US Automotive Industry and Big Three

The United States has a proud automobile culture, but surprisingly, few people know much about the history of automobiles in this country. This history lesson focuses on the “industry” of the car, not the history of the car itself.

When everything started

The American automobile industry began in the 1890s and, thanks to the use of mass production and the size of the domestic market, rapidly developed into the world’s largest automobile industry (although this title is acquired from the United States by Japan) 1980. From Japan in the 1890s, and by China in 2008).

The US automobile industry actually started with hundreds of manufacturers, but by the end of the 1920s, three companies had set themselves apart from the others.

1. General Motors
2. Ford
3. Chrysler

Big three

After the Great Depression and World War II, these three companies continued to prosper. Henry Ford began manufacturing automobiles in 1896 and founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903. Ford took advantage of the first conveyor belt-based assembly line in 1913 to improve mass production of the Model T. The assembly line has significantly reduced costs and the Model T has been sold.Well enough that it promoted Ford to become the largest car company in the United States

General Motors was founded in 1908 by William Durant (formerly a carriage maker) n. In the first few years, GM acquired Buick, Oldsmobile, Auckland (which later became Pontiac), Cadillac, and many other car companies. Durant also wanted to buy Ford, but Henry Ford chose to keep his company independent. Durant became a little “satisfied with the acquisition”, overgrown the company and was kicked out by a group of banks in control of the company. Durant then partnered with Louis Chevrolet to establish Chevrolet in 1913. This was an immediate success. Durant regained control of GM’s majority after acquiring enough shares, and GM acquired Chevrolet in 1917. But this didn’t last long. Durant was kicked out again in 1921. In the late 1920s, GM overtook Ford as the largest car maker.

Former Buick president and former GM executive Walter Chrysler dominated Maxwell in 1920, refurbished it and reorganized it into Chrysler Corporation in 1925. Chrysler acquired Dodge Brothers in 1927 and introduced DeSoto in 1928. The Plymouth brand was born thanks to the dealer network and manufacturing facilities associated with the acquisition of Dodge. By the 1930s, Chrysler had overtaken Ford to become the second largest car maker.

Since the 1950s

By 1950, the United States produced almost 75 percent of all cars in the world. However, in the early 1970s, US car companies (especially the Big Three) were severely affected by intensifying competition with foreign car makers and rising oil prices. The company then recovered from time to time, but the crisis culminated in 2008, when Chrysler and General Motors filed for bankruptcy restructuring and were bailed out by the federal government. Ford was also affected by the crisis, but decided to do his best and did not pay bail. As a result, we really have a lot of respect for Ford. They didn’t take the easy way.

In 2014, 16.98 million vehicles saw the largest (seasonally adjusted annual) sales ever.