Buick Motor Company

…Wagon Works to form the Buick Motor Car Company. Under the management of James Whiting and with the talents of William C. Durant, who joined the firm in 1904, the reorganized Buick company quickly expanded its production, making more than 8,000 cars in 1908. Durant took over the company in…

…as the manager of the Buick plant in Flint, Mich., for only half that amount. In the years to come, Chrysler would completely revolutionize Buick’s manufacturing system, introducing assembly-line processes pioneered by Henry Ford and more than tripling production.

…1903 and began to manufacture Buick motorcars. He brought together several automotive manufacturers to form the General Motors Company in 1908, but financial problems cost him control of the company in 1910. With Louis Chevrolet, however, he established the Chevrolet Motor Company, which acquired control of General Motors in 1915.…

…assumed control of the ailing Buick Motor Company and made it one of the principal American producers. Durant developed the idea for a combination that would produce a variety of models and control its own parts producers. As initially formed, General Motors included four major vehicle manufacturers—Buick, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and…