Return

• Robert McLaughlin first gets into the carriage and wagon business in the small town of Tyrone, Ontario

• As demand for cutters and wagons grows, Robert moves to larger quarters in neighbouring Enniskillen, Ontario

• The McLaughlin Carriage Company has outgrown its home in Enniskillen and Robert again moves his business, this time to Oshawa, Ontario

• Robert invents a revolutionary gear for his vehicles resulting in a safer, smoother-riding carriage

• The McLaughlin Carriage Company’s Oshawa plant has reached the limits of its capacity and moves to a larger factory in Oshawa

• First branch away from home opens in Saint-John, New Brunswick with George W. McLaughlin in charge. Similar branches are later established in other cities across the country

• The McLaughlins hit a temporary setback as their Oshawa plant burns to the ground on December 7th
• While the new plant is being built, the carriage business is moved to Gananoque, Ontario, where the men from Oshawa build carriages from scratch

• By July, 3,000 carriages have been turned out in a two-shift operation, enough to convince McLaughlin’s customers that the company is still in business
• New plant is ready by the fall

• The company’s partners are made shareholders and the company becomes the McLaughlin Carriage Company, Ltd.

• R. S. McLaughlin travels to Michigan to meet with a business acquaintance by the name of William Durant, owner of the Buick Motor Company. Sam wishes to build Buicks in Canada under the McLaughlin name but fails to come to an agreement with Durant

• McLaughlin Carriage Co. signs 15-year contract for use of Buick automobile engines

1908

• McLaughlin Motor Car Company is established in Oshawa, Ontario
• McLaughlin Carriage Co. and McLaughlin Motor Car Co. produce carriages, sleighs and motor cars. Employment 300
• First 154 McLaughlin-Buicks are built in Oshawa

1909

• A Buick wins the first race at Indianapolis Speedway

1911

• Battery operated self-starter is introduced

1915

• McLaughlins form Chevrolet Motor Car Company of Canada
• First Canadian-built Chevrolet produced: the Chevrolet 490
• McLaughlin Carriage Co. is sold after building 270,000 horse drawn vehicles

1918

• McLaughlin Motor Car and Chevrolet Motor Car Companies are bought by General Motors Corporation. General Motors of Canada is founded
• Robert McLaughlin retires and the presidency and vice-presidency of the new company are assumed respectively by R.S. and G.W. McLaughlin

1919

• Chevrolet truck manufacture begins

1920

• Adjustable front seat patented by General Motors of Canada
• Oldsmobile car added to Canadian production

1921

• General Motors of Canada begins production of vehicles for the overseas market in order to supplement the General Motors’ factories in the U.S. and to provide the General Motors Export Company with additional source of supply
• Canadian Products Limited is organized in Windsor, Ontario, to produce engines and axles for Oshawa production lines.
• World’s first stoplights appear on Oshawa-built cars
• Oakland car added to Oshawa production

1923

• Annual production tops 50,000 vehicles
• First balloon tires make appearance
• Four-wheel brakes are perfected
• Duco-lacquer paint is introduced and Alemite pressure lubricant appears
• Cadillac car added to Oshawa production
• GMC truck assembly starts

1924

• G.W. McLaughlin retires from the vice presidency position

1926

• The first Pontiac rolls off Canadian lines

1927

• LaSalle added to Oshawa production

1928

• Annual production tops 100,000
• Canadian Products Limited becomes part of General Motors of Canada and truck production is transferred to Windsor plant

1929

• Total production reaches half a million
• McKinnon Industries limited, of St. Catharines, Ontario, which produces a variety of automotive parts, is bought by General Motors

1930

• Markets collapse and business depression of 1930’s sets in

1931

• Canadian production of Oakland car discontinued
• Buick introduces its first 8-cylinder engine

1932

• Annual production dips below 20,000

1935

• LaSalle discontinued in Canada

1936

• Cadillac production in Canada discontinued

1938

• 1 millionth vehicle produced

1939

• War in Europe. Experimental work on military vehicles begins

1940

• First army trucks are produced

1941

• Windsor plant produces machine guns and navy gun mounts
• First armoured vehicles produced in Oshawa

1942

• Civilian vehicles production ceased

1943

• Production of Canada’s 500,000^th fighting vehicle celebrated in Oshawa
• Mosquito airplane fuselage production reaches one a day

1945

• Post-war automobile and truck production resumes
• Demand for cars and trucks sees production and employment rapidly increase during following years

1946

• An Oshawa-built Chevrolet travels from Atlantic to Pacific entirely on Canadian Highways: first time such a trip had ever been made

1949

• General Motors Diesel, London, Ontario opens. It manufactures Diesel-electric locomotives

1950

• 2 millionth vehicle produced
• Plant expansions in Oshawa and zone-warehouse expansion across Canada during following four years are rapid to meet the market demand for cars, trucks and service parts

1952

• Central automotive parts and accessories warehouse begins operations in Oshawa
• Frigidaire Products of Canada plant in Scarborough opens to produce appliances

1954

• Passenger car assembly begins at new South Plant complex in Oshawa

1956

• Three millionth vehicle produced since 1907

1960

• Buick Special and Olds F-85 series introduced

1961

• Four millionth vehicle produced
• Chevrolet II and Acadian introduced

1963

• Chevelle and Beaumont series produced
• Automotive components manufacturing starts at Scarborough plant
• Production of automatic transmission begins at Windsor, Ontario

1964

• Plant expansion valued at $120,000,000. GM of Canada announces new plants in Oshawa, Windsor and Ste. Thérèse, Quebec

1965

• Five millionth vehicle produced
• Canada-U.S. Auto Trade agreement signed resulting in extensive plant and product realignment in 1966
• Assembly plant at Ste. Thérèse, Quebec opens

1967

• Six millionth vehicle produced

1969

• Seven millionth vehicle produced
• Major operating subsidiaries of GM Corporation in Canada consolidated to form General Motors of Canada Limited with head office in Oshawa

1970

• Termination of appliance business in Canada

1972

• January 6, at the age of 100, R. Samuel McLaughlin dies
• Eight millionth vehicle produced
• Ste. Thérèse, Quebec plant converted to Vega production
• The Monte Carlo is added to The Oshawa Car Assembly production

1973

• Two millionth truck built in Oshawa
• New cold weather test facilities in Kapuskasing, Ontario opens
• Sale of section of West plant, 2.5 acres, for downtown redevelopment

1974

• Nine millionth vehicle produced
• Monza 2+2, Skylark, Starfire produced at Ste. Therese

1975

• Ten millionth vehicle produced
• New Parts Distribution Center under construction in Woodstock

1976

• Full size models redesigned for fuel economy and passenger comfort

1977

• Oshawa Car assembly plant builds its 5^th million car
• Middle size models redesigned for fuel economy and passenger comfort

1978

• Fuel economy is the driving force behind the third generation Monte Carlo
• Introduction of redesigned front-wheel-drive personal luxury cars from Buick, Cadillac, and Oldsmobile

1979

• Introduction of the Buick Skylark, Chevrolet Citation, Oldsmobile Omega and Pontiac Phoenix featuring front-wheel-drive, transverse-mounted four- and six-cylinder engines

1980

• GM announces a worldwide program from 1980 through 1984 to redesign its vehicles and modernize its assembly plants

1981

• GM has the widest range of cars and trucks in the industry (GM introduces 29 models in four all-new 1982 vehicle lines)
• Introduction of new front-wheel-drive subcompacts -the Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac J2000, and Cadillac Cimarron

1982

• Pontiac’s Special Touring Edition, the 6000STE mid-size sedan built at Oshawa Assembly Car Plant

1983

• GM of Canada celebrates its 75th anniversary
• Modernization program continues with expenditures of $342 million for plant, equipment and tools

1984

• All-new mid-size vans, the Chevrolet Astro and GMC Safari caps 1984 as one of General Motors of Canada’s most prolific years in terms of new, high-technology product offerings

1985

• GM announces the addition of a new automotive operating unit – Saturn – to its passenger car divisions. Saturn Corporation, created as a separate subsidiary, will add a sixth nameplate to GM’s North American passenger car marques

1986

• GM Autoplex in Oshawa is the largest motor vehicle manufacturing operation in North America
• Formation of CAMI Automotive Inc., a joint venture with Suzuki Motor Company
• One-millionth van produced by Scarborough Van Plant

1987

• Buick Regal produced at Oshawa car Assembly Plant
• Introduction of Beretta and Corsica by Chevrolet, all-new Bonneville by Pontiac, Allante by Cadillac, and completely redesigned full-size pickup trucks by GMC and Chevrolet

1988

• Introduction of newly redesigned mid-size cars, the Buick Regal, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and the Pontiac Grand Prix
• For the first time in the history of Motor Trend’s “Car of the Year” awards, one company – GM – finished 1 – 2 – 3 with three cars: Pontiac Grand Prix, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and Chevrolet Corsica/Beretta

1989

• Grand opening of General Motors of Canada Limited’s new Headquarters building in Oshawa
• Introduction of the Chevrolet Lumina family, the Pontiac TranSport, convertible versions of Chevrolet Beretta and Oldsmobile Cutlass

1990

• 15 millionth vehicle produced
• Chevrolet Cavalier is Canada’s number 1 selling vehicle
• The Chevrolet Cavalier together with the Pontiac Sunbird account for almost 1 in 10 cars sold in Canada that year
• Almost half of all full-size pickups sold carry either a Chevrolet or GMC name badge
• The first Saturn cars roll off the line at Spring Hill, Tennessee (July 30)

1991

• Saturn, GM’s newest division comes to Canada
• Chevrolet Cavalier is Canada’s best selling car for the second consecutive year
• GM introduces nine new passenger cars and five new trucks –the most ever brought to market in a single year by any automotive manufacturer

1992

• Chevrolet Cavalier is Canada’s best selling car for the third consecutive year
• GM announces that 50 Electric Vehicles (EV1) will be produced in 1993

1993

• For 4th consecutive year, Chevrolet Cavalier number 1 selling car in Canada
• A third shift of products introduced at the Oshawa Truck Plant, the first ever in a North American vehicle assembly plant

1994

• GM of Canada has 3 of the top 5 best-selling cars in Canada Chevrolet Cavalier 1st, Pontiac Grand Am 3rd and Pontiac Sunbird/Sunfire 5th

1995

• Chevrolet Cavalier is Canada’s best selling car for the sixth consecutive year
• First three-door, full-size, extended cab pickup truck to come off a production line in North America rolls off the line at Oshawa Truck Assembly Centre
• The six millionth truck built by General Motors of Canada since 1919 rolls of the production line at the Oshawa Truck Assembly Centre on June 12

1996

• Chevrolet Cavalier is Canada’s best selling car for the seventh consecutive year
• With the introduction of the EV1 and Chevrolet S10 pickup, GM becomes the first automaker in modern times to market a specifically designed electric vehicle to the public

1997

• Annual production tops 1,000,000 vehicles

1998

• Oshawa Truck Plant is the lead corporate plant for the launch of the new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra
• GM of Canada has three cars and four trucks in the top ten selling nameplates in the country

1999

• GM introduces the all-new Oshawa-built 2000 Chevrolet Impala & Monte Carlo
• GM of Canada announces the establishment of the Canadian Regional Engineering Centre in Oshawa, Ontario
• Oshawa-built Chevrolet Impala receives Double five Star rating from the U. S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
• GM of Canada's seven millionth truck rolls off the line at the Oshawa truck Assembly Centre on July 2nd