On this day in 1962, General Motors - the world’s biggest automaker - produced it’s 75 millionth vehicle, a Pontiac Bonnerville convertible.
Founded in Michigan by Buick owner William C. Durant in 1908 as a holding company, GM soon acquired a number of brands including Cadillac and Chevrolet and had already overtaken Ford as the world’s biggest automaker by the early 1930’s.
Having passed the 25 million production landmark in 1940, it was producing 51 percent of all cars made in the US by the time it reached its 75 million milestone in 1962 and only took another five years before becoming the first manufacturer to reach a 100 million zenith.
GM held the title of the world’s biggest automaker all the way up until 2008, the year before it suffered the ignominy of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009.