Opel’s parent General Motors buys start-up of autonomous driving – SPIEGEL ONLINE

 General Motors has successfully completed its proceedings. Now the company wants to further IPO – but how good he is placed? SPIEGEL ONLINE presents the main brands:

The brand was founded in 1903 by David Dunbar Buick was the nucleus for the later General Motors Group. Because the company’s founder miscalculated with shares, took over William Durant in 1904 the lead and built his car empire ever further.

Buick should appeal to people who have the luxury cars from Cadillac could not afford or did not want. Until the seventies, the brand sold some Opel models such as the record, Manta A and Opel GT.

Business was good until the end of the eighties. Then, however, the young Americans opted increasingly for competing models from Europe and Japan. The erstwhile driving force of the parent group now moves for years a loss.

Louis Chevrolet became famous in the United States as a racing driver , Among other things, the Swiss went for Buick and got its Director General and General Motors founder William Durant know. With it, he created in 1911 the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. However, it came between the two men to battle and Chevrolet left two years later the company.

Durant noticed the importance people’s car, produced cheap cars and Chevrolet built in his GM. Particularly outstanding is the built since 1953 Corvette sports. However, this model is sold since 2005 as an independent brand in order to distinguish them from the current models.

In 2005, GM a majority stake in South Korean manufacturer Daewoo. Since then, the Chevrolet cross emblazoned on cars like Matiz, Kalos and Aveo. In South Korea, these models are, however, still sold under the name Daewoo

King of the tail fin -. One could the Cadillac Eldorado call, whereby the manufacturer created the car icon of the fifties. The more than six meters long car decorates the most imposing rear of automotive history.

Henry Martyn Leland founded the brand in 1902 and named it after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac, founder of Detroit. Seven years later GM took over the carmaker.

Most models bear witness to the megalomania of the American automotive industry: more luxury, more displacement and longer bodies. For example, the built 1967-1970 Fleetwood Eldorado was at the time as the largest front-wheel drive in the world. The car could be ordered with a 8.2-liter engine.

But the energy crisis in the early seventies forced Cadillac to rethink. The displacements were reduced – about 5.7 liters in Seville of 1975. The smallest engine, the Cadillac now has in their lineup is a V6 with US standards comparatively ridiculous 3.6 liters of displacement

General Motors founded the brand in 1926. Pontiac spoke to the sporty cars mid-priced especially younger customers. Probably the best known is the Pontiac Firebird, he was introduced 1967th

The so-called pony car based on the Chevrolet Camaro and played in the US television series Knight Rider starred. By car GM wanted to get involved in the young segment of the so-called muscle cars that dominated the rival Ford with the Mustang. The engine is powerful: These ranged from 3.8-liter engines up to 7.5-liter engines.

In the crisis, GM has the Pontiac brand strongly evaporated, the end of 2010, it is set.

It took 30 years before the first car left the factory halls: In he founded in 1862 operating Rüsselsheim built Adam Opel initially sewing machines and later bikes. The Patent Motor Car, System Lutzmann rolled only in 1899 on the street. At this time however, Adam Opel was already dead – the Hesse died in September 1895.

Within 30 years, Opel became the largest vehicle manufacturer in Europe. However, due to the global economic crisis, the brothers Wilhelm von Opel and Friedrich Opel had late twenties sell 80 percent of the company shares in General Motors. 1931 Finally the American group took over the Rüsselsheim carmaker completely.

After the Second World War took place a rapid reconstruction of the production facilities. With success, because 1972 Opel fought back to the top of the German carmaker. But suffered particularly in the nineties the image of the traditional company. With the latest model, the Insignia, Opel wants to halt the downward trend despite the economic crisis.

The company was in 1857 London founded and incorporated in 1925 by GM. First, the British ship engines built for the Navy; the entry into the automobile business was followed at the beginning of the 20th century.

As a continental Europeans nearly all cars with Vauxhall emblem will appear familiar. In Britain, the Opel models are sold with identical model name as a Vauxhall. However, the only vehicle in the current product portfolio that does not come from Opel is also no self-development. The sports sedan VXR8 is the twin of the Holden HSV Clubsport R8 – and sprints through Australia’s Outback

The Briton. James Alexander Holden put 1856 in Adelaide the foundation for the Australian carmaker: He founded a saddlery, a few years later also repaired and built horse-drawn carriage. As cars increasingly replaced the carriages, Holden began in 1914 with the car body production and vehicle imports – including for General Motors. The American carmaker took over Holden in 1931 to build an own vehicle production in Australia with the goal. Due to the war the first Holden was however only presented 1948th

Currently sell the Australian twin models from the Group range such as the Holden Astra, the Barina, based on the Chevrolet Kalos and the SUV Captiva. Moreover, Holden developed their own vehicles for the domestic market such as the sporty pick-up Ute.

Max Grabowsky Grabowsky founded the motor Vehicle Company in 1902 and produced trucks. Six years later, the newly established GM group swallowed the company and presented in 1912 the first truck of the brand GMC (General Motors Truck Company).

The best-known model is the Vandura, which was produced 1970-1996 and identical with the G20 of Chevrolet. In the US series “The A-Team” is the Vandura the emergency vehicle of the Quartet to the leader Colonel John Hannibal Smith.