general motors

2010-02-24T13:55:00.000-08:00

General Motors Company, also known as GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan.

By sales, GM ranked as the largest U.S. automaker and the world's second largest for 2008.^[5] GM had the third highest 2008 global revenues among automakers on the Fortune Global 500.^[6]^[5] GM manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries, recently employed 244,500 people around the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries.^[5]

On June 1, 2009 General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings from which it emerged on July 10, 2009 in a reorganization in which a new entity acquired the most valuable assets. GM is temporarily majority owned by the United States Treasury and to a smaller extent the Canadian government,^[3]^[7]^[8] with the US government investing a total of US$57.6 billion under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.^[9]

While no GM shares are currently available to the public, the company plans an initial public stock offering (IPO) in 2010.^[10]

GM plans to focus its business on its four core US brands — Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC. In Europe, following a period of negotiation to sell a majority stake in its Opel and Vauxhall brands, GM decided to retain full ownership of these operations.^[11]

On January 26, GM announced that it had reached an agreement to sell SAAB to Spyker Cars NV. GM also has an agreement to sell its Hummer brand, awaiting Chinese regulatory approval, while winding down its Pontiac and Saturn brands as they remain under the old GM, now known as Motors Liquidation Company.

General Motors Company

Type	Limited Liability Company
Founded	Flint, Michigan (1908)
Founder(s)	William C. Durant
Headquarters	Renaissance Center Detroit, Michigan, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Edward Whitacre, Jr. (Chairman and CEO)^[1]
Industry	Automotive
Products	Automobiles
Revenue	▼ US$ 148.979 billion (2008)^[2]
Operating income	▲ US$ US$ 21.284 billion (2008)^[2]
Net income	▼ US$ −30.9 billion (2008)^[2]
Total assets	▼ US$ 91.047 billion (2008)^[2]
Total equity	▼ US$ −86.154 billion (2008)^[2]
Owner(s)	United States Department of the Treasury (61%) United Auto Workers Union Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (17.5%) The Crown in Right of Canada (7.9%)^[3] The Crown in Right of Ontario (3.8%)^[3] Bond holders of Motors Liquidation Company (9.8%)
Employees	244,500 (2009)^[4]
Divisions	Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM Daewoo GMC Holden Vauxhall Opel Wuling
Subsidiaries	OnStar
Website	GM.com

automobile motor car history

2010-02-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

An automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than goods.^[1] However, the term automobile is far from precise, because there are many types of vehicles that do similar tasks.

There are approximately 600 million passenger cars worldwide (roughly one car per eleven people).^[2]^[3] Around the world, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road in 2007; they burn over 1 billion m³ (260 billion US gallons) of gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China and India.^[4]

Fuel and propulsion technologies

Most automobiles in use today are propelled by gasoline (also known as petrol) or diesel internal combustion engines, which are known to cause air pollution and are also blamed for contributing to climate change and global warming.^[17] Increasing costs of oil-based fuels, tightening environmental laws and restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions are propelling work on alternative power systems for automobiles. Efforts to improve or replace existing technologies include the development of hybrid vehicles, and electric and hydrogen vehicles which do not release pollution into the air.

Data transmission

Automobiles use CAM, MOSH (optic fiber), multiplexing, bluetooth and WiFi between others.

Safety

Main articles: Car safety and Automobile accident

Result of a serious automobile accident.

There are three main statistics to which automobile safety can be compared:^[18] (Data taken from UK transportation)

Deaths per billion journeys
Bus: 4.3
Rail: 20
Van: 20
Car: 40
Foot: 40
Water: 90
Air: 117
Bicycle: 170
Motorcycle: 1640

Deaths per billion hours
Bus: 11.1
Rail: 30
Air: 30.8
Water: 50
Van: 60
Car: 130
Foot: 220
Bicycle: 550
Motorcycle: 4840

Deaths per billion kilometres
Air: 0.05
Bus: 0.4
Rail: 0.6
Van: 1.2
Water: 2.6
Car: 3.1
Bicycle: 44.6
Foot: 54.2
Motorcycle: 108.9

While road traffic injuries represent the leading cause in worldwide injury-related deaths,^[19] their popularity undermines this statistic.

Mary Ward became one of the first documented automobile fatalities in 1869 in Parsonstown, Ireland^[20] and Henry Bliss one of the United States' first pedestrian automobile casualties in 1899 in New York.^[21] There are now standard tests for safety in new automobiles, like the EuroNCAP and the US NCAP tests,^[22] as well as insurance-backed IIHS tests.^[23]

Costs and benefits

The costs of automobile usage, which may include the cost of: acquiring the vehicle, repairs, maintenance, fuel, depreciation, parking fees, tire replacement, taxes and insurance,^[24] are weighed against the cost of the alternatives, and the value of the benefits - perceived and real - of vehicle usage. The benefits may include on-demand transportation, mobility, independence and convenience.
Similarly the costs to society of encompassing automobile use, which may include those of: maintaining roads, land use, pollution, public health, health care, and of disposing of the vehicle at the end of its life, can be balanced against the value of the benefits to society that automobile use generates. The societal benefits may include: economy benefits, such as job and wealth creation, of automobile production and maintenance, transportation provision, society wellbeing derived from leisure and travel opportunities, and revenue generation from the tax opportunities. The ability for humans to move flexibly from place to place has far reaching implications for the nature of societies.