History of General Motors Departure (bearings); Delco Electronics and ACDelco (electrical and electronic components); GMAC (finance); General Aviation and North American Aviation (airplanes); GM Defense (military vehicles) and Electronic Data Systems (information technology). General Motors was capitalized by William C. Durant on September 16, 1908 as a holding company. The next day it purchased Buick Motor Company, and rapidly acquired more than twenty companies including Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Oakland, now known as Pontiac, and McLaughlin of Canada. Dr. Campbell, Durant's son-in-law, put 1,000,000 shares on the stock market in Chicago Buick (then controlled by Durant). Durant's earlier company, the Durant-Dort Carriage Company, had been in
General Motors business in more than 140 countries. General Motors is divided into four business segments: "GM North America" (GMNA), "GM South America" (GMSA), "GM International Operations" (GMIO), and "GM Financial". The company also operates a mobility division called Maven, which operates car-sharing services in the United States, and is studying alternatives to individual vehicle ownership. GM Defense is General Motors' military defense division, catering for the needs of the military for advanced technology and propulsion systems for military vehicles. General Motors led global vehicle sales for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007, longer than any other automaker, and in 2012