This Is Every Car Brand Killed By GM

General Motors has been around for a long time — 117 years, in fact, as of the date of this writing in 2025. It was founded as a holding company by William C. Durant in September of 1908, and the first thing it did was purchase the Buick Motor Company. Over the intervening century and change, 43 different auto companies have operated under The General's banner, running the gamut from famous marques like Cadillac, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile to companies like Oakland, LaSalle, Sheridan, and McLaughlin that only big car nerds like me remember.

Today, we're going to take a little walk through history and check out all the car companies that General Motors has shuttered over the years. In an attempt to keep the list manageable, we're just going to focus on brands originating in North America. This is why, for instance, you won't find Daewoo or Saab in the article.

In addition, sharp-eyed car nerds may notice a few marques — Little, Mason, Passport, and Winton — aren't included here. These were omitted for various reasons, mostly because they didn't fit our criteria. Passport, for example, was primarily a chain of GM-owned car dealerships that sold Isuzus and Saabs (and a badgineered, Daewoo-built version of the Opel Kadett E branded as a Passport.)

The other three are Brass-era car companies that were either snatched up by GM after they declared bankruptcy on their own (Winton and Mason/Maytag), or were so short-lived (Little) that they're essentially a footnote to larger marques.

Acadian was created by GM as an end run around mid-1960s Canadian laws regarding what American cars could be sold in the Great White North. It produced "compact" cars for Canadian Pontiac-Buick dealers as Pontiac's Tempest wasn't available in the country. The company had a killer logo vaguely reminiscent of Pontiac's — a vertical rectangle, blue at the top and white at the bottom, with a large red letter A on the blue field and three red Canadian maple leaves on the white field. Eventually, it would produce a handful of different models based around the Chevy II/Nova and Chevelle until the company was axed in 1971.

Asüna was Canada's Geo (remember Geo?) analog in the early '90s. The brand sold three different rebadged Korean and Japanese cars for the Canadian domestic market: the Sunfire (Isuzu Impulse), Sunrunner (Suzuki Escudo), and SE/GT (Daewoo LeMans). Company sales couldn't keep up with Geo, and GM killed it in 1994. The General dropped the SE/GT from its lineup but kept selling the Sunfire and Sunrunner as a Pontiac — the Sunfire replaced the Sunbird.

Beaumont grew out of Acadian as a way to sell mid-sized Chevys in Canada. From 1962 to 1965, Beaumont was the top (or the top two in some cases) trim levels of the Acadian line. Starting in '66, however, Beaumont was made its own marque to be sold in Canadian Pontiac-Buick dealers. The cars it sold were, essentially, Chevelles with Pontiac interiors and some bespoke sheet metal around the corners. Of note is the super rare Sport Deluxe model, a hi-po muscle car based on the Chevelle SS. Beaumont was killed off in 1969, and Chevy sold the Chevelle and Pontiac LeMans under their own names from 1970 on.

Cartercar was founded in Jackson, Michigan, between 1903 and 1905 by Byron J. Carter. One of a million small car companies that popped up in Michigan during the early part of the 20th century, Cartercar was mostly known for its unique friction drive, a sort of proto-CVT transmission. Billy Durant bought Cartercar in 1909 based solely on vibes — he really liked the friction drive — but the marque was largely a flop and GM killed it in 1915. The factory was subsequently used to produce Oaklands. 

Durant, always defensive and prickly, had this to say about his purchase of Cartercar: "They say I shouldn't have bought Cartercar. Well, how was anyone to know that Carter wasn't to be the thing? It had the friction drive and no other car had it. How could I tell what these engineers would say next?"

Elmore was founded as a bicycle manufacturer in Elmore, Ohio, by Harmon Von Vechten Becker with his sons James and Burton. Becker moved the company to nearby Clyde, Ohio and started fooling around with two-stroke engines. The company's first car, powered by a two-stroke single, was produced in 1900. Elmore went on to produce a number of cars, all powered by two-stroke engines. Billy Durant brought Elmore under the GM umbrella in 1908 because he liked the look of Elmore's two-stroke triple. Elmore didn't sell many cars, and when Durant was kicked out of GM in 1910, GM's board axed Elmore along with a bunch of other underperforming marques.

Envoy was yet another attempt by GM to sell small cars from some of its other marques in Canada. This time, it was Vauxhall cars and Bedford trucks and vans. Like the rest of GM's captive import divisions, Envoy was shuttered in 1970 when it started importing Vauxhalls simply as Vauxhalls without all the badgineering rigamarole.

Oops, all Vauxhalls! Epic was an incredibly short-lived GM Canada division that sold Vauxhall Viva HAs and HBs. The HA was brought over in 1964 and sold as both as a Vauxhall and as an Epic. As the Epic HA it was essentially just a Viva SA with the grille and taillights from the Viva SL. It was badged both as an Envoy and an Epic. The Epic HB, based on the Vauxhall Viva HB, launched in '67 and, like the HA, was sold both as a Vauxhall and as an Epic. It was offered in two-door sedan, four-door sedan, and estate wagon models, and the Canadian market cars featured four headlights, bespoke trim, and different body side moldings than their purely British cousins.

Epic was axed, along with Envoy, in 1970 when GM just started selling Vauxhall badged Vauxhalls in Canada. They came with slightly different taillights from their British compatriots and a reputation for rusting. Not exactly what you want in Canada.  

Ewing was founded initially as the Cleveland Auto Cab Company in Geneva, Ohio in 1908. As the name suggests, the company made taxis. At some point, the company was renamed Ewing after an investor who took the business over, and the company was purchased by GM in 1909. It was shuttered in 1911 in the aftermath of Durant's firing, along with the rest of the under performers he had brought under the company's banner.

There's so little information available about Ewing that it's virtually nonexistent. If you know anything about Ewing, or if you own a Ewing, please let us know!

Geo! Remember Geo? If you're a car nerd of A Certain Age you probably do. Geo was a partnership between GM (specifically Chevy) and a handful of Japanese car manufacturers to sell subcompact and compact cars and SUVs here in The States. They were both imported and produced here in partnership with Toyota, Suzuki, and Isuzu, and had fun names like Storm (Isuzu Impulse), Tracker (Suzuki Sidekick), and the Prizm (various Toyotas). Probably the most famous Geo was the tiny, Kei-like Metro based on the Suzuki Swift.

GM decided to merge Geo fully into Chevy in 1997, and its lineup soldiered on under Chevy's eye until the mid-aughts.

Hummer started out life in 1992 when defense contractor AM General introduced a civilianized version of its M998 HMMWV Humvee to the general populace. These OG civilian Hummer HMCs, as they were called, were big, loud, uncomfortable, and eye-watering expensive.

That didn't stop certain demographics of guys from buying them up for urban combat cosplay and mall raiding uses. In late 1999, General Motors bought the rights to market and distribute the HMC from AM General, and a few years later introduced a whole line including the H1 (a renamed HMC), the H2, and the H3.The controversial, ostentatious Hummer line soldiered on throughout the aughts, but it couldn't survive the 2008 economic downturn and GM's government bailout. Strangely enough, while beloved marques like Pontiac and Saturn were simply thrown into the dustbin of automotive history, GM tried to sell Hummer to various outside players but all those plans fell through and the marque was finally shuttered in 2010.

This wasn't the end of Hummer, however. GM brought the name back as a model name for its massive new EV pickup and SUV under the GMC brand in 2022.

LaSalle was one of four marques — LaSalle, Marquette, Viking, and Pontiac — developed by GM chairman Alfred P. Sloan to fill perceived gaps in GM's lineup. Built by Cadillac, they were designed as smaller, less-expensive, but still just as prestigious luxury cars, sort of a gateway to Caddys, as it were. These pocket Cadillacs were produced for 13 years and featured various levels of Cadillac DNA. LaSalle was eventually shuttered on the eve of America's entrance into WWII because GM couldn't justify having another luxury brand between Cadillac and Buick. 

Marquette lived two lives under GM: one was another short-lived Billy Durant boondoggle from the early years of GM's existence and the other an Alfred P. Sloan project in the '20s. The early Durant Marquettes were rebadged Rainiers, powerful luxury cars originally built by the Rainier Motor Car Company, which Durant bought in 1909. When Durant was canned in 1910, GM struggled to make Marquette profitable with some new models, but it didn't stick and the marque was shelved in 1912.

Nearly 20 years later, Sloan revived the nameplate as the junior brand of Buick. Much like LaSalle was to Cadillac, Marquettes were designed as, essentially, baby Buicks and were famous for their trademark herringbone grille. Also like LaSalle, this arrangement didn't last because all of Sloan's marques, save for Pontiac, turned out to be drains on their parent divisions. Sloan's Marquette lasted a single year. It was discontinued in 1930 and replaced by the Buick Special.

The McLaughlin Motor Car Company was founded in Oshwa, Canada, in 1907 by McLaughlin Carriage Company scion Samuel McLaughlin. The company immediately hammered out a long-term deal with General Motors wherein McLaughlin would buy Buick drivetrains, put its own body on them, and sell them in Canada as McLaughlins. This deal survived Durant's exit from GM in 1910, and the McLaughlins backed Durant and Louis Chevrolet's new car company Chevrolet. 

After Durant wormed his way back into GM in 1916, he and McLaughlin worked closely together and eventually, in 1918, merged McLaughlin and Chevrolet of Canada into General Motors of Canada with Sam McLaughlin as its head. McLaughlins were produced for more than 20 years, badged as both McLaughlin and Buick-McLaughlin. The McLaughlin name was finally dropped in 1942, but the company is still well respected in Canadian gearhead circles.

The Oakland Motor Car Company was founded by Pontiac Buggy Company owner Edward Murphy and former Cadillac man Alanson Brush in 1907. After just one year on the market, Oakland was purchased by Billy Durant for General Motors in 1909. Slotted just above Chevy in GM's hierarchy, Oakland produced handsome, affordable cars for The General for decades.

In the late '20s, as part of Sloan's companion make project, Oakland was given a secondary marque like Cadillac, Olds, and Buick — the newly formed Pontiac. It didn't take long for Pontiac to start outselling Oakland, and by 1929 Pontiac was selling more than 150,000 more Pontiacs than Oaklands. GM killed Oakland off in 1931 in favor of Pontiac, and Oakland was the only one of GM's marques to be outlived by its junior partner.

Oldsmobile is (and should be) a long and detailed subject on its own. Founded by Ransom Olds in 1897 as the Olds Motor Vehicle Company, the company built the first mass-produced automobile — the Oldsmobile Model R Curved Dash — in 1902. General Motors purchased the company in 1908, and Oldsmobile continued producing cars until 2004.

Throughout its more than a century of operation, Oldsmobile pioneered countless automotive first — first car company to use chrome trim, first high-compression, OHV V8, first mass-produced FWD American car, etc. The company struggled to find its footing in the 80s, but came back swinging in the 1990s. Unfortunately, despite new products and constant innovation, Olds sales continued to decline and the company was finally put out to pasture in 2004. The last Oldsmobile built was a 2004 Alero GLS.

Pontiac was another of Alfred P. Sloan's "companion make" marques, and The General's most successful. Founded officially in 1926, Pontiac was supposed to be a cheaper Oakland but Pontiacs soon started outselling the more expensive Oaklands, so Oakland was given the axe in 1931 in favor of Pontiac.

Pontiac produced some of the most iconic American cars in its time — the Trans Am, the GTO, the Bonneville, the Fiero, etc. — and continued to build excitement until it was shuttered by GM in the leadup to The General's bankruptcy bailout in 2010.

Founded by John T. Rainier in 1905 in Flushing, Queens, NY, Rainier was known for building fast, stout, reliable, and most importantly big luxury cars. Rainier got this reputation by competing in, and winning, local hill climbs and mountain races. The racing driver Joan Cuneo campaigned numerous Rainiers throughout her career.

Rainier was hit hard by the Panic of 1907, and Billy Durant bought the company for General Motors in 1909. The company operated under GM's banner until 1911, when it was combined with Marquette and Welch-Detroit. It finally went under in 1912, and fell largely out of memory.

The Rapid Motor Vehicle Company was a very early, Brass Age producer of trucks and commercial vehicles. Founded in Pontiac, MI, in 1902 by the Grabowsky Brothers, it was formed out of the ashes of the brothers' previous attempt at making cars, the Grabowsky Motor Vehicle Company. The company built one-ton trucks and multi-passenger "Pullman Vehicles", essentially open air buses.

Billy Durant bought Rapid for General Motors in 1908, and in 1911 it was combined with another truck company, the Reliance Motor Car Company, into a new truck producing marque called the General Motors Truck Company. GM Truck would eventually become the legendary GMC, which is still producing trucks as of this writing in March of 2025.

Reliance started out life as the Reliance Automobile Manufacturing Company in 1903. Founded in Detroit by E.O. Abbot and W.K. Ackerman, formerly of Cadillac, it produced one car — a side-entrance tonneau powered by a water-cooled, 3.2-liter twin with a geared transmission and a shaft final drive. The company was reorganized in 1904 as the Reliance Motor Car Company, and Fred O. Paige came on to lead pretty shortly thereafter. Reliance switched from car production to truck production in 1907 and was purchased by General Motors in 1909. GM rolled Reliance and Rapid up in a ball, formed GMC, and has built trucks under that marque ever since.

Saturn was "a different kind of car company" developed by GM in the early 80s as Project Saturn to compete directly with Japanese imports. With its "no haggle" dealerships, plastic-bodied cars, and whimsical "homecomings," Saturn felt like a breath of fresh air when it was launched. Sure, the cars weren't going to set anyone's hair on fire, but they were solid, affordable, and reliable transportation. I've owned two over the years — an extremely base model '96 SL in black gold metallic and an absolutely loaded 2002 SL200. I miss them both dearly.

Unfortunately, Saturn succumbed to GM-ification pretty quickly. The company's independence was chipped away at little by little starting in the early 'aughts, and eventually the cars were just badgineered foreign market cars like Opels. Saturn was shuttered in 2009 and fully defunct by 2010 due to GM's government bailout and reorganization.

James Scripps Booth — artist, engineer, and Scripps Publishing family heir — founded the Scripps-Booth Company in Detroit in 1913 to sell luxury cars to well-heeled Detroiters. He started off with cyclecars, but quickly moved into producing actual automobiles. The first true Scripps-Booth car was the 1915 Model C designed by William B. Stout, a car described as "light and luxurious". 

GM added Scripps-Booth to its portfolio in 1917, where they became, essentially, badgineered Oaklands powered by Northway engines. Alfred P. Sloan killed Scripps-Booth (the cars, not the man, obviously) in 1922 and retooled the factory to build Buicks.

Up until 1919, General Motors was content with buying other companies and having them build cars instead of building its own. That changed in 1920 when Sheridan was formed. The first brand created by GM from scratch, Sheridan was the brainchild of Billy Durant. Built in Muncie, Indiana, and hawked by Eddie Rickenbacker, two Sheridan models were built — one to slot in between Chevy and Oakland powered by a four-cylinder engine and one to slot between Buick and Cadillac powered by an eight. 

Unfortunately for both Durant and Sheridan, Durant was sacked in 1920 just as production started. Alfred P. Sloan, uninterested in dealing with Durant's expensive pet project, pulled the plug on Sheridan in 1921.

Another of Alfred P. Sloane's companion make marques, Viking was Oldsmobile's partner and was designed to slot in between Olds and Buick. More expensive than Olds, Vikings were powered by a modern 90-degree, 260 cubic-inch V8 that put down around 81 horsepower. They were available in numerous body styles including convertible coupe, four-door sedan, and a close-coupled four-door and featured both standard and deluxe trims.

Viking got the axe in 1930 along with Marquette so GM could focus its efforts (and money) on Olds and Buick. A handful of Vikings were assembled out of existing parts after the factory was retooled, and these cars were marketed as 1931 models.

Welch — AKA the Welch Motor Car Company, AKA Welch-Detroit — was formed in Chelsea, Michigan, in 1901 by A.R. and Fred Welch. Initially called the Chelsea Manufacturing Company, the Welch Boys' new company shipped its first production car in 1903 to an exhibition in Chicago. Over the next decade, Welch moved from Chelsea to Pontiac, Michigan, to Detroit, changed its name a few times, and built a reputation for luxurious, reliable, and innovative vehicles.

Billy Durant, in the midst of his manic car company buying episode, purchased the company in 1910 because he wanted Welch's patents and innovations for GM. Durant changed the company's name one last time to The Welch Company of Detroit, and by 1911 the company had been stripped for parts and abandoned.

John Daniel Hertz — yes, that John Daniel Hertz — established the Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company in 1920 to make cars for his Yellow Cab Company. Three years later, in 1923, he formed a subsidiary called Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company to make buses. GM snatched up both companies in 1925, and The General continued making cabs and buses under both marques until the 40s.