Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler are all car manufacturers that were headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, giving the city its popular nickname, "Motor City." For decades, the Big Three ruled the American auto industry, employed thousands of workers, and created vehicles people dreamed about. Prior to the organization of the Big Three, there were hundreds of independent companies producing automobiles to order. Once these manufacturers started mass-producing cars, customers were able to choose from an inventory of vehicles.
Although many believe that Henry Ford created the first gasoline-powered vehicle, it was actually Ransom E. Olds who received the patent in 1886. Olds founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company in 1897, which became Olds Motor Works in 1899 when that company also moved to Detroit. After two failed attempts, Henry Ford launched the Ford Motor Company in 1903, producing its first car within a month. In that same year, William Durant founded General Motors. Chrysler was born in 1925 when the company Maxwell-Chalmers was purchased by Walter Chrysler. In 1928, Chrysler purchased the Dodge Brothers Company, making it the third-largest automobile producer in America. By 1929, the Big Three accounted for 75% of automobiles sold in the US.
Through the years, the Big Three have had to make many changes in order to adapt to the demands of the industry, including producing tanks, airplanes, and battle vehicles during wartime. Stiff competition from foreign competitors, poor management, production issues, rising costs, and scrambling to keep up with the rise in demand for electric vehicles are issues impacting these companies today.
Ford
Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903. First came the Model N, a four-cylinder two-seater including a drive shaft. When the Model T was introduced in 1908, it cost $850, but Ford was determined to make vehicle ownership more affordable. In order to lower the price, Ford realized that he would need to produce his vehicles more efficiently.
Building upon the continuous-flow methods of the time, Ford broke down the assembly of the Model T into 84 distinct steps, built machines that could rapidly produce parts, began utilizing conveyor-belt-style production, and trained workers on one specific task within the process. Thus, the first assembly line was born. The use of this method reduced the time to produce one car from over 12 hours to just 90 minutes. The assembly line, coupled with Ford raising its employee wages to $5 per day, revolutionized the industry. Other companies began to introduce the assembly line in their own facilities and were forced to raise wages in order to stay competitive.
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Ford's use of the assembly line caused the price of the Model T to drop drastically from over $800 at its introduction in 1908 to $260 in 1925, making the car affordable to a large portion of the population. Ford purchased the Lincoln Motor Company in 1922 and continued to revolutionize its production methods. To date, Ford has produced over 350 million vehicles, with the top-ten-selling vehicles of all time being the F-Series, Escort, Model T, Fiesta, Focus, Mustang, Transit, Taurus, Explorer, and LTD.
General Motors
William Durant established General Motors, or GM, in 1908, acquiring both Buick and Oldsmobile at that time. By 1910, GM had purchased 30 companies, including Cadillac and Oldsmobile, in addition to several parts suppliers and electric companies. At that point, the board forced Durant to resign due to his excessive spending. However, Durant did not give up. He founded Chevrolet in collaboration with retired racer, Louis Chevrolet, in 1911. Durant, again, began purchasing a variety of companies, leading to near bankruptcy. The DuPont Company was able to save Chevrolet, but Durant was again forced out in 1920. Taken over by Chairman John F. Smith, a financial expert, GM continued to grow through the 1920s and beyond. At one point, GM was the world's largest automotive manufacturer, with 50% of the US market. Today, GM is still the number one automobile manufacturer in the country.
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GM owns Buick, Cadillac, GMC, and Chevrolet. Hummer is also considered a GMC sub-brand. GMC differs from GM in that GMC stands for General Motors Truck Company; this part of the company is responsible for the production of pickup trucks like the GMC Sierra and the Chevy Silverado. The most iconic models produced by GM include the Pontiac GTO, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Corvette, Cadillac Series 90 V-16, Oldsmobile Tornado, Pontiac Trans Am, Chevrolet Suburban, Cadillac Eldorado, Chevrolet Bel-Air, and the Cadillac CTS-V.
Stellantis (Formerly Chrysler)
Stellantis emerged as the result of a merger between Fiat Chrysler and the PSA Group in 2021, making Stellantis the operator of 14 different brands, including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat, and Maserati.
Chrysler got its start in 1925 when Walter Chrysler purchased the Maxwell-Chalmers Company, saving it from bankruptcy. Chrysler became known for its impressive performance and engineering in mid-priced cars. In 1928, Chrysler decided to separate its low-end cars into the Plymouth brand and its higher-end cars into the DeSoto brand; it also merged with Dodge that year to gain an edge in the truck industry. Chrysler eventually merged with American Motor Companies in 1987 to bring Jeep into their lineup and again with Daimler-Benz in 1998. Despite its best efforts, Chrysler remained third in the Big Three. After the financial collapse of 2008, Chrysler was forced to file for bankruptcy.
Popular Chrysler vehicles included the New Yorker, B-70, Imperial, Town and Country station wagon and minivan, 300, Newport, Windsor, and Saratoga.
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