How did GM engines come to be?(1) You may be wondering. Well, I'm about to explain how the big auto empire became what it is today. Anyway, let's start with that already. General Motors was founded on September 16, 1908 by William “Billy” Durant. The company had become an industry leader in horse-drawn carriage manufacturing in Flint, Michigan before moving into the automobile industry. At the time, they only owned the Buick Motor Company. They now own the following automobile manufacturers: GMC, Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Saturn, Cadillac, Hummer, Oldsmobile and many others.(2) Chevrolet was founded on November 3, 1911 by Louis Chevrolet as well as William Durant. The first automobile they released was the 4-passenger Model D roadster powered by a V8 engine. The first vehicle made by GMC was a utility vehicle called the GMC Electric Furniture Delivery Truck, released in 1913. Pontiac started as the Pontiac Buggy Company in 1893 by Edward Murphy and they built horse-drawn carriages. Later, in 1907, Murphy realized that the future was in motor vehicles and decided to turn the buggy business into the Oakland Motor Company. They go through Pontiac Motors again. Shortly after, in 1909, General Motors purchased the company upon Murphy's death and the first car was released in 1926. It was a 5-passenger coach with a six-cylinder engine intended for outrun a four-cylinder vehicle. Saturn was founded on January 7, 1985 by Joseph Sanchez. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any information on their first released vehicle. Cadillac actually has an interesting history: it was founded in 1902 by Ford Motor Company, then about 7 years later, in 1909, General Motors Motor Company purchased Cadillac from Ford Motor Company...... middle of paper. .....sea House, 1998. Ludvigsen, Karl. The car encyclopedia. Ed. Chris Horton. Flight. 6. Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House, 1998. Ludvigsen, Karl. The car encyclopedia. Ed. Chris Horton. Flight. 7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Chelsea House, 1998. "General Motors | History and Heritage - Creation | GM.com." General engines | History & Heritage - Creation | GM.com. March 25, 2014. "Combination recall and lawsuit for GM US Ignition sought by lawyer." Bloomberg Business Week. March 25, 2014. Bloomberg. March 30, 2014. "UPDATE 1 - California Lawsuit Claims More GM Vehicles Are Defective Than in a Recall." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, March 25, 2014. Web. April 1. 2014. .