Corvette Stingray Convertible

Make
Chevrolet
Segment
Compact

There's no doubt General Motors has had its ups and downs over the years. Well, the past century for that matter. Perhaps its lowest point was that whole bankruptcy thing a few years ago. Fortunately though, GM, or rather "New GM" has fully recovered and it's now producing some of its best cars ever. But how many cars has GM built in its entire 106-year history? The answer is more than 500 million. The automaker was founded in 1908 and, in its own words, "reborn in 2009."

GM began its global operations early in the 20th century when Sun Yat-sen, the first president of China, and Pu Yi, the last emperor, took their first car ride in a 1912 Buick. By 1931, GM owned Vauxhall in the UK, Holden in Australia and Opel in Germany. The first GMs were built in China under a joint venture with SAIC in 1997, and now China has become GM's largest market. There are a total of 11 joint ventures and two wholly owned foreign enterprises. GM has also just announced it'll invest $5.4 billion to build future vehicles in the US. "During 2015, we expect to sell more than 1,000 new vehicles per hour, 24 hours per day," stated GM CEO Mary Barra. Well done, GM. Well done.