Boegehold of GM invented the Jominy end-quench test for hardenability of carbon steel in 1937, a breakthrough in heat treating still in use today as ASTM A255.

[49] Nazi armaments chief Albert Speer allegedly said in 1977 that Hitler "would never have considered invading Poland" without synthetic fuel technology provided by General Motors.

GM demonstrated gas turbine vehicles powered by kerosene, an area of interest throughout the industry, but abandoned the alternative engine configuration due to the 1973 oil crisis.

The same year, GM acquired Electronic Data Systems for $2.5 billion from Ross Perot as part of a strategy by CEO Roger Smith to derive at least 10% of its annual worldwide revenue from non-automotive sources.

In 1999–2002, GM ceased production of the vehicles and started to not renew the leases, disappointing many people, allegedly because the program would not be profitable and would cannibalize its existing business.

[107] Continuing their environmental-conscious development, GM started to offer the 2-mode hybrid system in the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade, and pickup trucks.

[109][110][111] In March 2009, after the company had received $17.4 billion in bailouts but was not effective in a turnaround, President Barack Obama forced the resignation of CEO Rick Wagoner.

[118] In June 2009, at the request of Steven Rattner, lead adviser to President Barack Obama on the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, Edward Whitacre Jr., who had led a restructuring of AT&T, was appointed as chairman of General Motors.

[119] Whitacre was tasked with overseeing GM's emergence from bankruptcy and downsizing its sizable number of brand marques, many of which had produced chronic losses even before the recession began.

[120] As mandated by its bailout agreement, GM began the process of shedding its poorest-performing brands in June 2009: Hummer, Saab, Saturn, and Pontiac.

An October 2009 agreement to sell the Hummer brand to China-based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd.[121] and a group of private investors fell through three months later, resulting in GM seeking a new suitor.

[128] GM was more successful in its attempts to sell Saab Automobile: the company closed a sale to Dutch automaker Spyker Cars in February 2010.

GM's precarious financial situation, exacerbated by impending bankruptce, and the reluctance of the US government rescuers to address overseas issues, left few options.

Facing a frozen credit market and the Korean Development Bank's refusal to extend loans beyond the existing $2 billion owed by GMDAT, GM had no alternative but to seek capital from China.

GM executives stated that SAIC Motor's involvement facilitated access to Chinese banking sector funding, which would have been challenging to secure independently.

In its 2010 SEC filing, GM clarified that SAIC had helped secure a $400 million commercial bank loan, using its stake in Shanghai-GM as collateral.

[147][148] In June 2022, Cruise received California's first Driverless Deployment Permit, allowing it to both charge fees for its service as well as offer fully autonomous rides in a major public city.

[150] In October 2016, GM began production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the first-ever mass market all-electric car with a range of more than 200 miles (320 km).

[136] LG Chem's U.S. subsidiary, Compact Power of Troy, Michigan, has been building the prototype packs for the development vehicles and will continue to provide integration support and acting as a liaison for the program.

While the UAW called for a sit-down strike in Flint, the police, armed with guns and tear gas, attempted to enter the Fisher Body 2 plant on January 11, 1937.

In addition to representation rights, the UAW, working jointly with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), sought to resolve existing grievances of skilled workers.

However, on September 26, a tentative agreement was reached, and the strike's end was announced by UAW officials in a news conference at 4 a.m.[243] By the following day, all GM workers in both countries were back to work.

On September 15, 2019, after talks broke down to renew their contract, which expired earlier that day, the UAW announced that GM employees would begin striking at 11:59 pm.

GM CEO Mary Barra protested that her company offered an "unprecedented deal" which gave workers 20% raises as well as "world-class" healthcare.

Nader's lawsuit against GM was ultimately decided by the New York Court of Appeals, whose opinion in the case expanded tort law to cover "overzealous surveillance".

A 1972 safety commission report conducted by Texas A&M University concluded that the 1960–1963 Corvair possessed no greater potential for loss of control than its contemporary competitors in extreme situations.

[253] The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a press release in 1972 describing the findings of NHTSA testing from the previous year.

[citation needed] In 1980, former GM executive John DeLorean wrote in his book On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors that Nader's criticisms were valid.

[261] In 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute accused at least 82 major brands, including General Motors, of being connected to forced Uyghur labor in Xinjiang.

[262] General Motors has come under criticism for collecting highly detailed driver data and selling the personal information to insurance companies without consumers' consent or knowledge.