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Buick
Buick is currently the oldest American automobile manufacturer, and among the oldest automobile brands in the world. It originated as the
Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company in 1899, an independent internal combustion engine and motor-car manufacturer, and was later incorporated as the Buick Motor Company on May 19,
1903, by Scottish born David Dunbar Buick in Detroit, Michigan. Later that year, the struggling company was taken over by James H. Whiting (1842–1919) , who moved it to his
hometown of Flint, Michigan, and brought in William C. Durant in 1904 to manage his new acquisition. Buick sold his stock for a small sum upon departure, and died in modest
circumstances twenty-five years later.
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With safety being an important aspect in the new-car buying decision, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has created tougher
standards for its coveted Top Safety Pick and the all-new 2011 Buick Regal is the latest car to be chosen for this list. For General Motors, the Regal now marks the seventh vehicle
named to this esteemed safety list and it is joined by the 2010 Buick LaCrosse. The new Buick Regal went on sale this summer and this latest news should only help continue the
positive momentum for Buick’s newest model.
When the IIHS implemented its new roof-strength test, the goal was to improve automobile safety, making the Top Safety Pick title more
challenging to earn. To achieve a Top Safety Pick, the vehicle must achieve “Good” ratings for frontal, side, rear and rollover protection, as well as be available with electronic
stability control. Of Buick’s other two models, the Buick Enclave has to yet to endure the new roof-strength test while the aging Buick Lucerne only managed a "Good" rating for
frontal-impact protection. In addition to its Top Safety Pick status, the Buick Regal also comes standard with six airbags, StabiliTrak (stability and traction control), four-wheel
anti-lock disc brakes and GM’s OnStar system.
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GMC
On December 22, 1901, Max Grabowsky established a company called the "Rapid Motor Vehicle Company", which developed some of the earliest
commercial trucks ever designed. The trucks utilized one-cylinder engines. In 1909, the company was purchased by General Motors to form the basis for the General Motors Truck
Company, from which GMC Truck was derived.
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Another independent manufacturer purchased by GM that same year was Reliance Motor Car Company. Rapid & Reliance were merged in 1911, and in
1912 the marquee "GMC Truck" was first shown at the New York International Auto Show. Some 22,000 trucks were produced that year, though GMC's contribution to that total was a mere
372 units.
In 1916, a GMC Truck crossed the country from Seattle to New York City in thirty days, and in 1926, a 2-ton GMC truck was driven from New York
to San Francisco in 5 days and 30 minutes. During the Second World War, GMC Truck produced 600,000 trucks for use by the U.S. military.
In 1925, GM purchased the controlling interest in Yellow Coach, a bus manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois which was founded by John D.
Hertz. After purchasing the remaining portion in 1943, GM renamed it GM Truck and Coach Division, and it manufactured transit and inter-urban buses in Canada and the United States
until the 1980s. GM faced increased competition in the late 1970s and 1980s and stopped producing buses soon after. In 1987, GMC later sold their bus models to Transportation
Manufacturing Corporation (also under Motor Coach Industries in Canada) and later NovaBus.
General Motors makes a full line of pickups under the GMC brand. Its vehicles come with an assortment of options
and packages to suit just about any buyer. Whether you need a new truck for your job or just feel good driving one, buying a new GM truck doesn't have to be difficult. You'll find
a GM Pickup Truck that meets your needs
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Ford
The Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was
founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in
the UK. Ford's former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover were sold to Tata Motors of India in March 2008. In 2010 Ford sold Volvo to Geely Automobile.
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Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately
engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. Henry Ford's methods came to be known around the world as Fordism by 1914.
Ford is currently the second largest automaker in the U.S. and the fourth-largest in the world based on number of vehicles sold annually,
directly behind Volkswagen Group. In 2007, Ford fell from second to third in US annual vehicle sales for the first time in 56 years, behind only General Motors and Toyota. However,
Ford occasionally outsells Toyota in shorter periods (most recently, during the summer months of 2009). By the end of 2009, Ford was the third largest automaker in Europe (behind
Volkswagen and PSA Peugeot Citroën). Ford is the seventh-ranked overall American-based company in the 2008 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2008 of $146.3 billion. In
2008, Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles and employed about 213,000 employees at around 90 plants and facilities worldwide. Ford ended 2009 with a net profit of $2.7 billion.
Starting in 2007, Ford received more initial quality survey awards from J. D. Power and Associates than any other automaker. Five of Ford's
vehicles ranked at the top of their categories and fourteen vehicles ranked in the top three.
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six
continents. With about 159,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln and Mercury.
The production of Mercury will end in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Chrysler is the flagship brand of Chrysler Group LLC, named after founder Walter P. Chrysler. Chrysler offers a line of upscale and luxury
vehicles which compete with General Motors Buick line and Ford Motor Company's Mercury line, as well as other international and domestic brands. After the closing of Plymouth brand
in 2001, Chrysler began competing at the lower end of the American market as well.
Following Fiat's acquisition of a 20% stake in Chrysler LLC, Fiat stated in October 2009 that future plans for Chrysler brand vehicles include
closer cooperation and shared development between Chrysler and Lancia, an upscale Italian automaker within the Fiat Group. The relationship will be similar to that of Vauxhall
Motors and Opel, where Vauxhall mostly sells rebadged Opels in the UK while Opel is prevalent elsewhere except North America where Opels sell under the Buick name instead as seen
in the 5th generation Regal.
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Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marquee (and registered trademark) of Chrysler. It is the oldest off-road vehicle (also sport utility vehicle – SUV)
brand. It inspired a number of other military Light Utility Vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second oldest 4-wheel-drive brand. The original Jeep vehicle that first
appeared as the prototype Bantam BRC became the primary light 4-wheel-drive vehicle of the United States Army and Allies during World War II, as well as the postwar period. Many
Jeep variants serving similar military and civilian roles have since been created in other nations.
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in
more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide.
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Founded as the Dodge Brothers Company in 1900 to supply parts and assemblies for Detroit's growing auto industry, Dodge began making its own
complete vehicles in 1914. The brand was sold to Chrysler Corporation in 1928, passed through the short-lived DaimlerChrysler merger of 1998–2007 as part of the Chrysler Group, was
a part of Chrysler LLC owned by Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity investment firm, and is now a part of the Chrysler Group LLC which has an alliance with Fiat. Fiat has
plans to evolve many Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep existing platforms and products into Fiat-Chrysler co-developed vehicles.
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