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
James Roche (General Motors) inductee to the Automotive Hall of Fame. Ten colleges and universities awarded him honorary degrees. "Time" magazine called "Roche is a folksy sort who never shows his temper and whose greatest failing, according to companions and competitors alike, is that 'he may be too much of a gentleman.' " James Roche (General Motors) James Michael Roche (December 16, 1906 – June 6, 2004) was an American statistician who served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of the Board at General Motors Corporation. He is credited for promoting racial equality within General Motors (GM). Roche was born in Elgin,