowed to
keep Lincoln alive but he had to
concentrate most of his energy on Ford's
standard models
in 1949 he turned to his brother Benson
and asked him to return Lincoln the
fighting shape Benson relished the task
and began to revive the Lincoln
performance tradition with an all-new v8
a clear signal that they would not
willingly surrender the market to
Cadillac Cadillac recognized the
challenge and advertised its beefed up
210 horsepower v8 a new four-barrel
carburetor larger exhaust clouds dual
exhaust and other performance
improvements almost 100,000 people
bought 1953 Cadillacs more than double
the number of Lincoln customers Cadillac
executives felt secure
the next year they said they increased
the horsepower to 230 but in fact they
have just underrated it the first year
so that they could claim an easy
increase a Cadillac showed off the
LeMans its low-slung show connor lincoln
designers were at work on a sleek car
for the road in an attempt to recapture
the legacy of Edsel classic styling
Lincoln's designers had developed the
mark 2 for 1955 it was an elegant
two-seater that became an instant
classic they revived the special
shipping procedures used on his effort
each left the factory in a fleece-lined
pouch but the style and grace of the
mark 2 wasn't enough to lift Lincoln's
overall sales and unseat Cadillac
you
my 1955 Cadillac had poles so far I had
a Lincoln that it no longer appeared to
be a real contest Cadillac sold over 140
thousand cars a year for Lincoln's 35
thousand and one time leader Packard
struggled to survive they introduced a
new v8 that quickly earned a reputation
for breakdowns Packard was about to go
under and Cadillac kept growing then a
challenge appeared from an unlikely
source Chrysler introduced a new style
but took Cadillacs fins to the extreme
Chrysler's forward look became the rage
and like the space race between the
former Soviet Union and the United
States the trend race began between
American car companies
Cadillac responded with an even larger
tail pin on its 1956 Eldorado
convertible no one was going to
challenge Cadillac
if fins were in then Cadillac would have
the largest their strategy worked
Chrysler's initial failed surged to over
140,000 cars but fell back to a little
over 100,000 the next year when the
public discovered Chrysler's abysmal
quality their sales slid Cadillacs
continued to grow
the biggest news for consumers in the
mid-fifties have come to love Cadillacs
combination of gimmicks and engineering
with the 1957 Eldorado Brougham while
Lincoln's mark 2 was a throwback to a
more formal era the Eldorado Brougham
relished the moment and highlighted the
latest technology it had a dizzying
array of features stainless steel roof
cushy air Springs for headlights he
could adjusted automatically power
windows power invent and an automatic
country lease the back steep armrest
contained a portable vanity with a
perfume holder Cadillac called it the
car for those who could afford
tomorrow's car today but less than 1,000
people could afford the $13,000 car a
record price for post-war connor the
hand-built cars did get attention and
Cadillacs reputation was enhanced
Cadillacs show cars also attracted some
notoriety one the director bill for the
1957 Auto Show offered features that had
become standard today but seemed
futuristic in the 1950s Bharat umbrella
holder and secretary seed never became
standard equipment car phones have
sprouted everywhere tape players and
compact discs were far more practical
than a turntable in traffic but the
basic idea was there
and the advent of the micro cassette
recorders and laptop computer had
eliminated the need for an onboard
secretary but that's the problem with
predictions we just never know smiling
changes for 1958 were confined to
revised front and rear ends with altered
body trim quad headlights redesigned
bumpers a new grille and rear slanting
pins our door locks were optional and
four-door models had power vent windows
in the rear the Eldorado Brougham had
its own new styling and technical
features such as a rear quarter-panel
window which automatically fled back to
ease passenger entry when the door was
opened the bronze carpeting and
upholstery was matched in the trunk with
material that covered its entire
interior deck lid and spare tire despite
all of the improvements Cadillac sales
fell in 1958 and dealers were glad a new
model was coming
in 1959 engine size was increased to 390
cubic inches better shock absorbers were
added and the power steering was
improved but the real story was the fins
Cadillacs fins reached a ridiculous
thighs and shape that became an icon for
the era cooler heads prevailed at
Cadillac in 1960 and the fins began to
retreat all 14 models offered that year
these five thousand-pound cars were the
390 cubic inch engine demanded a great
deal of high-octane fuel to keep going
10 miles to the gallon was the norm but
for the time being
fuel was cheap and very few thought
about disappearing resources Cadillac
continued to de-emphasize of him and we
find it styling throughout the early 60s
the firm became a vestigial reminder of
the past like a prehensile tail
Cadillacs rated highly with drivers who
like their ease of control and soft
boulevard ride the simple to use heating
and cooling systems electric seats
adjustable steering wheels and other
gadgets kept Cadillac buyers in the fold
the European manufacturing had recovered
from the devastation of World War two by
the mid 1960s and the occasional foreign
car began to appear on American streets
Cadillac and the other US automakers
dismissed the notion of a threat from
abroad
Mercedes 8,000 US car sales in 1964 were
minuscule compared to Cadillacs 150,000
but as people began to discover the
import they noticed that the quality was
higher than the domestics the time being
Cadillac was safe but it seed had been
planted automobiles will return in a
moment as sales continued to climb in
the 60s more factory space was needed
over 600,000 square feet of floor space
was added to the manufacturing and
engineering buildings Cadillac became an
almost self-contained facility
the big news in 1967 was the
introduction of the front-wheel drive
Eldorado this project had been under
development since 1959 engineers have
discovered the advantages of front-wheel
drive during the winter of that year
when they tested a prototype on an icy
runway in northern Michigan they found
that they could safely drive on glair
ice at about double the speed of a rear
drive car
Cadillacs front-wheel drive cars sold
well and help the company appealed was
slightly younger clientele Cadillacs
main line of cars was also successful
sales top 200,000 for the first time and
by June of 1968 the three million
post-war Cadillac had been sold
Cadillacs again the decade of the 1970s
confident that its new body styles and
long list of options would keep sales
growing they did until 1973 but the
price of gasoline increased dramatically
as a result of an oil embargo but the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries
when OPEC shut off the spigot Americans
thought twice about buying fuel hungry
cars people turn to smaller more
fuel-efficient cars from Japan and
Europe while the initial interest in
these cars was fuel economy it didn't
take long for drivers to notice that
they were well-built responsive and fun
design Cadillac and the rest of the US
auto industry finally had to respond
Cadillac didn't have an import fighter
but executives knew that if they didn't
develop one they would continue to slip
by 1975 the Seville was ready it was the
smallest Cadillac in over 65 years but
it rolled as well with a full-sized
Cadillac
the car performed well and gave 20 miles
per gallon on an open road if fuel
injection system was a bit troublesome
and a peaceful version that will work
very well but overall the bill was the
right car for the changing times
other safety laws and the changing
tastes of car buyers combined to halt
the production of convertibles in 1976
while Cadillac at pioneer the enclosed
body they had always had rag tops
collectors map these up some save
thousands of dollars over the list price
to obtain one of the last Cadillac
convertible Cadillac stylish changed
course from Seville in 1980 when they
introduced a retro looking slope back
model some like the styling in some
didn't no one like the v8 6:4 engine
that was offered that year bowing to
fuel efficiency concerns Cadillac had
created an engine that was supposed to
shift from eight to six the 4-cylinder
operation depending on driving
conditions the theory was that this
would save fuel but it's microprocessor
was so unreliable most just disconnected
it and landed at this grade eight
Cadillacs biggest mistake with the
Cimarron this small car was a gussied up
version of Chevrolet's Cavalier Cadillac
designers not that adding a better front
and rear suspension system and leather
upholstery to the underpowered Chevrolet
chassis would help them complete with
Volvo BMW and SAAM they were wrong the
1.8 litre four-cylinder engine the link
to a standard automatic transmission
could barely move the 2600 pound car
it was outclassed and took another notch
off Cadillacs reputation eventually a v6
engine became available but it was too
late to repair the damage
it's full-size cars were faring well in
the market but Cadillac was determined
to fight the sporty luxury imports a new
multi-million dollar plant was built it
contained the latest robotics as the
prototypes of the new Cadillacs will
being built engineers worked overtime to
try and keep the robot from painting
each other when smashing the windshield
in 1986 when the new Seville's and
Eldorado's debuted they were 16 inches
shorter and over 350 pounds lighter than
their predecessors they are a complete
departure for Cadillac and as Chrysler
have learned with the air flow you can't
get too far ahead of your customers and
sales fell by a staggering 60 percent
Cadillac reportedly lost a million
dollars a day on the cars
the engineers ready to replace them for
the touring Garner's another import
fighter whose release
Cadillacs developed the Allante as
arrival for the mercedes-benz SL series
this cars body was designed and sold by
the Italian coachbuilders Pininfarina
and flown into Detroit on specially
equipped cargo planes an extravagance
designed to create a luxury image for
the car
unfortunately no one cared Cadillac only
needed to sell 6000 delante a year to
make a profit on paper it seemed
promising a new v8 on wheel drive and
you lock brakes racing bucket seats and
a taut suspension all sounded good but
once again Cadillac missed the mark
people stuck with the Mercedes and the
dealers were forced to sell a lot days
for $5,000 under the $56,000 asking
price and guarantee their resale value
after five years of drubbing by the auto
press and snubbing by the public
Cadillac dropped the Alliance some
insiders doesn't Cadillac that anyhow
one more chance to impress the public
the next cars have to be a hit
while Cadillac prepared another round of
new cars it could be assured that some
things were working
it's limousines were still favored by
presidents prime ministers and many
corporate executives these demanding
users like Cadillacs roomy interiors and
distinctive style but the limousine
market represented only a small share of
Cadillacs overall sales to survive
Cadillac had to produce a touring car
with broad appeal the future of the
company was at stake when the completely
restyled Eldorado and Seville were
introduced in 1988 they delivered the
cars disc chassis and pipe suspensions
finally offered the European feel that
customers wanted the 4.6 liter v8
created 150 mile per hour vehicles that
rival the world's best it appeared that
Cadillac was finally on the right track
Cadillac realizes that it can no longer
take luxury car sales the leadership for
grunted Cadillac was the victim of its
own success and waited too long to begin
to take on the competition but now its
sights are set on once again becoming
the standard of the world
future looks bright but only time will
tell
legend had it that to test the early
Cadillac it was driven up the steps of
the courthouse in Detroit it was
believed that if the car could endure
that it was a match for any road now the
Cadillac is challenged again by other
luxury cars a challenge much steeper
than the courthouse tip for the History
Channel I met her thanks for watching
now you can own the program you've just
seen for only 2495 plus shipping and
handling to order a videocassette call
one eight hundred seven oh eight 1776
for shop online at History Channel com

William C. Durant

Audiopedia:

Texas Barn Find: Five Pre-war Automobiles Discovered

Hagerty:

(blues music)
- I'm Antonio Brunet and I'm the chairman
and founder of Motostalgia Auction.
And we're here to talk about
an incredible Texas barn find.
(blues music)
It's one of those, that as a
car guy, you kind of dream of.
(blues music)
Funny enough this collection literally
it's seven miles from our office,
but we'd run into it.
The gentleman's name is Jack
and the story goes that
he moved down to Texas
in the early 70s, around 1972, 1973.
And he's obviously a car guy
and had some amazing vehicles
that once he got to Texas
he put away in his new barn.
And always with intention of
getting the time and the money
to fix them and to ride them again.
(blues music)
The moment that we opened the doors
to that barn find was
just absolutely amazing.
I mean as soon as I saw the
little signs of V12 and V16
on the Cadillacs, I knew
that they were something
very special.
One of my favorite, to be honest with you,
is a 1923 Milburn Electric.
And I think it's one of
favorite because of the story.
They were companies like Milburn
and Detroit Electric that
built very competitive cars
to the market at the time.
We're talking about the
teens and the early 20s.
So Milburn is one those stories
and history now tells that GM, in 1924,
bought out the whole company
to dismantle the factory.
So they wouldn't have that car competing.
Well the car that Jack had is a 1923 27L,
which is the very last model
that that company built.
Jack was obviously very... an enthusiast
and cared much about the Cadillacs
and the multi-cylindered Cadillacs.
It's actually a 1933 V12 coupe.
It's obviously a rare car too,
being that it's a
multi-cylindered Cadillac.
The great thing about this
particular car, obviously,
the condition of being a barn find
and being completely
unmolested and original,
is that the back of it, it
actually has a 1932 trunk.
But the car's a 1933.
So this is one of those
bodies which happened a lot
back in that early century,
where vehicles were built
with available parts.
And of course, this car
was built as a 1933.
But at the time they didn't
have a 33 trunk available,
so they slapped a 1932, which of course
makes it now a rare car.
Cause it's not something that happened
to any other body.
Some of the cars in this
collection, very important.
One of the most important
ones or the main,
is a 1932 Cadillac V12
Victoria convertible.
Now this is actually body number one,
meaning this was the very first one
that came out of the factory.
There were only four built.
The other three were actually V16 cars.
So the actually story of this car's tale
that this was the vehicle that was used
as a prototype to show to the executives.
See if they will approve the concept
of having a Victoria convertible.
At the time the body was ready,
there was actually not
a V16 chassis avaliable
so they put it on a
V12, with a V12 engine.
This is one of those cars
that's actually considered
within the V16 registry,
but it obviously carries
a V12 chassis and V12 engine.
It's never been offered for sale.
It's only had three owners and the fact
that we found it so close,
and in such magnificent shape,
it's truly a once in a lifetime.
(blues music)
The fourth car that he had,
it's a very interesting one.
It's a 1908 REO and that
car's significant because
REO was founded by Oldsmobile.
And after he sold his company,
he wasn't able to go back
and use the same brand.
So he created REO.
It's a Model G from what we
have found in our research.
And it's a convertible
car, but not convertible
in the sense that we know.
It's more of a transformer.
Because it converts from a five-passenger
touring convertible to a
two-passenger boat tail.
The fact that the car
is absolutely complete
with both choices of
bodies, it's very, very rare
and very exciting to see.
Of course, it's a brass era vintage car.
So all the headlights and
all the little instruments,
it's pure brass, which
is absolutely gorgeous.
(blues music)
Another car that he had in his collection,
you know the Cadillac is
actually a Cadillac V16.
It's a 1938 limousine.
What's particular about this specific one
is that it's a five-passenger limousine.
Usually limousines in
early century, pre-war,
they were either seven-passenger
or as much as nine-passenger.
But this particular one,
does not have the jump seats.
Because the person that ordered it,
just wanted it for him and his wife.
So it's a great car, V16 chassis.
The car is absolutely enormous
and it just really talks
about the eccentricity
of Cadillac and in
American life back then.
Finding the cars and kind of
getting to know the story,
really, really capture us.
It's almost like a time machine.
I mean really opening those
doors of that barn that day.
When you enter there,
you feel like immediately
you're in, back in the 1930s.
And that's why I think it's so amazing.
(blues music)

Which automaker company owns your favorite car brand? You'd be surprised

Vehicle Virals:

Not to disappoint you but most badges you see on your favorite cars are not as transparent as you think they are today
I'll be showing you which automakers own your favorite car brands
My name is Christian, and this is vehicle Virals make sure to subscribe for weekly out of motive content
Let's begin when you think of James Bond, which car brand comes to mind
That's right Aston, Martin today Aston, Martin isn't owned by a larger automaker
But don't think it was always that way it was once under Ford and then sold to a group of investors in
2007 one key investor was Mercedes Benz parent company named leur the tie-in with
Mercedes now gives Aston Martin access to AMG engines for its latest sports cars a sweet deal moving on
BMW for you guys that didn't know it stands for Bay or ish
Motorin work
It's German for barbarian motor works BMW owns two automobile brands
many
Which was relaunched in 2001 and rolls-royce which was acquired in?
2002 you can even see some BMW influences in the rolls-royce
Ghost sedan next one on the list there's a automaker Daimler AG
Ring a bell it probably doesn't but at the same time it probably does because I just mentioned it when I talked about Aston Martin
I know for sure it didn't ring a bell for me when I first did my research its original name was damned ler bends before
transitioned over to the new name damn ler AG in
1998 they own all of Mercedes divisions such as the Benz the AMG and a Maybach
They also homesmart you remember seeing those tiny cars in the road
They could basically pop a u-turn in one lane Daimler. Also owns a truck companies such as Freightliner alright
Let's move on to Fiat that was founded in 1899 it is Italy's largest auto
Manufacturer and also one of the oldest auto makers in the world
They mainly produce railroad engines tractors and airplane engines until
1950 where they then offered a full lineup of cars
Enough with the Boring stuff, which car companies do they control well here
They are a breath Alfa Romeo Maserati and Chrysler which was apart after filing bankruptcy
In 2011 with Chrysler comes all of their brands as well such as Dodge Jeep and Ram
That's right that means the ultra powerful Hellcat is also under Fiat you think that's impressive wait till you see the last
Automaker on this list make sure to watch the whole video the next automaker was actually under Fiat back in the day
That is before ended up separated from its parent company in
2016 ladies and gentlemen Ferrari once known as Fiat crown jewel is now independent and known as a symbol of speed
Luxury and wealth yep
The next car company revolutionized the use of assembly lines for cars its iconic car the Model T
Is widely considered the first massively available automobile any guesses if you guess forward then you're correct?
Ford Onan had major stakes in Land Rover Mazda mercury Aston
Martin just like stated before
Volvo and Jaguar all those brands were either sold or shut down and the only brand they currently own is
Lincoln the next automaker company downsized
Quite a bit after filing for bankruptcy back in 2009 you might have heard a bottom in the news
I mean I couldn't miss them. They were all over the web at the time that is General Motors
Have known as GM the car brands. They currently own are Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GMC
and Holden a brand only
Distributed in Australia this next automaker was known as a new kid on the block back when it was founded in
1948 Honda named after one of the company's founder Soichiro Honda
Sorry about pronounced it wrong
I remember during my teenage years encounter in Honda owners
making fun of Acura owners and vice versa but all it took was to pop open the hood of an Acura Integra to expose the
Honda branding under the hood their reactions
Priceless moving on to Hyundai or Honda whatever you want to call it based in South Korea
I launched his first car in cooperation with Ford in
1968 today hyundai owns a good chunk of kia, it's key competitor
You know what they say if you can't beat them join them the two share many parts among their production such as engine and trans
One interesting move that on the recently did was to branch out its Genesis model to a sub brand of its own
Genesis motors next on the list is Mazda the name originates from our hua
Mazda and Iranian god. That's a cool fact. Isn't it once known as a company that manufactured tools
eventually expanded to automobiles in
1930 the only time I ever had with any other automaker was but Ford owned one third of the company
Later on went on to sell its shares
Which means Mazda is independently owned moving on to one of my favorite automakers of all time?
McLaren a British firm known for building fast sexy sports cars, but hey
That's not all they also run a Formula One team and a division named applied technologies
Which make a unique selection of a product such as bicycles medicine and even solar panels and yes McLaren is?
Independently owned now. Let's talk about Mitsubishi men you might not know but Mitsubishi Corporation
It actually depends largest general trader market. What does general trader marking you ask I'm glad you asked according to Wikipedia
Businesses working with some different type of products which are sold for consumer business or government purposes Mitsubishi became a car maker in
1970 and remain independent for a long time, but now it's controlled by brand not Nissan Alliance talking about right now, Nissan
They actually only 43% of Nissan as many of you guys probably already know Nissan runs his luxury focus division
Infinity before I confirm that this was true
I already had a hunch that they were closely related the same hunch I get when I see
CVS and Walgreens and in Advance Auto Parts in an
Autozone Nissan recently revived Datsun in order to sell economy cars to emerging markets they also own the Romanian car market
Dacia and hold controller stakes in Mitsubishi
Like mentioned previously not really much to say about the following
Automaker company and that is Saab one unique thing is that they specialize in
Aerospace and defense manufacturing as far as automobiles
They're not doing too hot sap isn't quite dead, but it's not doing too
Well the following car maker is a Subaru they doing quite well for themselves
By setting a new annual sales record for ten consecutive years
And if you consider that they are for the most part independent you have to admit. That's quite impressive
I say most part because Toyota owns
16% of Subaru have you ever heard of Tata or Teta?
Not sure which way to say it well
It's a company that currently owns Jaguar and Land Rover that they purchased from Ford back in 2008
according to most haters fame came when it released its Nano vehicle for
$2,500 I mean look at it
What is that banana was originally created to lead India's and middle class away from motorcycles?
Sadly the Nano had many issues and a filter his target by a long shot now. Let's talk about Tesla
There's not really much to say other than it was founded by a group of engineers back in
2003 their cars are currently manufacturing in Fremont
California everybody main independent from any other larger automaker the company recently outlines plans for a new semi truck a super-fast
roadster and a new crossover called numata why moving on to Toyota one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world
They own
lexus
Dot 2 and Hino Motors, you might also remember the sign brand that was also under the Toyota umbrella
I remember the boxy car the xB and a scion tc sign cars were targeted towards the youth
but after slow sales Toyota ultimately decided to close the blinds for the sign in
2016 the following Swedish automaker was founded back in
1927 known as Volvo it was purchased by a Chinese firm from Ford
Following a huge time investment and money to update the Volvo lineup and for the most part it paid off
Now Bulbul stands as an independent automaker company
I might have just saved the best for last
And this next automaker has to have one of the best lineup some brands under their belt it blows me away
Just thinking about it the automaker is Volkswagen and for those that didn't know it means people's car in German
They quickly rose to the top. Thanks to its beetle selling well worldwide
It is also one of the biggest auto makers in the world ready to be blown away
Let's go they own howdy
Bentley Porsche Bugatti, Lamborghini
C skids man trucks Scania and Ducati
Impressive all guys that will say
I hope you guys found that entertaining and informative at the same time if you liked the video make sure and hit that like button
And I want to know
Comment below, what's your favorite car and don't forget to subscribe? I have new automotive content every single week
Hope you all have a good day. I'll see you guys next time

A History that Runs Deep | Jim Trenary Automotive Group

Jim Trenary Chevrolet:

What's going on everybody? Today we are
at Jim Trenary Chevrolet in O'Fallon
Missouri, getting to talk with Kyle
Trenary, to learn a little bit more about
Jim Trenary Automotive Group and what
they're all about.
So what what made you want to get into
the car business?
Well, for starters, I've always loved cars.
It's always been kind of, just cars in my
blood. I want to be outdoors. I
want to be out driving, just cruising
around and in a cool car, because it's
something I enjoy. I would have race cars
before, you know, it's that's just fun to
me. Would you say you have the need for
speed? Ask anyone around here -- if they've driven with me -- I'd say yes, I have the need
for speed.
I always wanted to be in this business.
You know, my father got into business 40
plus years ago selling cars, and worked
his way up through management, and other
dealerships, and then managed to
purchase his own. And I think that's a big
thing; obviously with you know being
a second generation, to really understand,
you know, where you came, from where you are now. What would you say to
somebody that's never visited a Jim Trenary location? I think you're gonna
get a different experience from what
you're used to. Most people walk in to
the dealership scared. It's just that's
what it is, you know? They they have this
feeling that they're gonna be beat up,
you know, basically, when they buy a car.
And the typical car salesperson, you know, and we get a bad rap -- us and attorneys,
basically. There's a reason there's a
stereotype out there, because that it exists, you know? He wants to
sell you a car, and then he's pushing you
out the door, and he's giving you the keys,
and he's on to the next one.
People like that don't stay in the Jim Trenary organization. They don't
work, because that's not the way we work.
We don't want you to just walk out of here
and go to a different chevrolet
dealership again. We want you back. So
when you walk in you're gonna feel
welcome. We are excited that you're here.
We're excited to sell you a car. We're
excited to service your vehicles. And I
think that's a big thing is the stigma
about going into a dealership, and the
comfort level, and things like that. You
guys seem to ease a lot of tension in
regards to the way that you approach
people, and welcome people. What would you
say is one of the things that you love
about the car business?
I've been a car nut ever since I was a
little kid. I couldn't wait to sit on my
dad's lap and drive the car, you know? But
not only that, I started out as a porter
and I worked my way into different areas
of the dealership, and I learned about
people. You meet all kinds of people in each part of the dealership business,
and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being
with the people that work here, and I enjoy
meeting the people that come in here
every day. It was just always impressive to
me how my father had done what he did,
and I don't want that legacy to end.
We want you back, and we're gonna
give you a great deal on it, and we're
gonna give you the service that will get
you back here. Thank you all for watching
and if you want to know more about the
Jim Trenary experience, visit any of our
five locations. And don't forget to like
and subscribe to our YouTube channel, or
as always, you can visit the website
JimTrenary.Com.

HISTORY OF BUICK 🏁 David Buick & General Motors Historical Documentary! (Automotive History 1995)

HOT ROD 100:

HOT ROD 100 Presents...
The History of Buick
(A General Motors Story)
Buick has been one of the great names
in American automobiles for virtually
all of the 20th century its model names
like century Roadmaster and Riviera
evoke fond memories but its founder
David Buick and several of his
successors have had to hang on tight as
Buicks fortunes rode the unpredictable
roller coaster of world events it's been
quite a ride for Buick
early in the 20th century more than a
thousand automobile companies emerged
most were little more than daydreams and
quickly failed a few prospered for
several years some for decades but only
a handful still exist
Buick one of the lucky survivors was
founded by an inventive Scotsman David
Dunbar Buick born in a small industrial
town in 1854 David Buick emigrated with
his family to the United States two
years later he became a successful
plumbing inventor and manufacturer in
Detroit but his real passion wasn't
porcelain it was engines he said you
can't drive a bathtub into town in the
mid 1890s he turned his attention to
building gasoline engines he started a
succession of companies that initially
produced engines for farm machinery
Buick was a Commodore in the Detroit
Yacht Club and helped to transform their
sailboats into motor boats with his
engines around 1900 one of Buicks
employees Walter Marr built the first
Buick automobile in the barn behind
David Buicks Detroit House Buick and
Marv were a lot alike both were about 5
foot 4 and had hot tempers they often
argued with each other
when they split up for a brief period in
1901 Buick tried to sell their first car
tomorrow he wanted $300 but Marr held
out and finally got it for $225 but
Morrow was back soon he would work for
David Buick three times
Buick and Mar then raised the money to
build a second car the car had problems
and their investor wanted to unload the
company and get his $3,500 investment
back horsepower was still the norm and
most people were wary of making a
speculative investment in automobile
manufacturing but enough automobiles
were appearing on major city streets by
1903 but some were willing to take the
financial plunge by that summer Buick
found a group of wagon makers in Flint
Michigan who would take the risk and buy
his company by then Flint was a
prosperous city of 14,000 people located
on the edge of the Great Michigan pine
forests the money from lumbering had
fueled several local enterprises the
most successful wagon and carriage
building would ironically provide the
financial basis for their competition
the automobile
by the turn of the century several of
the wagon makers had determined that a
faux horseless carriage was going to be
a threat to their business they'd better
get aboard by September of 1903 the new
investors have moved the Buick company
bag baggage and David Buick from Detroit
to Flint the Buick Motor Car Company was
born it was the right time to enter the
auto business through endurance
demonstrations such as the glutton tour
the public was becoming convinced that
cars could take the punishment of the
road people began to believe that
automobiles were durable and practical
forms of transportation
auto racing was also becoming a popular
form of amusement thousands of people
would flock to weekend races such as the
one held by the Vanderbilts on Long
Island to see the Daredevils compete the
racing fans left the track excited about
the future of the automobile in the
spring of 1904 David Buick desperately
wanted to cash in on this enthusiasm he
enticed Walter Marr to rejoin him and
help him build the first Flint Buick
automobile
mara and David son took the car
basically a running chassis on a test
run to Detroit and back
they started July 9th 1904 and returned
three days later about a three hour
round trip today
the new investors soon learned that
developing an automobile company was
more expensive than they'd realize the
company ran into financial problems in
the fall of 1904 they turned to Billy
Durant one of Flint's other carriage
builders for help
Durant was a legend in Flint he seemed
to have the ability to produce almost
magical business success although not a
flint native his roots were there Durant
the grandson of a flint lumber baron
land michigan governor was born in
Boston on December 8 1861 he moved to a
fine house in Flint with his mother
Rebecca Durant a decade later when his
mother and father separated he was a
restless child who dropped out of high
school to work in his grandfather's
lumber mill he quickly decided he didn't
like hard labor but the slightly built
young man had a knack for selling in
business he successfully sold patent
medicine cigars insurance and real
estate in 1886 he got into the vehicle
business almost on a whim one evening in
September he saw an attractive
horse-drawn road cart on the streets of
Flint the next night he took the train
to Coldwater Michigan where the cart was
manufactured and bought the rights to
build it along with its patented spring
suspension
he borrowed $2,000 and started the
blue-ribbon carriage company with a
partner and close friend J Dallas dort
by 1900 they were the largest producers
of horse-drawn vehicles in the country
Durant was a promoter and a super
salesman he talked softly had a dazzling
smile and as walter Chrysler later said
he could charm a bird right down out of
a tree Durant and ork became
millionaires
durant succeeded by buying and combining
component companies and placing them
under the durant dort empire durant
bought wheel axle varnish paint and
carriage top companies and move them to
flint but in the early 1900's durant
became bored and left flint for new york
city he played the stock market and
looked for new challenges but he
couldn't entirely escape from Flint in
1904 the Restless Durant was approached
by old friends and asked to come home
and rescue financially strapped Buick it
would be a tough decision to make
by 1904 the automobile was making its
mark in American cities while Durant
didn't particularly like automobiles an
opinion shared by most carriage builders
he recognized their growing popularity
he agreed to return to Flint to have a
look at Buick in Flint
Durant took a Buick out for a spin the
Buick climbed hills and ran through mud
like nothing else he'd ever seen
if automobiles could be this good he
decided it was time to get out of the
carriage business
durant agreed to take overview we can
turn the experiment into a viable
company no one else could raise money
sell products and plan big organizations
like Billy Durant Buick success seemed
to be assured
on November 3rd 1904 two days after
taking over he hauled out every Buick
that had been built and staged a parade
in downtown Flint complete with a brass
band and Tooting bugles even though he
didn't have a booth Durant went to the
New York Auto Show in January of 1905 he
took orders for more than 1,000 Buicks
the company hadn't even built 40 with
these orders in hand he raised enough
money from Flint's banks and business
people to build the country's largest
assembly facility the new plant launched
a migration to Flint but there wasn't
enough local housing for all the new
workers and a shanty town developed
eventually Buick would have to build
houses for its growing workforce
using Durant dort carriage outlets and
salespeople as the nucleus of a giant
distribution system
Durant began to promote Buicks across
the country
his efforts paid off Buick production
grew rapidly his new Buick factory
produced over 750 cars in 1905
by 1906 Buick had two models and was
building almost 1300 cars a year one
year later there were six models and
output had increased to 4,600 cars in
1908 Henry Ford introduced his famous
Model T just as America really started
to accept the automobile the fledgling
car industry was clearly on its way and
the race was on to be number one
buick also produced a significant new
model that year it was the cute and
popular model 10 buick produced 4000
model 10 runabouts in 1908 and 4820
other cars this made buick the number
one producer of automobiles in the
country Buick outsold Ford in Cadillac
it's two closest rivals combined Durant
had made the jump from leading producer
of carriages to leading producer of
automobiles
to keep the spotlight on his cars he
sponsored a racing team the Buick racing
team began to gather trophies and
headlines across the country the stars
of the team were Louis Chevrolet and
wild Bob Berman they would win more than
500 races and keep you ixnay on the
papers
the Buick 60 specials one each for Louis
Chevrolet and Bob Berman were
aerodynamic cars that went faster than
105 miles per hour unofficially they
were called the Buick bugs racing
exploits pumped-up viewing sales
for a country that was largely rural and
still relied on the horse these
demonstrations of speed were exciting
like nothing else people had ever seen
to keep their cars in mille I'm light in
1911 and further demonstrate the
durability and practicality of a Buick
the company sponsored the first attempt
at driving from San Francisco to Reno
Nevada Reno's Chamber of Commerce
welcomed the idea and envisioned a day
when car loads of Californian tourists
would visit but in 1911 the road to Reno
was treacherous at the lower elevations
the drivers encountered soft wet snow
but as they climbed the steep Sierra
slopes the snow turned to ice sleds had
to be built and the car was wrestled
over a crest with a combination of
muscle motor and willpower
even when they started their descent
into a more moderate climate ropes were
needed to pull them through the
underbrush
as they closed in on their destination
they planted a flag to commemorate their
trip
the tired crew made it to Reno but it
would be many years until the Chamber of
Commerce could realize its dream of a
drove of tourists swarming in from
California the drivers efforts though
provided further proof that the auto
would prevail over the horse while Buick
was the number one auto manufacturer
Durant wanted more he began to formulate
his ideas for an auto Empire
the success of Henry Ford's model-t the
genius of its inventor has led many to
believe that its impact was a foregone
conclusion when it was introduced in
1908 but Henry Ford while confident
didn't know the scope of what he'd done
Durant though had a feeling he
approached Ford and offered to buy him
out
Ford's operations were bursting at the
seams and he was facing the daunting
prospect of raising the money to build a
new factory
Durant's offer was tantalizing
Ford agreed to sell but he wanted cash
eight million dollars Durant tried to
raise the money but his audacious
appetite staggered his bankers
imaginations bear point Morgan and
others turned him away two years later
the growing success of Henry's Model T
upped Ford's asking price to 35 million
unfazed by his inability to buy out Ford
Durant soon found another auto company
he could acquire the former low-priced
leader Oldsmobile the curve - Oldsmobile
was the first American automobile that
had been assembled in large numbers the
company's attempts to diversify its
products hadn't worked and by 1908 the
company had fallen on lean times however
it was still a famous name
and Durant thought he could build on
that he combined view we can dolls
together under a new company called
General Motors on September 16 1908
the rampant acquired the prestigious
luxury car line Cadillac and the
mid-priced Oakland forerunner of Pontiac
with an eye on publicity he lured a
famous bicycle racer Albert champion
away from the company that bore
champions named informed AC sparkplug
it was rumored that Durant often carried
a suitcase stuffed with cash
people said he juggled millions like
some gambled with pennies but most of
his deals were engineered as a stock
swap while his fledgling organization
acquired dozens of companies its
financial backbone was still Buick but
his growing empire was vulnerable he
became financially overextended and
needed 14 million dollars a group of
cautious Boston bankers led by James
Starro held the company's future in
their hands while they deliberated about
loaning the money to Durant his
operations ground to a halt
with his factory shut down no money for
payroll and bankruptcy looming he
granted the bankers demand for such a
large block of stock but they became the
majority shareholders they installed his
former protege Charles Nash as GM's new
president Nash you've actually went on
to found his own company the forerunner
of American Motors within a year Nash
hired someone else who would start a car
company Walter P Chrysler Chrysler's
engineering and manufacturing expertise
laid the basis for a strong Buick
organization Durant had pushed Buicks
production to over 30,000 cars in 1910
the interruption of production caused
sales to decline to 13,000 in 1911
Nash and Chrysler had their work cut out
for them
Durant did not spend much time sulking
he teamed up with his former race driver
Louis Chevrolet and started the
Chevrolet company in 1911
but Louise constantly burning cigarette
bothered Billy who insisted that if a
gentleman must smoke he should at least
smoke cigars personalities aside they
also disagreed about the car Durant
wanted a small light car to compete with
the number one seller Ford's model-t
Louie wanted something grander Durant
got his way by redesigning and repricing
the car when Louie was away on a
European trip that Durant had
conveniently arranged the car was out by
the time Louis returned the public loved
it but Louie didn't like the car that
bore his name and it was a parting of
the ways
but once again
Durant's instincts were right the
Chevrolet took off it was soon
outselling GM and challenging Ford when
Chevrolet's headquarters in the old
Flint Wagon Works building durant
started to quietly buy back GM stock it
was during this time that Durant met
Johnny Raskob a very astute confident
and advisor of one of America's richest
men Pierre DuPont Raskob convinced
DuPont to invest in Chevrolet and
General Motors something he would
continue to do
by 1916 the automobile was firmly
established on the streets of America
DuPont saw the growth potential and was
happy to join Durant's efforts
Durant wanted DuPont's help in
recapturing General Motors with the
stock he'd bought with Chevrolet's
profits and the DuPont support he
effectively took back control of GM in
1916 the bankers were out dorrance
returned stunned the business world
the DuPont's continued to buy GN shares
and consolidate their interests for the
time being
Durant was back at the helm and GM once
again grew rapidly he added a research
division Delco laboratories the
inventors of the self-starter
he also bought many component companies
and secured the services of the Fisher
brothers bodybuilding company but even
with all this expansion Buick was still
GM's main asset now that Durant was back
Nash resigned
Durant retained water Chrysler and made
him president of Buick America was soon
off to war and one of Walter Chrysler's
first challenges was to help Buick gare
up to produce armaments Buick built
thousands of Liberty aircraft engines
ambulances and a new weapon tanks
it was a terrible conflict that showed
the power and the importance of the
machine airplanes tanks machine guns and
trucks it was an automated world whose
armies were now supplied by factories
with seemingly unlimited capacity
but finally it was over
as the cheering from the victory parades
fill the air the DuPont's started to
search for ways to invest the money they
had earned selling gunpowder during the
war
Durant's own gargantuan appetites were
also once again aroused he began a
spending binge that netted him another
slew of companies including a
refrigerator manufacturer Frigidaire
since every emperor needs a castle
Durant commissioned our new headquarters
for General Motors of course it would be
the world's largest office building
buick was doing its part to keep the
money rolling in the Buicks looked
better than the state Model T's and were
chipping away at the lead Ford's cars
had developed then a post-war depression
put an abrupt halt to Durant's plans
attempting to prop up GM's declining
share price
Durant bought its stock on margin but
the stock kept falling and eventually
his creditors demanded their money he
owed 27 million dollars money he no
longer had
Pierre DuPont offered to rant 35 million
dollars for his remaining shares this
would pay off the creditors but he would
lose his company he had no choice Durant
took the deal and went home
the DuPont's now controlled General
Motors the largest auto paint supplier a
portion of United States steel and soon
they'd form a syndicate to control
United States rubber
it was a new era a GM and had viewing
the 1920s started roaring and Americans
had money to spend
Florida real estate was booming people
were going to the beach playing golf
speakeasies were busy
even though gangsters control the flow
of illicit alcohol
it was a time of growth and abandoned
both Buick and GM were aligned to reap
the rewards of the era the DuPont's
appointed Alfred Sloan dove the GM
presidency to stabilize the company and
provide a solid foundation for the
future
the one millionth Buick was built in
1923 annual production reached 260,000
units in 1926 cars such as the $2,100
opera coupe combined reliability with
luxury features like power operated
windshield wipers and silk window shades
set Buicks apart Sloan had carefully
structured General Motors so that its
automobiles formed a graduated product
lineup Buick took its place just behind
the Cadillac the Buicks from nineteen
twenties rivaled Cadillac in size power
reliability and style as Buicks
reputation grew Flint prospered it's
thriving theater district featured the
latest Hollywood films and the major
vaudevillians including George Burns and
Gracie Allen how many people the
laughter began to fade on October 29th
of 1929 when Wall Street crashed more
than 12 million shares changed hands in
a single day an estimated 50 billion
dollars was lost that day as millions of
people saw their savings disappear banks
closed and the real estate boom
collapsed the car makers soon felt the
result of Wall Street's decline
as a maker of near luxury automobiles
Buick was harder hit by the country's
economic troubles than some of its
competitors
Buick responded by introducing a smaller
more economical car line called the
Marquette its engines and drive trains
were less expensive than the standard
viewings but they produced fairly good
performance for the times
it could go from zero to 60 miles per
hour in about 30 seconds and had a top
speed of nearly 70 miles per hour
but the public in the Buick dealers
never warmed up to the Marquette and
after building 35,000 the car was
dropped
buicks sister division at General Motors
Oakland had also introduced a low-cost
version of their product their car
called the Pontiac eventually supplanted
the parent organization by 1933 Buick
production had plummeted to a little
more than 40,000 units Flint was a ghost
town
thousands were thrown out of work
but late that year Harlow H Curtis the
39 year old president of AC sparkplug
was tapped by GM to change Buicks
fortunes a super salesman in the Durant
mold red Curtiss nicknamed for his red
hair brought power speed and sales back
to Buick as part of his efforts curtis
issued a challenge to GM's chief
designer who always drove Cadillacs
Curtis said design a Buick you would
like to own
the result was a line of Buicks that
pushed sales close to 200 thousand cars
while Buick was off relief Flint was
about to explode in December of 1936 the
famous Flint sit-down strike paralyzed
auto production just as the economy was
starting to pick up the workers
complained about the speed of the
assembly line the long grueling hours
and the lack of any benefits violence
erupted as the strike dragged dog
eventually an agreement was reached the
strike resulted in GM's recognition of
the United Auto Workers as a bargaining
agent Local 599 at Buick became the UAW
s largest GM local the dark financial
cloud started to lift at Buick in 1940
it would break its 1928 sales record and
sell over 250,000 cars new models were
being prepared and Kurtis was upbeat
about the future Buicks traditional
customers responded to the cars and
Buick was confident that it knew what
people wanted quality could taste social
acceptance and values
new it's renewable equai job
it featured striking aerodynamic styling
including inset headlamps no running
boards and such innovations as electric
windows and the flush mounted
convertible cover while America was once
again dreaming war was becoming a
reality in Europe and Asia
as the war began it became clear that
America would be drawn into the conflict
to speed up the production of armaments
for the conflict President Roosevelt
organized American industry under the
leadership of the former president of
General Motors Bill Knudsen
many manufacturers were reluctant to
convert their operations to weapons
production after suffering through a
nearly a decade long economic depression
they were finally making money again
but after the bombing of Pearl Harbor
when America entered the war industry
responded Buick halted production of
it's 1942 models and became part of the
arsenal of democracy
buick built aircraft engines Hellcat
tank destroyers and other military
hardware Buick was awarded more than 30
separate military contracts Buick built
material could be found at virtually
every fighting front
by the time the war finally ended the
employees of Buick had produced more
than four hundred twenty four thousand
steel cartridge cases nineteen thousand
tank power trains nine million twenty
millimeter shells twenty five hundred
Hellcat tank destroyers and twenty-nine
hundred months for anti-aircraft guns
while it was time to celebrate Kurtis
wanted to start building Buicks again
after the war
curtis pushed Buick to reconvert its
production lines and deliver new cars to
the public he launched a huge expansion
ever adding 1.3 million feet of factory
space enough room to build five hundred
and fifty thousand cars Curtis saw a
bright future for viewing
his efforts were rewarded in 1952 when
he became GM's president Buick once
again had a good friend in high places
while it was going to be a great era for
the American economy its foes and allies
had both suffered the effects of the war
Europe and Japan were buried under
mountains of rubble and faced the
prospect of many lean years it would be
a long time before they could challenge
the economic dominance of the United
States the United States manufacturing
base had escaped unscathed and was more
productive than ever but some feared
that complacency would set in the
post-war era was America's moment in the
Sun opportunity was everywhere and
prosperity was a given rationing had
been lifted sugar coffee produce and
nylon stockings everything that had been
denied during the war was now available
people flocked to the well-stocked
stores
gasoline and tyres were also finally
obtainable again and people couldn't
wait to buy a new car Buick introduced
new models and saw curtis's prediction
that they would sell more than 500
thousand cars a year realized
a major concern for the automakers was
how to keep track of all the money that
was rolling in new ways had to be
invented to monitor the staggering
profits finance became more important
than product development to the car
companies at Buick and elsewhere
technological innovation took the
backseat to styling these large land
cruisers were fairly unsophisticated
mechanically but they had a certain
appeal a dollop of chrome here the
splash of color there was enough to set
American heart's racing in the 1950s
Detroit was selling dreams and a
succession of show cars fostered
American fantasies the Buick XP 300 and
LeSabre were long and low their jet age
look was perfectly in tune with the
times
as sales soared quality started to
decline no one really noticed for years
because there were very few foreign cars
for comparison the few foreign cars that
made it into the US were owned by
enthusiasts initially they had very
little impact on the market most Detroit
executives dismissed or even derided the
imports
Buick world the buoyant tide of ever
increasing sales Buicks sales rose
rapidly to 550,000 in 1950 and a 745,000
and 1955 in 1955 Buick ranked third in
industry sales it's famous portholes
were being seen everywhere
but in 1958 the dream started to fade
the cars had become too bloated and
laden with chrome people for the
American consumer the aversion to the
styling excesses of the decade and an
economic downturn sent sales spiraling
Buick started searching for new designs
in 1959 Buick changed the names and
shapes of its entire production line
discarding special century super and
Roadmaster in favor of LeSabre invicta
and electron but more had to be done
while Buick was developing its new
products the US Supreme Court ruled that
the DuPont family must divest itself of
its GM Holdings this case had been
fought for years but finally the courts
forced the du Pont's out Buick along
with GM began a new decade and a new era
the recession of 1958 had made small
cars popular and Buick introduced the
special a compact car with an aluminum
v8 engine in 1961 the following year
Buick offered the first production v6 in
the special Buicks large cars were also
new that year and boosted by a reviving
economy total sales climbed to more than
450,000 cars in 1963 the riviera
considered a modern classic today was
introduced
Buicks sales continued to rise through
the 1960s and hit a record 820 1165 in
the 1973 model year in these go-go years
Buick abandoned its six-cylinder engines
and gave the public ever bigger and more
powerful v8 but the bottom fell out
again with the oil embargo late in 1973
and sales sank below 500,000 in both
1974 and 75 Buick would have to change
or go under when the American public
flocked to small fuel-efficient imports
they discovered something Detroit had
abandoned quality consumers started to
forsake their allegiance to their
domestic cars
Buick along with the rest of the
American auto industry started to search
for a winning response Buick once again
recognized the importance of fuel
economy and reintroduced the
fuel-efficient v6 it had to repurchase
the tooling from American Motors which
had bought it in the late 60s for use in
its small cars no one at Buick was sure
if the public would respond to the
slimmer trimmer fuel friendly American
cars they did and Buick started a slow
climb back up the sales letter
when most of the US auto industry
suffered a sales slump due to the high
interest rates and rising gasoline
prices of the early 1980s Buick actually
increased its market share during this
era Buick and the rest of the industry
was pressured to develop numerous safety
features pollution controls and
engineering innovations for fuel economy
this meant building even smaller more
aerodynamic front wheel drive cars but
smaller didn't necessarily mean
underpowered
Buicks turbo powered v6 engines helped
to convince American consumers that they
could abandon their beloved gas hungry
v8s
without sacrificing the performance
the Buick had weathered the tumult of
the 70s the need for change didn't let
up in the 1980s the competition from
high-quality fuel-efficient European and
Japanese cars was now acute to build the
new cars Buick needed to compete
required a complete renovation of its
factories Buicks old plant the
cornerstone of General Motors was
converted at a cost of 350 million
dollars it became known as Buick city a
team of hourly and salaried workers came
together to design the plant and create
a new direction for the company a far
cry from the days of the sit-down
strikes while confrontation wasn't
completely gone it was clear to many
that cooperation would be necessary for
the future the results began to show by
1989 the Buick LeSabre was ranked as the
number one American car and as the
number two car among 154 domestics and
imports sold in the United States after
years of turmoil it was clear that Buick
was once again building premium American
motorcars there were some setbacks the
two-seat luxury sports car the Reata
only lasted for a few years after its
1988 debut the front wheel drive riggles
Buicks bread-and-butter family sedans
were trounced by Mercury Sable and the
upscale imports
and a return to a large rear drive car
with a great old name
the 1992 Roadmaster sedan was cut short
when GM closed the plant but there were
also some successes cars such as the
elegant Park Avenue continued to show
that Buick was alive and well to many
observers the clear signal that Buick
was back as an automotive leader came in
1993 with the introduction of the
restyled Riviera
when longtime Buick employees saw the
car emerge from the design studios they
knew that Buick was once again asserting
itself is a forward-looking company the
renewed emphasis on quality and style
has once again put Buick on a path that
would have made David Buick in Billy
Durant