For most of the second half of the 20th century, one automobile company dominated the global industry: General Motors. With its traditional brands -- Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac -- it held close to 60 percent of the American car market in 1960, when Detroit auto companies took 90 percent of sales in the United States. But by the 1970s, G.M. was buffeted by issues like fuel economy, labor unrest and the emergence of Japanese auto companies, among them Toyota, Honda and Nissan.
As G.M. recovered, it also faced a stiff challenge from its crosstown rival, the Ford Motor Company, whose financial strength after downturns in the early 1980s and 1990s cause some analysts to wonder whether Ford would one day unseat G.M. as the biggest American car company.
That did not happen. But while G.M. was fending off Ford, another automaker was looming ever closer in its rearview mirror: Toyota. In the first half of 2007, Toyota sold more cars than G.M. By the end of the year, G.M. had managed to regain its No. 1 position, but not by much. The difference, about 3,000 vehicles, was roughly the number of pickups that G.M. sold each day in the United States. Toyota is expected to take over the top spot by the end of 2008.
Tougher competition was only one of G.M.'s problems. In 2005, it stunned the auto world by losing $10.4 billion. It embarked on a reorganization plan that included plant closings and the elimination of 30,000 jobs. G.M. maintains that its turnaround program is showing results, but in the second quarter of 2008, it reported a loss of $15.5 billion (which followed a $3.3 billion first-quarter loss) and announced additional job cuts.
As the price of gasoline at the pump topped $4 a gallon, G.M. (and many of its rivals) was surprised by a dramatic shift toward smaller, more fuel-efficient cars and away from the pickups and sport utility vehicles that served as its mainstay. The company cut its fourth-quarter 2007 production by 10 percent, and by July 2008, overall United States sales have fallen 20 percent. G.M. announced plans to idle plants to address the shrinking demand for pickups and S.U.V.'s. At the same time, it was adding shifts to try to make enough small cars.
On Oct. 9, 2008, a dire new forecast for global vehicle sales battered the shares of auto companies, particularly General Motors, whose stock plunged more than 31 percent and was the hardest hit of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Oct. 10, 2008
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