How Well Do You Know General Motors?

AUTO

By: Robin Tyler

6 Min Quiz

Image: Wiki Commons via Bejara70

About This Quiz

If you're a car lover, then you would have heard of General Motors, that is for sure. In fact, even those who don't love cars as much as you might have heard of this iconic American company. They are one of the big three car makers in America and sell millions of vehicles, not only in the United States but around the world as well.

General Motors has existed for more than a century. But do you know the ins and outs of the company? Things like, who formed General Motors. When was the company started? Which models do they produce? Which brands have come and gone under the General Motors banner?

Well in this quiz, we will put your knowledge about this iconic company to the test. As a car aficionado, you should have all the answers, except we have made sure some of the questions are a little trickier than others. It's no easy ride, but you should finish high up the field come the end of this race!

So start your engine, wait till those lights turn green, floor the accelerator and head off toward the checkered flag and ultimate victory!

All the best of luck to you!

When was General Motors officially formed?

General Motors was formed by carriage builder, William C. Durant on Sept. 16, 1908.

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A much-loved model from the General Motors stable, can you identify this car?

Since its inception in 1953, the Corvette brand has been the jewel in the Chevrolet crown. Perhaps the most famous of all the generation of the Corvette is the Mk II Stingray, which was produced by the company between 1963 and 1967. This looker had either a 2-speed automatic gearbox or 3-speed manual with a range of engine options including small and big block V8s.

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Which car brand does NOT form part of the General Motors stable?

Cadillac, Chevrolet and Buick are all General Motors brands. Mercury, now defunct, was part of the Ford stable.

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Identify this model from General Motors, please.

One of the most iconic vehicles ever produced by Chevrolet was the Bel Air. The models manufactured between 1955 and 1957 will always be remembered for fantastic trim and those beautiful pointy tailfins.

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Which brand formed part of the General Motors stable at some point?

The Saturn brand didn't last long as part of General Motors. Brought in to provide an alternative to small Japanese cars, Saturn started in 1985 and was closed in 2010.

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As part of their environmental initiative, General Motors introduced an electrical car, the Chevrolet Volt, in what year?

General Motors had been working on an electric vehicle for some time. In fact, as far back as 2004 they had already introduced a hybrid pickup. The Volt was their first fully electric vehicle, however.

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Name this General Motors-produced car, please.

Known as the Cadillac Sixteen, this full-sized luxury car was produced from 1930 to 1940. It featured 2-and 4-door versions and in a range of body styles including coupe, convertible, town car, sedan and even a limousine.

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General Motors brand Chevrolet used to have a 'Mark of Excellence' to prove the build quality of their cars. Sadly, one model that proved problematic saw the use of this mark stopped by the company. What model was that?

In the 1970s, Chevrolet build quality deteriorated, especially on the Impala which was known for leaky windows and a crack which appeared on the dashboard. Chevrolet did away with the mark as it was causing the brand embarrassment.

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A current model of a General Motors brand marketed worldwide, can you identify this car?

A Chevrolet global brand, the Cruze (second generation) is also available in the United States where it is a fairly popular model. It is powered by a 1400 cc gasoline engine that produces an impressive 154 brake horse power.

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Which car brand is currently, or was a General Motors company at some point?

Pontiac was first introduced as a sister brand for General Motors' Oakland vehicles, but soon began to outsell them. It remained a General Motors brand until poor sales saw the company closed in 2010.

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True or false. General Motors has three Chinese brands (Baojun, Jiefang, Wuling) that produce cars for that market only.

General Motors does market three Chinese exclusive brands with Wuling, established in 2002, the oldest.

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Which brand is NOT a General Motors brand?

SEAT is a car brand that produces cars in Spain. It is not a brand of General Motors.

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Can you identify this car, first marketed as a General Motors brand in 1973?

Produced between 1973 and 1975, the Apollo from Buick was available as a 2-door coupe and hatchback and a 4-door sedan. The most powerful engine option available to the Apollo was a 350 cubic inch 5.7-liter V8.

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Name this vehicle from the Chevrolet, the main brand of General Motors.

This modern 650 horsepower behemoth gets you from 0-60mph in just 3.5 seconds and clocks a top speed of just under 200mph. This is thanks to its 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 V8 engine. And what a looker!

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Which of these brands is or has been part of the General Motors family?

Hummers were first marketed in the early 1990s. Three generations were featured over the years before General Motors shut the brand down in 2010.

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Can you guess how many people serve on the General Motors board of directors?

The General Motors board consists of 11 members.

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General Motors recently was punished for not recalling a range of cars from different brands that had problems with their _______ that resulted in as much as 135 deaths.

A range of General Motors brands, including some defunct models such those from Pontiac and Saturn, were not recalled for faulty ignition systems.

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How much was General Motors fined for the non-recall problem?

The NHTSA fined General Motors $35 million for not recalling cars with faulty ignition systems.

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Name this vehicle from General Motors.

Although the Skylark had been around since the 1950s, in 1965, Buick introduced the Skylark Gran Sport. It was available as a hardtop, coupe and convertible and powered by an engine produced for the first time in the 1950s - the Wildcat 455. This 401 cubic inch V8 engine produced 325 brake horsepower.

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This vehicle is from a prominent General Motors brand. Can you name the maker?

Featuring two generations, the SRX is a cross over SUV marketed between 2004 and 2015. It quickly became the best selling Cadillac model in America with sales of over 220,000 between 2012 and 2016.

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Sometimes it not only about cars. Scientists and engineers from General Motors have helped to develop the world's first ________?

Yes, engineers and scientist from General Motors help to develop the first mechanical heart pump in the world. This helped pave the way for open heart surgery.

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A General Motors brand car is shown in this image. Do you know the maker and model?

Introduced in 1917, the D Series was the first Chevrolet to have a V-8 engine. Sadly, it was horribly underpowered (only 36 brake horsepower), so much so that other four-cylinder engines were more powerful. By 1918 the D Series had disappeared, and Chevy only returned to V8 motors 37 years later.

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This brand is NOT part of General Motors. What is it?

Chrysler has never been part of General Motors. They were a stand-alone company but recently were purchased by FIAT.

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Has General Motors had parts on the moon?

Yes, General Motors helped NASA's Apollo missions by helping to build navigation systems.

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A product of a brand belonging to General Motors, name this car, please.

This luxury roadster was marketed by Cadillac between 2003 and 2009. It has two engine options including the 4.4-liter Northstar Supercharged V8. Over 15,000 XLRs were sold until 2009.

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Has Oakland ever been a General Motors brand?

Yes, Oakland was an early car manufacturer that was part of the General Motors stable. Pontiac was brought in as a stable mate in the early 1930s but soon outsold Oakland, leading to the closure of the brand.

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Name this car, please.

Produced from 1962 to 1970, the Wildcat changed in looks pretty much every year. One thing that remained constant was the V8 engines found under the hood. The final model, produced in 1970, included a new 455 cubic inch V8 which produced 370 brake horsepower.

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A model in one of General Motors biggest brands, can you name this car?

For Caddy lovers, the CT6 hits the mark. It has three engine options to choose from, fairly decent gas mileage figures, a spacious interior as well as parking assist. It is let down by the fact that its trunk is fairly small.

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Did you know that General Motors has made other forms of transport? Can you guess what they are?

Yes, General Motors in fact made two trains, with one running from 1956 to 1966.

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Did General Motors once almost buy out Ford?

In 1908, the founder of General Motors, William C. Durant, approached Henry Ford over a buyout. Terms were agreed but Durant's financial backers didn't believe it was a good deal and never gave him the money to conclude the purchase.

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How much did Durant and Ford agree on that Ford was worth?

Henry Ford and William Durant agreed that for Durant and General Motors to buy a controlling portion of the Ford Company, Durant would need to pay $8 million!

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General Motors has had some models flop badly, even in their best ranges. Which vehicle listed below only sold 851 models from 1961 to 1964?

Introduced in 1961, this smaller pickup didn't catch the imagination of the American public. In fact, by 1964 only 851 were sold. It was discontinued that year.

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This model is shared by Chevrolet and GMC and named the Yukon. Can you guess the Chevrolet name?

This full-sized SUV was first introduced by Chevrolet in 1995. It is the same vehicle as the GMC Yukon and has a number of power options including a 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V8 FlexFuel engine.

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In 1972, General Motors was the first motoring company to introduce _________

You might think that anti-lock brakes are a new invention, but no! GM was tinkering with them in the '70s.

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One of America's oldest car brands, Oldsmobile, was discontinued by General Motors in what year?

Sadly General Motors discontinued Oldsmobile, one of America's oldest car brands, in 2004. This was due to declining sales.

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This vehicle helped break Ford's dominance in the car market in the late 1920s.

Although it was only produced in 1927, the AA Capitol series saw Chevrolet sell over 670,000 units and for once, break Ford's domination of the American motor scene. This series included eight different body types all based on the GM A platform.

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In what form of racing has the General Motors brand, Chevrolet, had much success over the years?

Chevrolet has had much success on the NASCAR circuit with over 779 wins and 39 championships (as of April 2018).

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A car brand manufactured in Australia used to be part of the General Motors group. What is their name?

Holden was a General Motor brand based in Australia from 1948 to 2017.

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