On September 16, 1908, one of America’s best known companies was born. That was the day that Billy Durant founded General Motors. When the local gossips heard what he had done, some were shocked because Durant actually made his first fortune betting against cars: he was the largest maker of carriages in the U. S. The recent UAW strike against GM has been hard on all parties, but both labor and management have good reason to come together and celebrate the man who started it all, ninety years ago this month.
Most carriage makers avoided the auto, but not Billy Durant. He was one of the most remarkable entrepreneurs Michigan has ever produced. Friends said Durant could sell sand to the Arabs and then sell them sieves to sift it. Walter Chrysler once said of Durant, "He could coax a bird right down out of a tree."
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