1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio, 4 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: and I love all things tech, and I occasionally like 5 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: to look at the history of car companies. Car cars 6 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: tech after all. And you know, the stories behind car 7 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: companies are often fascinating, and typically they're really complicated. They 8 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: frequently involved strategic partnerships and acquisitions and mergers and other 9 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:39,920 Speaker 1: big moves that can make it a little tricky to 10 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: trace a history in any kind of linear way. So 11 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: we're gonna try to do that today, because nothing worth 12 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 1: doing is ever easy or something. So we're going to 13 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: explore the history and the impact of General Motors, which 14 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: you could argue is one of the big origin stories 15 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: for how the automotive industry got so complicated in the 16 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: first place. And like a lot of my episodes, this 17 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 1: story will actually begin before there was any General Motors 18 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: to speak of, and it will go on after GM 19 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:16,120 Speaker 1: ceases to be because spoiler alert, that happened the General 20 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: Motors today is not the same as the one that 21 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: was founded more than a century ago. Now, to talk 22 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: about the history of general motors. We actually need to 23 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: talk a little bit about the history of the automobile itself, 24 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: and more to the point, the history of automobile companies. Now, 25 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:36,119 Speaker 1: I'm not going to do an exhaustive history here, because 26 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: that would require talking about all sorts of stuff that 27 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:43,320 Speaker 1: doesn't actually apply to general motors, like air propelled land 28 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: vehicles that used wind power, or compressed air engine vehicles, 29 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: or steam powered tricycles and wagons and all that kind 30 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: of thing. We're instead going to skip ahead to the 31 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: era of the internal combustion engine, the gasoline powered engine. 32 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: But if you if you folks want me to do 33 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: an episode talking about the various early attempts to build 34 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,400 Speaker 1: a horseless carriage and the different methods that people tried, 35 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: let me know, and we'll all take a very historical 36 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:16,359 Speaker 1: and extremely bumpy road trip together. Now, the first automobiles 37 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: powered by internal combustion engines originated in the mid nineteenth 38 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: century around the eighteen sixties, but it really wasn't until 39 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: the eighteen eighties that engineers stuck around with experimenting with 40 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: these things long enough to make automobiles that were more 41 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: than just a curiosity. Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler independently 42 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 1: did this, but ultimately their work would converge later on 43 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,919 Speaker 1: with the formation of the company Daimler a G also 44 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,079 Speaker 1: known as Mercedes Benz, but that would happen in the 45 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,800 Speaker 1: nineteen twenties, and Carlin Gottlieb never actually met one another. 46 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: But the early days of the automobile were really uncertain, 47 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: to say the least. While people like Ben's and Daimler 48 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: were building automobiles as sort of a proof of concept 49 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: and occasionally racing them against other people who are making 50 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: similar type of vehicles, getting any sort of substantial investment 51 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: behind the effort was difficult. So people were not yet 52 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: convinced that a horseless carriage really had any legs so 53 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: to speak, or wheels, I guess anyway, they weren't sure 54 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: that these automobiles were ever going to be something that 55 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: people would actually use. Meanwhile, over in the United States, 56 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,360 Speaker 1: a guy named George B. Selden applied for a patent 57 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:33,920 Speaker 1: as the inventor of the automobile. He did that in 58 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy nine. Now that pre dates Ben's and Dameler's 59 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: automobiles from the eighteen eighties. However, the Patent Office didn't 60 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: award Selden the patent until eighteen nine. Selden had never 61 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: actually built an automobile. He just presented the design for one, 62 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: so he gets the patent in eight and that was 63 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 1: after Ben's and Dameler had already built their internal combustion 64 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: powered automobiles. And so there's a little debate. It's putting 65 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: it lightly about who the inventor of the automobile really was, 66 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: But honestly, I would say it's all kind of meaningless 67 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: for a couple of different reasons. One is that, like 68 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,599 Speaker 1: most really big inventions, the automobile is really more of 69 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: the product of a lot of different people working on 70 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: different things, and ultimately those various forms of work converged, 71 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: so you can't really assign the invention to just one person. 72 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: For another, all these people are dead, so you know, 73 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,279 Speaker 1: it's kind of a moot point. Now just watch just 74 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:41,719 Speaker 1: because I said that, I bet my car is going 75 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:45,720 Speaker 1: to get haunted by angry German ghosts. I'm kidding. I 76 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:50,159 Speaker 1: don't believe in cars, I mean ghosts. By the early 77 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: eighteen nineties, the United States was starting to see engineers 78 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:56,719 Speaker 1: building out cars that would form the foundation of future 79 00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: companies such as the Durya motor wagon Company, which may 80 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:04,839 Speaker 1: thirteen whole cars in eighteen nineties six. Now, the reason 81 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: I wanted to start with all this is that the 82 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:12,480 Speaker 1: General Motors Company began not as an automobile company all 83 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: of itself, but rather as a holding company that bought 84 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: existing automobile companies. So, in other words, GM started out 85 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,720 Speaker 1: as a means of consolidating multiple car companies in an 86 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:28,560 Speaker 1: effort to combine resources and share the load across different 87 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: groups of mechanics, engineers, inventors, salespeople, and so on. So 88 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: let's talk about some of the companies that would form 89 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:39,480 Speaker 1: the early foundation of General Motors before we get to 90 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: GM itself. One of the earliest companies GM would purchase 91 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 1: is Buick, which was founded by David Dunbar Buick. He 92 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: was born in Scotland in eighteen fifty four and his 93 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: family immigrated to America when David was just two years old. 94 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: His father, who was a carpenter, passed away when David 95 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: was still a child, and his mother remarried a native 96 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: Detroit man who owned a candy shop. As a teenager, 97 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,920 Speaker 1: David worked for a manufacturing company that made plumbing fixtures 98 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: in Detroit, Michigan. He apprenticed with a machine shop in Detroit, 99 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: but then returned to that plumbing manufacturing company and became 100 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: a foreman there. Bewick himself became something of an inventor 101 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: and an engineer. He secured several patents for various inventions 102 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: and processes, including one that would allow you to bind 103 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: porcelain to cast iron that led to the development of 104 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,280 Speaker 1: really large porcelain bathtubs, among other things that were incredibly 105 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:42,039 Speaker 1: fashionable at the time. Buick and a business partner named 106 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: William Sherwood subsequently purchased the manufacturing company, which had fallen 107 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: into a bit of financial shambles, and they renamed it 108 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:54,480 Speaker 1: the Buick and Sherwood Manufacturing Company. While the company saw 109 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 1: great success, Bewick himself was a little bit restless. He 110 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: had become fascinated by gas lean fueled engines, not just automobiles, 111 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,239 Speaker 1: mind you. In fact, that wasn't really foremost in his mind. 112 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 1: He was just interested in these gasoline powered engines that 113 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: could do all sorts of different work, including stationary engines 114 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: for stuff like industrial uses. By eight seven, Buick had 115 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: dedicated some of his company's manufacturing capabilities to producing gasoline 116 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: fueled engines intended to be used on farm equipment. Sherwood, meanwhile, 117 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: was becoming a little mift that Buick was not tending 118 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: to the plumbing fixtures company, and ultimately the two decided 119 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:40,480 Speaker 1: to part ways. Buick liquidated his ownership of the company 120 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 1: he owned with Sherwood, and he used that substantial sum 121 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: to found a new enterprise called Buick Auto, Vim and 122 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: Power Company in nineteen o one. One of Buick's engineers 123 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: was a guy named Walter Maher who had been building 124 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: gasoline fueled engines for boats. Now, the story goes that 125 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: Mar wanted to build a full automobile at Buicks company, 126 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 1: but David resisted. He thought it was safer to build 127 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:10,239 Speaker 1: engines and not worry about stuff like automobiles. Like build 128 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: the engines four automobiles, sure, but don't need you don't 129 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: need to build the whole automobile yourself. Mar and Buick 130 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: had some spats, with Marv, you know, quitting and returning 131 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: a couple of times before that quitting stuck in nineteen 132 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,240 Speaker 1: o two, whereupon Mar would actually work with another person. 133 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: We're going to chat about Ransom, Eli Olds and Mars 134 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: replacement was a machinist named Eugene Richard. Also around this time, 135 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: Buick reorganized and renamed his company, now calling it the 136 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: Buick Manufacturing Company. Guess all that VIM must have worn 137 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:48,199 Speaker 1: out by then, Buick did produce a couple of car prototypes. 138 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: By nineteen o three, the company wasn't a bit of 139 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: trouble as investors were starting to get nervous and pull 140 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 1: out of the company. But then Frank and Benjamin brisco 141 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,559 Speaker 1: the Briscoe brothers, swooped in to help fund Buick's efforts 142 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:06,719 Speaker 1: to produce a Buick branded automobile. The Briscos owned a 143 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,559 Speaker 1: sheet metal business, and they saw this as a way 144 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:13,720 Speaker 1: to bring different but related businesses together for mutual benefit. 145 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: Benjamin Briscoe would end up buying the first official Buick 146 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,720 Speaker 1: for himself, and the company went through another reorganization and 147 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: transformed into the Buick Motor Company, with the Briscoes overseeing 148 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:29,520 Speaker 1: the financials, so they had a substantial stake in the company. 149 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:32,680 Speaker 1: They essentially owned it, and now Buick was working for 150 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:36,680 Speaker 1: the Briscoes. The first Buick, apart from an earlier prototype 151 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 1: that Buick had sold off, was an open air vehicle 152 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 1: and you'll hear this a few times in this episode. 153 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:47,440 Speaker 1: It had a padded bench like seat mounted more or 154 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: less in the middle lengthwise anyway of the chassis. The 155 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 1: driver would steer the vehicle using a steering wheel, but 156 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,560 Speaker 1: that was not always a given in early motor cars. 157 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:01,040 Speaker 1: In fact, the prototype the Buick had produced earlier, the 158 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,719 Speaker 1: one that he had sold to his former engineer Mar, 159 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 1: you had to steer with a handle, not a wheel. 160 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:12,600 Speaker 1: It was more like a like a rudder style steering mechanism. Now, 161 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:16,959 Speaker 1: that original prototype that he sold to Mar was sold 162 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: for two dollars. How about that? If you adjust that 163 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:23,920 Speaker 1: for inflation, that would be around seven thousand bucks today. Now, 164 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:27,199 Speaker 1: I'm not sure what the actual Buicks, the first run 165 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:29,680 Speaker 1: Buicks sold for the ones that are being produced for 166 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 1: actual external customers. I only know that that Mar paid 167 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,439 Speaker 1: two dollars for that original prototype. Now, I do know 168 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 1: that the early Buicks, such as the Model B touring cars, 169 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 1: were modest in power. No big surprise there. The Model 170 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 1: B had a horsepower rating of fifteen to twenty one horsepower. Now, 171 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 1: if you're not a car person, and I'm not much 172 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: of one, you might wonder what horsepower actually means it's 173 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 1: a unit of measurement for engine power, and it's the 174 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: amount of power needed to move five hundred fifty pounds 175 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,000 Speaker 1: one foot in one second, or the amount of power 176 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,800 Speaker 1: needed to move thirty three thousand pounds one foot in 177 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: one minute. The term dates back to the days of 178 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,720 Speaker 1: James Watt as he was trying to convince people to 179 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: buy steam engine machinery. He was comparing how powerful his 180 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:21,080 Speaker 1: steam engines were two horses, which were the main source 181 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: of power generation for a lot of industries these days. 182 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: The typical American car generates a hundred twenty horsepower those 183 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: you might imagine. There's quite a range on this due 184 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: to different types of cars on the market, so a 185 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: fifteen to twenty one horsepower vehicle is much less powerful 186 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:41,080 Speaker 1: than what you would typically drive today. Now, the Briscoe 187 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:44,000 Speaker 1: brothers did not hold on to Buick for very long. 188 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:47,800 Speaker 1: They sold their steak and thus their control of the company, 189 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:52,080 Speaker 1: to another corporation called Flint Wagon Works in Flint, Michigan. 190 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: David Buick was now working for a totally different company 191 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: in a man named William Durant, another person that we're 192 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: going to talk about a lot a bit later, came 193 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 1: in and purchased controlling interest in Buick from the Flint 194 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 1: Wagon Works. By the end of nineteen o four, the 195 00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:13,199 Speaker 1: Buick Company had produced just thirty seven automobiles, but since 196 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: this was in the early days of the automobile industry 197 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:19,120 Speaker 1: in the United States, that thirty seven automobiles meant that 198 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:23,080 Speaker 1: Buick was just in second place across the nation. First 199 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:27,840 Speaker 1: place was being held by Henry Ford's Motor Company. Durant 200 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 1: would make Bwick the centerpiece of the company he intended 201 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: to build, which I'm sure you've all figured out now 202 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: would eventually be General Motors. Now, before I move on, 203 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,080 Speaker 1: I would like to talk about what happened to David 204 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,200 Speaker 1: Dunbar Buick, and it's a bit of a sad story. 205 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,040 Speaker 1: So he was now working for William Durant, but he 206 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: had also had a seat on the board of directors. However, 207 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:54,120 Speaker 1: Durant began to push Buick further out from any meaningful 208 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:56,640 Speaker 1: role in the company. Kind of makes me think of 209 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: how Steve Jobs was treated in the eighties over at Apple. 210 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:03,760 Speaker 1: And it seems as though Mr Buick was a disagreeable 211 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:07,480 Speaker 1: sort who often found himself at odds with other disagreeable 212 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:11,319 Speaker 1: sorts a lot of cantankerous people in the automotive industry. 213 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: In the early days, there were a lot of oil 214 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:17,000 Speaker 1: and water mixtures in other words. Also, Buick's health was 215 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,240 Speaker 1: taking a turn for the worse and he really wanted 216 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: to move someplace west to live in a climate that 217 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:24,839 Speaker 1: was less humid. He left Durant's employ in nineteen o 218 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: nine with a huge severance check and some stocks, and 219 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,680 Speaker 1: he moved to California. There he founded an oil company, 220 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:35,040 Speaker 1: and he ran into some trouble when The New York 221 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:38,400 Speaker 1: Times named the securities firm that represented the Buick Oil 222 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 1: company had been guilty of stock fraud transactions. So it 223 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: wasn't his company, but rather the securities firm that represented 224 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: his company that got in trouble, but that meant he 225 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:51,320 Speaker 1: got wrapped up in it as well, and as a consequence, 226 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:56,240 Speaker 1: Buick's oil concern was effectively wiped out. He subsequently got 227 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: involved in real estate deals in Florida, which sounds like 228 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:03,560 Speaker 1: the to Glen Garry Glenn Ross. Anyway, that didn't work 229 00:14:03,559 --> 00:14:06,480 Speaker 1: out either, and he did have a brief return to 230 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:10,839 Speaker 1: running an automotive manufacturing company with the Lorraine Motors Corporation, 231 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:15,319 Speaker 1: but saw little success there either. By night he was 232 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:18,440 Speaker 1: living in poverty, and he passed away the following year, 233 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,640 Speaker 1: very sad. While Buicks vehicles would serve as the entry 234 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:25,960 Speaker 1: point for Durance foray into the automotive industry, he would 235 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 1: acquire a bunch of other companies and thus car models. 236 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: When we come back, we'll learn about some of the 237 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 1: other cars that joined the GM family shortly after Durant 238 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 1: had founded the company. But first, let's take a quick break. Now, 239 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:53,160 Speaker 1: let us turn to another pioneer in the automobile business 240 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 1: whose work would become part of the young General Motors. Now, 241 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:01,920 Speaker 1: have you heard of Oldsmobile? Some of you younger listeners 242 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:03,960 Speaker 1: out there may not have heard of it at all, 243 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: as GM stopped making vehicles branded as Oldsmobiles back in 244 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,040 Speaker 1: two thousand four. For those who have heard of it, 245 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,560 Speaker 1: you might be surprised to learn that the name Oldsmobile 246 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,720 Speaker 1: comes from the man who founded the original Oldsmobile company 247 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:25,400 Speaker 1: comes from his name, Ransom Eli Mobile. Wait, no, I'm sorry. 248 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 1: Ransom Eli Olds born in eighteen sixty four in Ohio. 249 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 1: His family made the move to Lansing, Michigan, Michigan obviously 250 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,400 Speaker 1: the birthplace of the automotive industry in the United States. 251 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: They moved there when Ransom was just a kid. He 252 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 1: grew up interested in mechanical systems, and by the mid 253 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 1: eighteen eighties he was experimenting with building steam powered automobiles. 254 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: He graduated to gasoline powered cars in eighteen ninety six. 255 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 1: By eighteen ninety nine, he had founded the Olds Motor 256 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:01,880 Speaker 1: Works Company, securing financial backing from a dude who was 257 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: really into wood, but that I mean Samuel L. Smith, 258 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: who owned a large lumber operations and had amassed a 259 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 1: significant amount of wealth. By nineteen o one, the first 260 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: Oldsmobiles were available for purchase, and by nineteen o four 261 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: the company had sold five thousand of them. There was 262 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:25,800 Speaker 1: a terrible fire at the Oldsmobile manufacturing facility, and the 263 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:29,960 Speaker 1: only prototype to survive the fire was a design called 264 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 1: the Oldsmobile curved dash Runabout. Runabout is a style of 265 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:39,040 Speaker 1: early automobile, and you should search for images of this 266 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:43,080 Speaker 1: vehicle and you'll have an appreciation of what a car 267 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 1: was back at the turn of the twentieth century. The 268 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 1: runabout is an open air vehicle and it looks a 269 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:53,280 Speaker 1: little bit like a sleigh, but with wheels instead of 270 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:56,680 Speaker 1: you know, sleds or skis, and it has a handle 271 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:59,640 Speaker 1: for steering, sort of like the old fashioned rudder steering 272 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: mechanisms I was mentioning earlier, before everyone got fancy and 273 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: started using steering wheels. Now, at the time, it cost 274 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:10,560 Speaker 1: six hundred fifty dollars to buy one of these babies, 275 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:12,920 Speaker 1: which if we had just for inflation, would be right 276 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:17,120 Speaker 1: around nineteen thousand dollars in today's money, so not an 277 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:21,439 Speaker 1: unreasonable amount for a new car. Olds was known for 278 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:25,560 Speaker 1: employing advertising and publicity in a savvy way early on 279 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: in the automotive industry, so I suppose we can thank 280 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:33,480 Speaker 1: Ransom for the incredibly weird history of automobile dealership commercials. 281 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: He also used a stationary assembly line, the same kind 282 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:41,320 Speaker 1: of thing that Ford also would end up doing. It 283 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 1: was a stepping stone toward mass production, and it's what 284 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,600 Speaker 1: allowed Olds to build and sell so many cars within 285 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:52,880 Speaker 1: three years. And granted, I know that five thousand cars 286 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,400 Speaker 1: in three years is not a lot by today's standards, 287 00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: but we now live in the era of precision mass production, 288 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:04,159 Speaker 1: and this was before that. He also arranged to purchase 289 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: transmission systems from the Dodge Brothers from the folks who 290 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,320 Speaker 1: built the Dodge cars. So the early days the automobile industry, 291 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 1: we're both competitive and a little cozy. Also, in nineteen 292 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 1: o four, Ransom had a falling out with Samuel and 293 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: Olds would actually leave the company he had founded. He 294 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:27,159 Speaker 1: went on to create another car company, originally called R. E. 295 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: Olds Motor Car Company but later just known as R. E. O, 296 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: which had a quick rise and then a precipitous fall 297 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:39,679 Speaker 1: in the automotive industry. It became a leader in the 298 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 1: industry in nineteen o seven, but then began to decline 299 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 1: in nineteen o eight. After that roller coaster of a journey, 300 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:49,800 Speaker 1: Olds began working on other things, such as a lawnmower. 301 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 1: So that's a shout out to a recent tech Stuff 302 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:56,960 Speaker 1: podcast where we learned how lawnmowers exist because medieval Europeans 303 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,480 Speaker 1: like to build castles, and he too would it involved 304 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,879 Speaker 1: in real estate in Florida. He retired in nineteen twenty 305 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,920 Speaker 1: five and would pass away in nineteen fifty. But Olds 306 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,919 Speaker 1: had left his original company in nineteen o four, so 307 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 1: he wasn't part of the deal that would bring Oldsmobile 308 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:18,119 Speaker 1: to General Motors. Durant would acquire Oldsmobile, not long after 309 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:23,080 Speaker 1: he had already acquired Buick. And now let us consider Cadillac. 310 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:26,560 Speaker 1: So this company also has a bit of an odd history, 311 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: and part of it goes back to Henry Ford. Ford 312 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:31,800 Speaker 1: gets a lot of credit for the success of the 313 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:34,640 Speaker 1: automotive industry in the United States in the early days, 314 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:39,600 Speaker 1: and for good reason. He was the most successful of 315 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:44,679 Speaker 1: all the car manufacturers at that time. But success wasn't 316 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 1: always a guarantee with Ford. His first company, the Detroit 317 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 1: Automobile Company, began in eighteen ninety nine to a rather 318 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 1: rocky start. He reorganized and renamed the company a couple 319 00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:59,520 Speaker 1: of years later and called the new enterprise the Henry 320 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: for Company. But Ford didn't see eyed eye with the 321 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:06,480 Speaker 1: people who actually fronted him the money to establish his company, 322 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:09,560 Speaker 1: and by nineteen o two Ford was out, but he 323 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,919 Speaker 1: took his name with him. His third company would go 324 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,879 Speaker 1: on to be the huge success. That's the actual Ford 325 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: Motor Company, the third one. But let's go back to 326 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:23,400 Speaker 1: that second company for a second. What happened with that Well, 327 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:27,639 Speaker 1: once the tiff with Ford happened, the financiers behind the 328 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 1: company decided they need to bring in an expert to 329 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:32,960 Speaker 1: figure out what the value of all their assets were 330 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:36,880 Speaker 1: so that they could liquidate them, sell them off, hopefully 331 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,639 Speaker 1: cover their investment, or at least mitigate any losses. So 332 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,560 Speaker 1: to that end, the investors called in a machinist in 333 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 1: Detroit named Henry Leland, who had his own manufacturing company 334 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: and who had produced engines for Oldsmobile previously. Leland came 335 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,200 Speaker 1: in and took a look around and said, say, Fellower's 336 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 1: you really ought to stay in the business. You got 337 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:00,720 Speaker 1: yourselves the infrastructure to build your own ours, and you've 338 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 1: already done enough work. That was some tinkering. We can 339 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:07,320 Speaker 1: make something special. I am paraphrasing, of course, but the 340 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:11,120 Speaker 1: investors agreed and Leland got to work. He called both 341 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 1: the car and the company Cadillac, named after the French 342 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 1: explorer and self proclaimed noble Antoine Lamme de Lamot Cadillac. 343 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 1: That's the guy who founded Detroit. Also, as I say, 344 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:29,959 Speaker 1: historians believe that he was not in fact a noble 345 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:34,359 Speaker 1: as he called himself, but rather just assumed that. Either way, 346 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:39,160 Speaker 1: he is credited for founding Detroit, and Leland's original design 347 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,200 Speaker 1: was a bit of a Frankenstein's Monster kind of thing, 348 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:46,200 Speaker 1: not an appearance, but in parts so he started with 349 00:21:46,359 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 1: Ford's chassis design, which the company owned. Because Ford was 350 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 1: so disgusted by his falling out with the investors that 351 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,720 Speaker 1: he didn't pursue the rights to the designs before he left. 352 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,399 Speaker 1: He kept the name so they couldn't call it the 353 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 1: Ford come Penny or anything like that, but they owned 354 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,919 Speaker 1: everything else, and Leland decided to continue the design he 355 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:10,359 Speaker 1: had been working on for Oldsmobile for an engine. It 356 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,359 Speaker 1: was a design that the company had actually turned down, 357 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: so it had a an Oldsmobile intended engine and a 358 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:22,840 Speaker 1: Ford chassis body. Leland's own manufacturing company would produce all 359 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,240 Speaker 1: the transmissions and the engine parts and other components for 360 00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 1: the new car. Well, this actually gives us a chance 361 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,160 Speaker 1: to talk about what it means to have a single 362 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:36,760 Speaker 1: cylinder engine. We need a quick rundown on what cylinders are. So, 363 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:40,400 Speaker 1: cylinders are the part of an engine that howls pistons, 364 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:42,760 Speaker 1: and a piston can move up and down the length 365 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 1: of the cylinder inside the cylinder, kind of like a 366 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:50,560 Speaker 1: plunger in a syringe, and there's a tight seal inside 367 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:53,640 Speaker 1: the cylinder. There's typically like a piston ring that keeps 368 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:57,480 Speaker 1: a nice seal against the interior wall of that cylinder. 369 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:00,560 Speaker 1: Modern cars almost all used the same general roll approach 370 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:04,520 Speaker 1: to create motion. It's called a four stroke combustion cycle, 371 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:07,879 Speaker 1: also known as the Auto cycle. That's O. T T 372 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:11,199 Speaker 1: O named after Nicklaus Auto, who came up with the 373 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:15,399 Speaker 1: idea in the eighteen sixties, and the four strokes in 374 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:22,119 Speaker 1: question are called intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust. So imagine 375 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:25,439 Speaker 1: that you've got a vertical cylinder. Okay, we're looking at 376 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: a cross section of a cylinder. Now, the plunger like 377 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:32,600 Speaker 1: piston comes up from the bottom of the cylinder. It 378 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,280 Speaker 1: never goes all the way out. It may withdraw to 379 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:37,840 Speaker 1: the point where the end of the piston is is 380 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:40,479 Speaker 1: essentially at the bottom of the cylinder, but still inside it. 381 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,840 Speaker 1: At the top of the cylinder, You've got a pair 382 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 1: of valves and a spark plug. So one valve only 383 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:52,439 Speaker 1: allows a mixture of air and gas to enter the cylinder. However, 384 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:55,240 Speaker 1: it prevents anything from going back out the valve. That's 385 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,160 Speaker 1: how valves work. They allow one way direction of flow. Now, 386 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,719 Speaker 1: the other valve is an exhaust valve. It prevents anything 387 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:05,919 Speaker 1: from coming into the cylinder through the exhaust valve, but 388 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:09,240 Speaker 1: it will allow exhaust to go out at the proper 389 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,159 Speaker 1: part of the cycle, and the piston has a repeating 390 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:17,239 Speaker 1: cycle of moving up and down inside that cylinder. So 391 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,880 Speaker 1: when the piston is moving downward like it's just completed 392 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: one cycle and now it's starting to move down the 393 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 1: cylinder away from the intake valve, that valve opens and 394 00:24:27,359 --> 00:24:30,399 Speaker 1: a mixture of air and a small amount of gasoline 395 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,160 Speaker 1: come into the cylinder through the intake valve. The exhaust 396 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,359 Speaker 1: valve remains shut, so the descending piston is kind of 397 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:41,440 Speaker 1: drawing in that mixture into the cylinder itself. Upon reaching 398 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:45,119 Speaker 1: the bottom of its stroke, the piston reverses direction and 399 00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:48,440 Speaker 1: now it begins to move up the cylinder. The intake 400 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:51,399 Speaker 1: valve is shut and the exhaust valve is shut two, 401 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,080 Speaker 1: so the piston, acting like a plunger in a syringe, 402 00:24:54,119 --> 00:24:58,000 Speaker 1: is actually compressing that mixture of air and gas. This 403 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:01,440 Speaker 1: is the compression stroke because is that mixture has nowhere 404 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:04,480 Speaker 1: to go. It can't escape the cylinder, so it has 405 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 1: to be compressed. As the piston reaches the end of 406 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:10,479 Speaker 1: its trip up the cylinder, having compressed the gas and 407 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:14,440 Speaker 1: air as much as it can, the spark plug well 408 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:18,639 Speaker 1: it sparks and it ignites this mixture. This is the 409 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:23,000 Speaker 1: combustion stroke, and the power from that combustion, which is 410 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:27,560 Speaker 1: effectively an explosion with that compressed mixture of air and gas, 411 00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:31,960 Speaker 1: that pushes the piston down forcefully, so it goes down 412 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:34,720 Speaker 1: the cylinder quite fast. So the piston goes back down 413 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:37,399 Speaker 1: to the bottom of its stroke. Then it reverses course, 414 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,719 Speaker 1: heading back up, and as it moves up, the cylinder's 415 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:43,960 Speaker 1: exhaust valve opens, and like the intake valve, it only 416 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,919 Speaker 1: works in one direction, so the piston drives out the 417 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:50,200 Speaker 1: exhaust in the cylinder out through the exhaust valve. When 418 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:52,320 Speaker 1: the piston comes up to the top of this stroke 419 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 1: and starts moving back down again, the exhaust valve closes, 420 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: the intake valve opens, and the whole cycle repeats itself. 421 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,040 Speaker 1: And the next episode, by the way, we'll talk more 422 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:06,640 Speaker 1: about those spark plugs, because this cycle requires initiation. It's 423 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:10,199 Speaker 1: not like it's perpetual motion. It doesn't just start and 424 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:14,320 Speaker 1: then never stop. You have to start that cycle system. 425 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:16,439 Speaker 1: But in the old old days you had to do 426 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,159 Speaker 1: that manually, So we'll talk more about that in the 427 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:24,400 Speaker 1: next episode. However, let's talk about the rest of this system. 428 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:27,200 Speaker 1: So the other end of the piston, the part that's 429 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: not inside the cylinder, attaches to a crank shaft. So 430 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,720 Speaker 1: the reciprocal motion of move of the piston moving up 431 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:39,760 Speaker 1: and down transforms into rotational motion through interaction with the 432 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:43,560 Speaker 1: crank shaft that powers the drive train of the vehicle. 433 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: So the repeated cycles of combustion or what give the 434 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: vehicle the umph it needs to power the drive train 435 00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:53,119 Speaker 1: and thus go into motion. It's kind of like those 436 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 1: old hand cars that you would see on railroads, or 437 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,040 Speaker 1: at least movies and TV shows that would have the 438 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:01,200 Speaker 1: hand cars on rail roads. I think I've only seen 439 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:03,600 Speaker 1: two of those in real life in my entire life. 440 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:07,639 Speaker 1: But instead of using human powered force of pumping the 441 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,320 Speaker 1: handrails in order to get the cart moving, this is 442 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: using the explosive power of ignited air and gas. And 443 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:18,040 Speaker 1: that's why it's an internal combustion engine. So the first 444 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:22,800 Speaker 1: Cadillacs had that single cylinder engine that was intended for Oldsmobile, 445 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,160 Speaker 1: so there was only one cylinder with that particular one 446 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:29,399 Speaker 1: with one piston in it providing the power for motion. 447 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: Most cars today have either four or six cylinders, and 448 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:39,240 Speaker 1: most trucks have either six or eight. Generally speaking, more 449 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:43,119 Speaker 1: cylinders means that the vehicle will have more power, they 450 00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:46,200 Speaker 1: will be able to climb steeper hills or go faster, 451 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:51,600 Speaker 1: but it also means greater fuel consumption and thus lower energy. 452 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 1: So Henry Leland brought two different models of Cadillacs to 453 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: the New York Auto Show in nineteen o three. One 454 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,680 Speaker 1: of the models was called to run About. Just like 455 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,439 Speaker 1: the other vehicle I talked about earlier, this was a 456 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:06,720 Speaker 1: two seater vehicle, and then you had the to Know 457 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:12,240 Speaker 1: and that had two additional seats, essentially a second bench 458 00:28:12,359 --> 00:28:15,719 Speaker 1: added behind the first bench, so you then had a 459 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:18,720 Speaker 1: four seater. They were a big hit at the New 460 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,200 Speaker 1: York Auto Show. Leland sold all three of the cars 461 00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:24,439 Speaker 1: that he brought to show off, and he started to 462 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 1: take orders for more than two thousand vehicles at the show. 463 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,399 Speaker 1: Those orders required a ten dollar deposit, which went toward 464 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:34,800 Speaker 1: the seven hundred fifty dollar sales price for a Runabout 465 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:39,000 Speaker 1: that to Know, which doubled that vehicular capacity to four writers, 466 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:42,520 Speaker 1: would cost an extra one dollars on top of that, 467 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: in Leland decided to experiment a little bit more and 468 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: he ordered the design and construction of a prototyped Cadillac. 469 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 1: He named the Osceola, and machinists named Fred J. Fisher 470 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:58,640 Speaker 1: was put in charge of creating the vehicle, and he 471 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:02,040 Speaker 1: led a team of mechanics to something really interesting. So 472 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 1: what set this vehicle apart from most others at the 473 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:09,760 Speaker 1: time was that this Cadillac had a closed body, so 474 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:14,360 Speaker 1: it protected the rider the driver from the elements. It 475 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:17,040 Speaker 1: had windows on all four sides looking out from the 476 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:21,280 Speaker 1: passenger cabin, which was pretty snug. I think it looks 477 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:23,440 Speaker 1: to me like you could really only fit one person 478 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:25,920 Speaker 1: in there comfortably. And it had a top speed of 479 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:28,840 Speaker 1: forty miles per hour with a ten horse power single 480 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: cylinder engine. The drive train was a chain drive, which 481 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:35,640 Speaker 1: provided power to two rear wheels on the car, so 482 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:39,480 Speaker 1: it was a rear wheel drive vehicle. The prototype is 483 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:41,640 Speaker 1: pretty darn cute. If you want to look it up, 484 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:45,200 Speaker 1: look like the N five Osceola that's O S C 485 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:47,560 Speaker 1: E O L A. If you want to see a 486 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,880 Speaker 1: picture of it. Um. It was a little too tall 487 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: for its small chassis. If you look at it, you 488 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 1: can kind of see that it's it's the chassis doesn't 489 00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 1: extend very far out, so it's kind of taller than 490 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:03,240 Speaker 1: it is long, and that made it a bit top 491 00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 1: heavy and thus not the safest of cars if you're 492 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:09,200 Speaker 1: driving around sharp turns. The experiment did teach Fisher and 493 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,280 Speaker 1: his team a great deal, and before long Cadillac began 494 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:17,080 Speaker 1: offering closed bodied vehicles as an option for buyers, and 495 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:20,200 Speaker 1: by nineteen ten they made it so that the closed 496 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 1: body model was standard. In nineteen o eight, Sir Thomas 497 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 1: art do War, a member of the UK Parliament, awarded 498 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:33,920 Speaker 1: Cadillac the third Everdwar Trophy and the first to ever 499 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 1: go to an American car maker. The reason he gave 500 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:41,560 Speaker 1: the award to Cadillac was because of Leland's approach to 501 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:45,760 Speaker 1: using interchangeable parts during car construction, which made it really 502 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: easy to produce and repair vehicles. So the story behind 503 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 1: Douar was convinced as a pretty fun one. A British 504 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:58,560 Speaker 1: distributor for Cadillac brought three Cadillacs to a test facility. 505 00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 1: Then he had mechanics disassemble all three of those Cadillacs, 506 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:07,480 Speaker 1: then mix up all the parts between those three, reassemble 507 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 1: those parts back into cars, and then test each of 508 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:14,120 Speaker 1: those cars on a five hundred mile series of courses. 509 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: All three vehicles passed the tests with flying colors, showing 510 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,719 Speaker 1: that the parts from one Cadillac were exactly the same 511 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:25,920 Speaker 1: as any other thanks to the precision of the manufacturing process. 512 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,080 Speaker 1: And that's the reason why de War gave Cadillac the 513 00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:32,880 Speaker 1: award for that innovation, because he saw that as pushing 514 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:37,720 Speaker 1: the invention of the automobile forward in nineteen o nine, 515 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:41,880 Speaker 1: On July twenty nine, General Motors acquired the Cadillac Automobile 516 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:45,280 Speaker 1: Company for the princely sum of four and a half 517 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:48,840 Speaker 1: million dollars. Today that would be closer to a hundred 518 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:53,800 Speaker 1: and thirty one million dollars. Durant actually convinced Henry Leland's 519 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:56,920 Speaker 1: son Wilfred, to sell the company, but Henry Leland did 520 00:31:56,960 --> 00:31:59,960 Speaker 1: stay on as an executive with General Motors until nine 521 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:04,320 Speaker 1: teen seventeen, whereupon he had a tiff with GM's leader Durant, 522 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:06,480 Speaker 1: who I swear we're going to cover before we get 523 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:08,440 Speaker 1: to the end of this episode, because he had a 524 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:11,720 Speaker 1: as a pretty crazy story too, and Leland founded a 525 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:16,960 Speaker 1: new car company called Lincoln Motor Company. Now ultimately Lincoln 526 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:21,160 Speaker 1: would become part of Henry Ford's automotive empire. Pretty interesting 527 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:23,440 Speaker 1: in for someone who had started off as one of 528 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:28,160 Speaker 1: Henry Ford's most fierce competitors. Leland and Ford really win 529 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:30,800 Speaker 1: at it, so it was interesting that the Lincoln Car 530 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:33,480 Speaker 1: Company would end up going over to Ford. Leland himself 531 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:37,000 Speaker 1: would pass away in nineteen two. Now we've got a 532 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:39,000 Speaker 1: few more bits and bobs to talk about when it 533 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:41,520 Speaker 1: comes to the founding of General Motors, which we will 534 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:55,960 Speaker 1: get to after these messages. Okay, Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac. These 535 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,720 Speaker 1: were three of the big names brought together by General Motors. 536 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:03,840 Speaker 1: Another one was Oakland, though you're more likely to have 537 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:08,040 Speaker 1: heard of Oakland's successor, Pontiac, or maybe you haven't heard 538 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:11,760 Speaker 1: of either of them, as GM discontinued the Pontiac brand 539 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:15,440 Speaker 1: in two thousand nine. But let's get to their history. 540 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:19,520 Speaker 1: Now we get to learn about Edward Murphy. Born in 541 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:24,160 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty three. Murphy started off apprenticing with hardware dealers, 542 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:26,960 Speaker 1: and over the years he gained knowledge and experience, and 543 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,880 Speaker 1: by eighteen ninety three was ready to go into business 544 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:33,560 Speaker 1: with his father in law. Together they created the Pontiac 545 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:38,680 Speaker 1: Buggy Company as an horse drawn buggies business went fairly 546 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,160 Speaker 1: well for a time, but the clock was ticking, and 547 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:44,520 Speaker 1: by the early nineteen hundreds Murphy saw that there was 548 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:48,160 Speaker 1: no future and horse drawn buggies. Murphy partnered with a 549 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:53,760 Speaker 1: mechanic and designer named Lanson Partridge Brush, who had previously 550 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:57,080 Speaker 1: worked with Henry Leland back at Oldsmobile when they were 551 00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:00,480 Speaker 1: making engines for that company, and then he followed Leland 552 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 1: onto Cadillac and assisted in the design of the Cadillac 553 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:07,240 Speaker 1: one cylinder engine. So yeah, this is the guy who 554 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:11,600 Speaker 1: designed the engine that Oldsmobile initially turned down and that 555 00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:16,440 Speaker 1: subsequently became the original Cadillac engine. There are no records 556 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:20,480 Speaker 1: of Brush having ever attended anything beyond high school level education, 557 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,560 Speaker 1: so the general consensus is that he was a very 558 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:28,920 Speaker 1: gifted designer who learned through observation and experience. Murphy and 559 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:33,279 Speaker 1: Brush and some investors created the Oakland Motor Club in 560 00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:37,200 Speaker 1: nineteen o seven and began making cars in nineteen o eight. 561 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:40,840 Speaker 1: They named it after Oakland County, Michigan. The city of 562 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:44,480 Speaker 1: Pontiac is there. Brush would leave before the end of 563 00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:47,279 Speaker 1: nineteen o eight, hoping to pursue his own dream of 564 00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:50,400 Speaker 1: building a car with a two cylinder engine and getting 565 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:54,239 Speaker 1: some money from the Brisco brothers. See I told you 566 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:57,439 Speaker 1: the automotive world in Detroit was a pretty small one. 567 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:01,280 Speaker 1: Brush would go on to found the Brush Runabout Company, 568 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:03,800 Speaker 1: but that company went out of business a few years later. 569 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:06,319 Speaker 1: But Brush went on to have a successful career as 570 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:09,680 Speaker 1: a consulting engineer. He worked for numerous companies over the 571 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:13,919 Speaker 1: following years. He passed away in nineteen fifty two. Back 572 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:18,320 Speaker 1: at the Oakland Motor Company, Durant approached Murphy with an offer, 573 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:21,200 Speaker 1: and Murphy sold off his share in the Oakland Motor 574 00:35:21,239 --> 00:35:25,960 Speaker 1: Company in nineteen o nine. Tragically, he died not long 575 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:28,440 Speaker 1: after making this deal. He passed away in the summer 576 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:31,359 Speaker 1: of nineteen o nine. At that point, Durant was able 577 00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:34,480 Speaker 1: to convince the other shareholders in Oakland Motor Company to 578 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:38,120 Speaker 1: sign their steak over to General Motors. GM would later 579 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:42,480 Speaker 1: create the Pontiac brand as a sort of spinoff of Oakland. 580 00:35:42,719 --> 00:35:46,719 Speaker 1: Only the Pontiac cars sold better than the Oakland ones did, 581 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:50,440 Speaker 1: so then GM decided to phase out the Oakland brand 582 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:53,640 Speaker 1: and keep Pontiac around for several decades. I'm sure we'll 583 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:56,960 Speaker 1: talk about that more in the next episode. Now, there 584 00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:00,600 Speaker 1: are some other companies that General Motors acquired early on 585 00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,719 Speaker 1: with names that might not be as familiar to you 586 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:07,560 Speaker 1: unless you're a car history buff So, for example, another 587 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:12,440 Speaker 1: company Durant acquired in n nine was the Ewing Automobile Company, 588 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:17,000 Speaker 1: previously known as the Cleveland Auto Cab Company. The Cleveland 589 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,560 Speaker 1: Auto Cab Company was to produce a car called Geneva, 590 00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:25,160 Speaker 1: but then the company owners decided to rename the brand 591 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:29,960 Speaker 1: Ewing after Levi Edward Ewing, a major investor in the 592 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:34,520 Speaker 1: company that particular Ewing. Levi would then go on to 593 00:36:34,640 --> 00:36:38,600 Speaker 1: buy the company itself. While Ewing was able to produce 594 00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:43,000 Speaker 1: around thirty vehicles, it was impossible to scale up operations 595 00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:46,760 Speaker 1: in Geneva, Ohio. There just wasn't enough of a talent 596 00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:49,360 Speaker 1: pool for an experienced workforce in that part of the 597 00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:52,560 Speaker 1: country as far as automobiles were concerned. You know, At 598 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:56,839 Speaker 1: that time the company was poised to relocate to Erie, Pennsylvania, 599 00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:59,080 Speaker 1: But before that could happen, Durant came in with his 600 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:03,319 Speaker 1: offer and Ewing accepted it. The Ewing line wouldn't make 601 00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:05,960 Speaker 1: it very far in the history of GM. General Motors 602 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:10,520 Speaker 1: would discontinue it in nineteen eleven. Other companies that GM 603 00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:15,760 Speaker 1: acquired early on included Carter Car, the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, 604 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:18,920 Speaker 1: and the Reliance Motor Truck Company, which was sort of 605 00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:23,880 Speaker 1: the ancestor to GMC trucks. The Carter Car was really interesting, 606 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:27,640 Speaker 1: largely because it featured a friction drive, but I don't 607 00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:30,440 Speaker 1: quite have enough time to go into that in this episode. 608 00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:32,759 Speaker 1: Maybe in the next one. Now, if you've listened to 609 00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:36,759 Speaker 1: my episodes about businesses that make lots of acquisitions, you 610 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:39,319 Speaker 1: know that that kind of a strategy is a risky one. 611 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:42,799 Speaker 1: And that's because all these acquisitions begin to pile up, 612 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:45,200 Speaker 1: and at the same time, you're accruing a lot of 613 00:37:45,239 --> 00:37:47,360 Speaker 1: debt because you have to spend a ton of money 614 00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:52,040 Speaker 1: to buy these companies. Manufacturing cars is also pretty expensive, 615 00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:55,120 Speaker 1: so you still have your operating expenses to deal with 616 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:58,200 Speaker 1: on top of all these acquisitions, and then there's all 617 00:37:58,239 --> 00:38:01,520 Speaker 1: the distribution and sales side of the business. So GM 618 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:04,640 Speaker 1: was in kind of a precarious position. It spent an 619 00:38:04,719 --> 00:38:07,960 Speaker 1: awful lot of investors money, and there was the danger 620 00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:10,880 Speaker 1: that the company might over extend itself and then it 621 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:14,320 Speaker 1: would just be a massive debt machine. And this brings 622 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:17,560 Speaker 1: us to finally talk about William C. Durant, the man 623 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:22,880 Speaker 1: largely responsible for creating General motors. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, 624 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:26,320 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty one, but he grew up in Flint, Michigan. 625 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:28,279 Speaker 1: Like a lot of the other people I mentioned in 626 00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:32,000 Speaker 1: this episode, Durant found a living originally working in the 627 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:36,319 Speaker 1: carriage industry, as in the horse drawn carriage industry. In 628 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:40,360 Speaker 1: eighteen eight six, he co founded the Durant Dort Company 629 00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:44,520 Speaker 1: and manufactured carriages, which made Flint the carriage capital of 630 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:49,799 Speaker 1: the United States. As various investors and engineers developed early automobiles, 631 00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:54,000 Speaker 1: Durant saw both an existential threat to his business as 632 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:56,120 Speaker 1: well as a huge opportunity. I mean it was a 633 00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:59,840 Speaker 1: threat and that should these horseless carriages prove reliable and 634 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:02,640 Speaker 1: as full, it would inevitably lead to the decline of 635 00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:05,279 Speaker 1: the carriage business. But it was an opportunity, and that 636 00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:08,000 Speaker 1: if someone could build out a business that could find 637 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:10,960 Speaker 1: a way to produce cars in enough volume to sell 638 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:15,120 Speaker 1: them at moderate prices, you could make a killing. And 639 00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:18,200 Speaker 1: that's what led Durant to make his first acquisition of Buick. 640 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:20,680 Speaker 1: But that wouldn't be enough to achieve his goal. He 641 00:39:20,719 --> 00:39:23,400 Speaker 1: needed to add other companies for a couple of reasons. 642 00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:26,480 Speaker 1: One was that he needed to increase the scale of 643 00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:30,200 Speaker 1: production to bring those costs down, and it was way 644 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:33,359 Speaker 1: easier to buy out somebody else who had already done 645 00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:36,880 Speaker 1: the work of creating a manufacturing facility and also a 646 00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:40,439 Speaker 1: manufacturing process. Then it would be to build that kind 647 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:43,359 Speaker 1: of stuff out from scratch. At least, it's easier as 648 00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:45,640 Speaker 1: long as you had people willing to give you money 649 00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:48,200 Speaker 1: so that you could do it, and Durant had those people. 650 00:39:48,719 --> 00:39:51,680 Speaker 1: But another big reason was that Durant could see that 651 00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:55,640 Speaker 1: different people had different preferences when it came to automobiles, 652 00:39:55,680 --> 00:39:58,560 Speaker 1: just like everything else in life. So it made sense 653 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:01,520 Speaker 1: to offer up of a rye any of different options. 654 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:05,279 Speaker 1: Some might appeal to one person but not another, and 655 00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:07,759 Speaker 1: so on. So he began to envision a business in 656 00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:11,840 Speaker 1: which different types of cars could occupy slightly different places 657 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:14,480 Speaker 1: in the market. You could have cars that cost a 658 00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:17,680 Speaker 1: little bit less, maybe they're a little less flashy, little 659 00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:20,319 Speaker 1: less powerful, but you could appeal to people who want 660 00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:24,279 Speaker 1: a car, but they can't afford the more impressive or 661 00:40:24,400 --> 00:40:28,080 Speaker 1: luxurious models. So you can build up different lines of 662 00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:32,239 Speaker 1: cars marketed under different brands and aimed at different potential customers. 663 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:36,120 Speaker 1: That was sort of the early thinking, though Durant hadn't 664 00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:39,760 Speaker 1: made much progress on that by at which point things 665 00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:43,800 Speaker 1: went rather pear shaped for Durant for a bit. Durant's 666 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:47,239 Speaker 1: acquisitions had spooked his investors, who were worried that their 667 00:40:47,239 --> 00:40:49,680 Speaker 1: money was just going to sink into an ever expanding 668 00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:53,480 Speaker 1: group of car companies and that they would never see 669 00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:57,800 Speaker 1: their money back. It would just be a big problem 670 00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:01,680 Speaker 1: labeled General Motors. The investors and Durant had a big 671 00:41:01,719 --> 00:41:04,440 Speaker 1: old corporate battle, and Durant was the loser. He had 672 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:06,600 Speaker 1: pushed the company to the point that it needed some 673 00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:10,359 Speaker 1: significant help from the financial industry to cover the considerable 674 00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:14,160 Speaker 1: debt that it had accrued, and Durant was shown the door. 675 00:41:14,680 --> 00:41:18,040 Speaker 1: He had essentially founded General Motors in nineteen o eight 676 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:21,719 Speaker 1: and was out by nineteen ten. But this is not 677 00:41:22,239 --> 00:41:25,120 Speaker 1: the end of his history with General Motors. Heck, it's 678 00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:28,000 Speaker 1: not even the end of him getting kicked out of 679 00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:31,680 Speaker 1: General Motors. See when he was given the boot, Durant 680 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:34,400 Speaker 1: landed on his feet. See I always land on my 681 00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:38,280 Speaker 1: rear end anyway. One year after being ousted from General Motors, 682 00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:43,239 Speaker 1: he co founded a new car company called Chevrolet. This 683 00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:45,799 Speaker 1: company took its name from a couple of the other 684 00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:49,600 Speaker 1: co founders, brothers Louis and Arthur Chevrolet, and there were 685 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:53,440 Speaker 1: several other co founders involved as well, but that's a 686 00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:57,560 Speaker 1: story all in itself. So Chevrolet built a manufacturing facility 687 00:41:57,640 --> 00:42:01,719 Speaker 1: in Flint, Michigan. Chev La would make a few expensive 688 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:05,160 Speaker 1: cars that very few people could afford, but the company 689 00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:07,880 Speaker 1: followed that up with a vehicle called the Series for ninety. 690 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:11,440 Speaker 1: It had that name because, at least originally, it sold 691 00:42:11,480 --> 00:42:14,919 Speaker 1: for the princely sum of four nine dollars, which made 692 00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:17,480 Speaker 1: it one of the most affordable cars on the market 693 00:42:17,560 --> 00:42:21,160 Speaker 1: at the time. Durant and Louis Chevrolet had several differences 694 00:42:21,160 --> 00:42:25,600 Speaker 1: of opinion, and ultimately Durant would buy out Chevrolet's shares 695 00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:29,200 Speaker 1: in the company. The Series for ninety proved popular enough 696 00:42:29,480 --> 00:42:33,360 Speaker 1: to fuel Durant's ambitions. Durant was building up more wealth, 697 00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:35,799 Speaker 1: and with that wealth he was buying up shares of 698 00:42:36,080 --> 00:42:41,840 Speaker 1: General Motors. He essentially bought himself back into the fold 699 00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:46,200 Speaker 1: at GM, which became complete in an acquisition between General 700 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:50,760 Speaker 1: Motors and Chevrolet. By Durant was back in the driver's 701 00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:53,600 Speaker 1: seat as it were, and the new company he would 702 00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:58,080 Speaker 1: oversee became the General Motors Corporation. Durant had also made 703 00:42:58,080 --> 00:43:01,799 Speaker 1: some friends, not not really friends, I guess, in the 704 00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:05,759 Speaker 1: du Pont family, and they helped finance his takeover of 705 00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:09,640 Speaker 1: General Motors. So to sum up, William Durant saw the 706 00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:12,920 Speaker 1: opportunity to create an automotive empire that he would call 707 00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:16,960 Speaker 1: General Motors. He took several different young car companies with 708 00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:20,680 Speaker 1: varying degrees of success under their respective fan belts, and 709 00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:23,760 Speaker 1: then brought them together to make cars at a larger scale. 710 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:27,200 Speaker 1: He even attempted at one point to buy the Henry 711 00:43:27,239 --> 00:43:30,960 Speaker 1: Ford Company early on, but Ford would only accept a 712 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:33,600 Speaker 1: buyout offer if it was in cash, and Durant just 713 00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:37,800 Speaker 1: didn't have that kind of cheddar on hand. Durant's acquisitions, however, 714 00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:40,160 Speaker 1: made his investors nervous they pushed him out of the company. 715 00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:43,759 Speaker 1: He co founds another car company, Chevrolet, builds that up, 716 00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:47,200 Speaker 1: buys out most of his co founders, comes back, takes 717 00:43:47,239 --> 00:43:52,120 Speaker 1: over GM again, and we're only scratching the surface of 718 00:43:52,160 --> 00:43:55,799 Speaker 1: this remarkable story. There's so much more to talk about here, 719 00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:59,920 Speaker 1: including what was going on at GM between Durant's remove 720 00:44:00,239 --> 00:44:04,200 Speaker 1: in nineteen ten and his return in nineteen sixteen. That 721 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:07,520 Speaker 1: includes the incorporation of an electric starter, which won the 722 00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:11,440 Speaker 1: company a second award from de War and also what 723 00:44:11,640 --> 00:44:14,279 Speaker 1: happened to that friction drive of the car to car 724 00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:17,160 Speaker 1: Where did that go? But if I were to cover 725 00:44:17,239 --> 00:44:19,880 Speaker 1: all of that for this episode, it would run another 726 00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:23,200 Speaker 1: forty minutes easy, and that's not even touching what happened 727 00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:26,280 Speaker 1: in the years since about how General Motors would eventually 728 00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:29,520 Speaker 1: go into bankruptcy and a new General Motors would emerge 729 00:44:29,560 --> 00:44:32,120 Speaker 1: from it. But to get to that story, I've got 730 00:44:32,120 --> 00:44:34,200 Speaker 1: to do part two of this episode, so be on 731 00:44:34,239 --> 00:44:37,520 Speaker 1: the lookout for that next week. If you have any 732 00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:40,600 Speaker 1: suggestions for things I should tackle in future episodes of 733 00:44:40,680 --> 00:44:43,800 Speaker 1: tech Stuff, let me know. Send me a message on Twitter. 734 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,880 Speaker 1: The handle I use there is text Stuff hs W, 735 00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:55,600 Speaker 1: and I'll talk to you again really soon. Text Stuff 736 00:44:55,680 --> 00:44:58,839 Speaker 1: is an I Heart Radio production. For more podcasts from 737 00:44:58,880 --> 00:45:02,640 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 738 00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:09,320 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H