Toyota Vs. GM

Toyota and General Motors rank among the largest automakers in the world today. Their long lists of models and brands are sold in numerous countries as both companies work toward new technological innovations that will define the future of driving.

GM History

General Motors was founded in 1908 in Detroit. Within a year of beginning operations it had acquired several brands including Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac. Since each of these brands already had its own model line, GM vehicles were numerous and diverse from the very beginning. In 1911, GM manager William Durant left to begin a new company, Chevrolet. By 1916 Chevy was also under GM control and General Motors became one of the three major American automakers, along with Ford and Chrysler.

Toyota History

Toyoda Motor Corporation was founded in 1933. It was originally a division of Japanese industrial giant Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, which had been named for its founder, Kiichiro Toyoda. In the 1930s the spelling of the name was changed to "Toyota" as the company produced its first car: a sedan known as the A1. In 1937 the Toyota Motor Co. became an independent company that produced several automobiles, including the A1 as well as a G1 pickup truck. Toyota began selling cars in the United States in 1957, becoming the first Japanese automaker to do so.

Brands and Models

Totoya sells most of its cars today under the Toyota name, including the popular Camry and the up-market Avalon. Toyota also owns European luxury brand Lexus, as well as the Scion division which produces several inexpensive models aimed at first-time car buyers.

Following its 2009 bankruptcy restructuring, GM has shed several iconic brands including Hummer, Saab, Saturn, and Pontiac. Currently GM includes four divisions: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and the GMC truck line. Among these, Chevrolet has the most diverse vehicle lineup, including the entry-level Aveo, three different pickup trucks, and the Camaro and Corvette sports cars.

Future Directions

Both Toyota and GM have devoted extensive resources as of late to the development of new technologies. These include production cars such as gasoline-electric hybrids like Toyota's Prius, Camry, and Highlander and GM's Cobalt, Malibu, and Tahoe. Each company has more advanced prototypes, as in Chevy's all-electric Volt and Toyota's line of Fine hydrogen fuel-cell concept cars and the FT electric vehicle prototypes. While some of these models are not intended for production, they ensure that GM and Totoya will continue to be major players in the next generation of automobiles.

Key Differences

Since 2007 Toyota has ranked first in the world in annual sales, while GM retains the second place position. The year 2009 marked not only a turning point in auto sales trends, but also for the global economy, which was soon to suffer a recession that hit the auto industry particularly hard. GM emerged from bankruptcy in mid-2009 and began a rebuilding effort focused on scaling back to its core brands. Toyota, meanwhile, has continued to generate excitement with its Prius hybrid and an ever-growing list of concept cars that point toward even more model offerings in the near future.