GM@110: General Motors' greatest hits

It’s almost impossible for a large corporation to get to its 110th birthday without experiencing a long list of ups and downs.

General Motors is no exception. Founded in September 1908, it immediately went on a buying spree and later became the largest auto-maker in the US. Its market share peaked at just over 50% during the 1960s; The General was invicible and Detroit's economy boomed.

Its market share began dipping in the 1970s due in part to fierce competition from Japanese brands and rising fuel prices. In 2009, the year it filed for bankruptcy protection in a New York court, GM's market share hovered around the 20% mark. It emerged as a leaner, smarter car manufacturer and the cars it’s making today are better than they’ve ever been. Significantly, it's now chasing profitability rather than sheer volume.

Join us as we look back at some of the auto giant’s greatest hits over the past 110 years:

Cadillac V-16 (1930)

Cadillac introduced its glitzy flagship model, the V-16, at the worst possible time: a few short months after the stock market crash of 1929. The unfortunate timing hampered sales of what was unquestionably one of the most imposing (and expensive) American cars of the 1930s. It used Cadillac’s newly-developed V16 engine, a 7.4-liter unit that made 180hp.

Cadillac gave the task of building bodies for the V-16 to General Motors-owned coachbuilders Fleetwood and Fischer. Buyers could choose from 10 so-called catalog-custom bodies, though those with enough cash to spare could commission a full-custom body from the aftermarket coachbuilder of their choice.

The cheapest V-16, a two-door coupe, cost $5800 (about $86,475 today). The most expensive variant was the Town Brougham at $9700 (approximately $145,500 in 2018). Options included mirrors, a windshield and a radio.

Note: 1931 model pictured.

Oldsmobile 88 (1949)

Oldsmobile experimented with the idea of putting a big engine in a relatively small car well before the beginning of the muscle car craze. The new-for-1949 88 received the overhead-valve Rocket V8, a 135hp engine which gave it a top speed of over 100mph. It’s arguably the first American muscle car and it started the horsepower tussle that popularized the segment.

Cadillac Eldorado (1953)

Cadillac introduced the limited-edition Eldorado as an even more upmarket version of the opulent Series 62 Convertible late in the 1953 model year. The list of equipment it came with rivaled Melville’s Moby Dick in length. It consequently cost more than twice as much as the base Series 62. Production totaled 532 examples in 1953. At the time, few could predict the significant mark it would leave on Cadillac's history.

The Eldorado morphed into a standalone model and later became one of Cadillac’s greatest hits. It evolved with the times; it adopted a sharper look with extra-long tail fins in 1959 and switched to a front-wheel drive layout in 1967. Its engine displacement swelled to 8.2-liters during the 1970s and shrunk to 4.1-liter the following decade. It even briefly came with a diesel V8.

Cadillac built the last Eldorado in 2002. The once-great nameplate has laid dormant since.

Chevrolet Corvette (1953)

Chevrolet never intended to sell the Corvette. It built the car solely to turn heads at the 1953 Motorama, a General Motors-exclusive auto show brimming with wild concept cars that traveled across America. And turn heads it did. The public's overwhelmingly positive reaction convinced officials to make it into a production model.

It nearly flopped. Most people liked looking at the Corvette but precious few wanted to buy it, partly because it wasn’t anywhere near as fast as it looked. Chevrolet stayed the course and turned the Corvette into a world-class performance car under the watchful eye of engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov. It’s now well into its seventh generation.

Chevrolet allegedly has big changes in store for the next Corvette, which is likely less than a year away from making its official debut. It will adopt a mid-engined layout for the first time in its 65-year history. Note: 1954 model pictured.

Buick Riviera (1963)

Buick made the Riviera for its most discerning customers. Though not quite the most expensive Buick in 1963 (that honor went to the Electra convertible), it offered a long list of then-advanced features like a glare-proof rear-view mirror, deep-pile carpet, two-speed wipers and four bucket seats. It didn’t sell purely on content, though. The Riviera lured buyers into showrooms with its stunning, well-proportioned design. It remains one of General Motors’ most gorgeous cars.

The Riviera cost $4333 (about $35,000 in 2018 money) in 1963. In comparison, Ford’s Thunderbird hardtop started at $4445 (approximately $36,000) that same year.

Chevrolet Camaro (1966)

The original Camaro arrived in late 1966 to counter the Mustang, which Ford launched in 1964 to fend off the rear-engined Corvair, Chevrolet’s answer to the Volkswagen Beetle. Still with us? 220,000 examples of the Camaro found a home during the nameplate's first year on the market, an eye-opening statistic that encouraged product planners to add convertible and high-performance variants to the catalog.

The Camaro nearly went extinct during the 1970s, when power outputs dropped perilously close to the 100hp mark in the wake of stricter emissions requirements, but Chevrolet masterfully brought it back from the brink. Today, it’s in better shape than ever before. The line-up includes four-, six- and eight-cylinder models ranging from a boulevard cruiser to a scalpel-sharp track weapon. Note: 1970 SS model pictured.

Oldsmobile Toronado (1966)

The Oldsmobile Toronado stands out as the first volume-produced American car to offer front-wheel drive. It was a bold but contentious move at the time, especially considering the Toronado’s positioning as an alternative to the Ford Thunderbird. Early models wore an elegant design characterized by concealed headlights, pronounced wheel arches and a fastback-like roof line.

The Toronado later shared its front-wheel drive architecture with the Cadillac Eldorado. Interestingly, it also spawned a six-wheeled airport limousine with eight doors named Jetway 707. Oldsmobile built four generations of the Toronado between 1966 and 1992.

Holden Monaro GTS (1968)

Australians watched from the sidelines as Americans enjoyed the first Camaros but they didn’t have to wait long to get their hands on a home-brewed coupe with a big V8. Holden released the Monaro in 1968 and dropped a Chevrolet-sourced V8 in the engine bay to create the hot-rodded GTS 327 model.

Many consider it Australia’s first true muscle car. It gave Holden its first victory at the Bathurst 1000 touring car race and helped it steal the spotlight from arch rival Ford.

Opel GT (1968)

The Experimental GT concept Opel unveiled at the 1965 Frankfurt auto show surprised both the press and the public. At its core, it was a rolling laboratory the brand used to test upcoming mechanical components on its high-speed track. On a second but more lasting level, it also represented decision-makers’ desire to build a Corvette-like coupe scaled for European roads. It became Opel’s first standalone sports car when it made its debut in 1968.

Though it designed the GT for Europe, Opel wisely saw a market for its zippy coupe in America, where buyers had an insatiable appetite for sports cars. Buick dealers sold the car in the US. It cost $3395 (about $23,000 in 2018 money) in 1969, its first year on the market. In comparison, a Corvette Stingray started at $4763 (roughly $32,000) that same year.

Pontiac Firebird Trans Am (1969)

The Trans Am option package joined the Pontiac Firebird line-up in 1969. Priced at $725 (almost $5000 today), it originally bundled a three-speed manual transmission, an upgraded suspension system, power front disc brakes plus stripes and special decals. It quickly became one of the hottest (and most expensive) versions of the Firebird. Note: 1976 model pictured.

Buick GSX (1970)

Somewhat unexpectedly, Buick joined the horsepower gold rush of 1970. Free from General Motors’ engine displacement restrictions, it gave its engineers a blank slate to create one of America’s greatest muscle cars. The team started with the Gran Sport, an evolution of the Skylark, and added front disc brakes, a heavy-duty suspension, wider wheels and a tachometer integrated into the hood to create the GSX.

It looked the part with a showy graphics package plus front and rear spoilers.

Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 (1970)

Chevrolet gave the Chevelle a handsome, sculpted body for the 1970 model year. The visual updates coincided with the end of General Motors’ internal restrictions on engine displacement, allowing Chevrolet to create what’s often considered the pinnacle of the muscle car: the Chevelle SS 454. It perfectly embodied the then-popular notion that there’s no replacement for displacement.

Priced at $503 (about $3300), the SS 454 package built on the Chevelle coupe with a 7.4-liter 360hp Turbo-Jet V8 engine, dual exhaust tips, power front disc brakes, suspension tweaks and more muscular appearance characterized by a power dome hood.

While Chevrolet no longer makes the Chevelle, the SS nameplate survives to this day on the Camaro.

Chevrolet Chevette (1975)

The Chevette was a true global car. Designed in Germany by Opel, it first went on sale on the Brazilian market in 1973. It hastily joined Chevrolet’s American line-up in September 1975 as General Motors tried capitalizing on an unprecedented demand for small cars following the oil crisis. It took a little over a year for the Chevette to become Chevrolet’s best-selling car in the US.

Canadians knew the Chevette as the Pontiac Acadian. Australians called it the Holden Gemini, Argentinians bought it as the GMC Chevette, and South Koreans saw it as the Daewoo Maepsy. It’s also remembered as the car that helped save General Motors’ British-based Vauxhall division. Commercial vehicle arm Bedford turned the Chevette wagon into a panel van aptly named Chevanne.

The Chevette, like most of its rivals around the world, was mass-produced and later mass-destroyed.

Buick Grand National (1982)

In 1982, Buick turned the Regal into the limited-edition Grand National to celebrate its victorious run in the eponymous NASCAR series. Most of the 215-strong production run came with a naturally-aspirated 4.1-liter V6 that made a lackadaisical 125hp. It was a dud, albeit a historically interesting one.

The story doesn’t end there. Buick brought back the Grand National nameplate in 1984 on a much more credible performance car loosely designed as a NASCAR racer for the road. Offered only in black, it came with a turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 tuned to 200hp. Power went up to 235hp in 1986 and reached 245hp the following year.

The 276hp Grand National Experimental (GNX) arrived in 1987 as the model’s swansong.

Chevrolet C/K (1987)

The fourth-generation Chevrolet C/K represented a significant leap forward in terms of design and comfort. It offered more versatility than its predecessor thanks in part to an available extra-cab body style that cleared up space for six passengers on a pair of bench seats.

Millions of Chevrolet- and GMC-badged C/Ks meandered across America during the 1990s. They found work as farm trucks, daily drivers, fire trucks, tow trucks, moving vans and even police vehicles. The truck’s basic architecture later underpinned a full family of SUVs whose members included Chevrolet’s Tahoe and Suburban, their GMC counterparts and the original Cadillac Escalade.

Saturn S-Series (1990)

Much to its displeasure, General Motors lost a not-insignificant percentage of its market share to Japanese rivals like Toyota and Honda during the 1970s and 1980s. It launched the Saturn brand to fight back. The $3.5 billion investment rode on executives’ firm belief that Americans would happily buy a domestic car if it was built as well as a Japanese import.

Saturn introduced a line-up of four cars in October 1990. The catalog included a coupe named SC and a sedan offered in three variants called SL, SL1 and SL2, respectively. They represent an intrepid and surprisingly well-thought-out attempt at fending off the competition.

Unfortunately, the Saturn story ended in shambolic failure. It shut down in 2010 after losing its core focus and writing yet another chapter in the thick encyclopedia of badge-engineering.

GMC Typhoon (1991)

GMC beat Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and BMW to the high-performance SUV segment when it turned the truck-derived Jimmy into the Typhoon. Offered only as a two-door model, the Typhoon received a turbocharged 4.3-liter V6 that channeled its 280hp output to the four wheels through an automatic transmission. Period road testers went berserk; GMC had built an SUV capable of out-sprinting a Ferrari 348ts.

GMC later dropped the Typhoon's turbo six in the Sonoma (the truck version of the Jimmy) to create the Syclone. It built about 3000 examples of the Syclone and roughly 4700 of the Typhoon.

General Motors EV1 (1997)

General Motors brought the electric car back to the stage in 1997 with the experimental EV1, a highly-aerodynamic coupe that looked like a cross between a Saturn and a spaceship. It’s the only General Motors-branded car in the company’s history.

Eligible motorists could lease the EV1 in a small handful of American cities. The terms of the contract clearly explained lessees were participating in a real-world engineering evaluation and added they might need to return the car at any moment. That’s exactly what happened. Citing low demand and rising costs, General Motors made the controversial decision to buy back the 1117 EV1s it built and crushed a majority of them.

Pontiac G8 GXP (2008)

Holden helped sister company Pontiac get back into shape. After turning the third-generation Monaro into a 21st century GTO, it transformed the Commodore into a rear-wheel drive, V8-powered sports sedan named G8. The range-topping GXP variant cranked the performance dial up with a 415hp V8 also found in the Camaro and the Corvette. General Motors had created America’s long-awaited answer to the BMW M5.

Regrettably, the G8 GXP arrived mere months before General Motors filed for bankruptcy. 2009 was its first, last, and only model year on the American market. Pontiac sold fewer than 2000 units and shut down in January 2010. Had it lived, it planned to release wagon and pickup variants of the G8.

Chevrolet Volt (2010)

On the surface, the first-generation Chevrolet Volt looked like just another hybrid car. Its shape led some to call it a Prius knock-off. It was more than that: it showed the new face of General Motors after it received a highly-publicized government bailout that forced it to sell or shutter half of its North American divisions. The Volt's gasoline-electric powertrain announced the company that once thrived by making trucks and SUVs cared about fuel efficiency and took market trends seriously.

Cadillac ATS-V (2016)

With the ATS-V, Cadillac launched a full-on offensive into a territory historically governed by the Germans. It’s a credible one, too. The coupe and sedan variants of the brand’s smallest performance car are both refreshingly analog to drive, while a turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 with 454hp on tap makes them tantalizingly quick. 

What's next?

GM sold its perenially loss-making European arm Vauxhall-Opel to France's PSA in 2017. GM stresses it won’t follow the path blazed by rival Ford and ditch most of its passenger cars in North America, though industry rumors tell a different story. Insiders suggest the Sonic, the Impala and the Volt face an uncertain future as buyers flock to SUVs without looking back. What’s certain is the company envisions a zero-emissions future in which many of its cars drive themselves.

"General Motors believes the future is all-electric. We are far along in our plan to lead the way to that future world,” Mark Reuss, the company’s head of product, affirmed late last year.

He added the company is setting aside a substantial amount of money to launch 20 electric cars by 2023. It’s also relentlessly testing self-driving technology in several American cities as it aims to deliver a driver-less car without pedals or a steering wheel by 2019.