General Motors

General Motors

Basic information
Founded	1908
Legal Structure	Public
Industry	Automotive
Also known as
Official website	https://gm.com/ https://cadillac.com https://www.chevrolet.com/ https://www.gmc.com/

General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational, automotive-manufacturing company founded in 1908. It owns many car brands, such as Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac, alongside other companies like OnStar and other GM subsidiaries for parts, financial administration, and insurance.^[1]

In 2023, GM decided to abandon Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in its future electric vehicles, initially explained to the public as a "safety concern". When questioned later, GM Infotainment Business Strategy and Planning Manager, Ryan Buffa, said that: “The primary reason is that we’re looking to create a comfort level around the [electric-vehicle] charging experience. With Android Auto or Apple CarPlay environments, the vehicle energy model or road segment data is sending energy usage and everything else associated with it to the phone, and it’s pretty difficult to off-board it from the phone.”^[2]

Main article: General Motors data collection and sharing controversy

GM has been accused of collecting and selling consumers' driving data without their knowledge or consent, resulting in increased insurance rates for consumers.^[3]

In July 2024, Senators Ron Wyden and Ed Markey urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate GM and other automakers, alleging that GM sold consumers' data to third party Verisk Analytics, who then resold the data to insurance companies.^[4] On January 16, 2025, the FTC banned GM from sharing driving data with consumer reporting agencies for five years, as part of a settlement to these claims.^[5]

GM has repeatedly opted for cost-cutting measures over durable fixes:

• A 2025 recall addressed rear wheel lock-up caused by faulty valve bodies but only implemented a software patch instead of replacing the defective parts. Dealers were barred from ordering replacements, leaving customers stranded without loaners while still making payments

GM’s misconduct spans decades:

• Ignition switch cover-up (2004–2014): Executives concealed defects, leading to criminal charges and a Supreme Court ruling against shielding liability through bankruptcy.”^[6]
• Misleading consumers:
  • In 1977, demand for Oldsmobile's incarnation of GM's 350-cubic-inch V8 engine apparently outpaced the factory's production capacity, so as a workaround, some Olds Delta 88 models had a Chevrolet 350 engine put in them instead. This led to a public relations nightmare for GM when customers, who apparently weren't informed of the engine switch-up, attempted to perform maintenance on their cars and discovered too late that they did not have the Rocket 88 engine, as the parts they purchased for their Oldsmobile engine did not fit the Chevy engine.^[7][8] In response, for the rest of the decade as well as most of the 1980's, all of GM's divisions would feature a disclaimer about how their cars "are equipped with engines produced by various GM divisions." GM eventually phased out division-specific engines altogether.
  • Drivers were enrolled in data-collection programs through confusing opt-in processes, with many unaware their behavior was being monitored and sold. "^[9] "^[10]