General Motors - Financial Ratio Analysis
I. General Motors History Highlights
In its early years the automobile industry consisted of hundreds of firms, each
producing a few models. William Durant, who bought and reorganized a failing
Buick Motors in 1904, determined that if several automobile makers would unite,
it would increase the protection for the group. He formed the General Motors
Company in Flint, Michigan, in 1908.
Durant had bought 17 companies (including Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Pontiac) by
1910, the year a bankers' syndicate forced him to step down. In a 1915 stock
swap, he regained control through Chevrolet, a company he had formed with race
car driver Louis Chevrolet. GM created the GM Acceptance Corporation ...
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By 1927 it had become the industry leader.
GM introduced a line of front-wheel-drive compacts in 1979. Under Roger Smith,
CEO from 1981 to 1990, GM laid off thousands of workers as part of a massive
companywide restructuring and cost cutting program.
In 1984 GM formed NUMMI with Toyota as an experiment to see if Toyota's
manufacturing techniques would work in the US. The joint venture's first car was
the Chevy Nova. GM bought Ross Perot's Electronic Data Systems (1984) and Hughes
Aircraft (1986). In 1989 the company bought 50% of Saab Automobile.
In 1990 GM launched Saturn, its first new nameplate since 1926, reflecting a new
companywide emphasis on quality. Two years later it made the largest stock
offering in US history, raising $2.2 billion. Culminating a period of boardroom
coups (relating to the company's lagging effort to reduce costs) in the early
1990s, John Smith replaced Robert Stempel as CEO.
NBC apologized in 1993 for improprieties in its expose alleging that GM ...
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In late 1996 GM began
producing Chevrolet Blazers in Russia.
II. General Information
Competitors
BMW, British Aerospace, Chrysler, Daimler-Benz, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia,
Motors, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Renault, Suzuki, Toyota,
Volkswagen and Volvo.
Nameplates
Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Geo, GMC, Oldsmobile, Opel/Vauxhall, Pontiac and
Saturn.
Other Operations Delphi Automotive Systems (vehicle components) General Motors
Acceptance Corporation (financing and insurance) Hughes Electronics Corporation
(electronic systems) International Operations (autos for foreign markets) North
American Operations (autos for North America)
III. Statistics & Financial ...
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"General Motors - Financial Ratio Analysis." Essayworld.com. December 26, 2004. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/General-Motors-Financial-Ratio-Analysis/19590.
"General Motors - Financial Ratio Analysis." Essayworld.com. December 26, 2004. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/General-Motors-Financial-Ratio-Analysis/19590.
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