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57-568: The ALDL communications link was originally developed at the General Motors Emissions Control Systems Project Center located at GM's Milford, Michigan Proving ground. The center was responsible for coordinating all divisional and staff design, testing and development activities of the emission control system for GM USA passenger vehicles designed to meet the requirements of the 1981 clean air act. "Project Center Chief Engineer Harry H. Lyon explains, "Basically,

114-514: A 15% stake in AeroVironment . In 1989, GM acquired half of Saab Automobile 's car operations for $ 600 million. In August 1990, Robert Stempel became CEO of the company, succeeding Roger Smith . GM cut output significantly and suffered losses that year due to the early 1990s recession . In 1990, GM debuted the General Motors EV1 (Impact) concept, a battery electric vehicle , at

171-402: A 5-pin connector and a 12-pin connector, with the 12 pin connector (Packard/Delco/Delphi part number 12020043) being used in the vast majority of GM cars. Lotus implemented a 10-pin connector. The pins are given letter designations in the following layouts (as seen from the front of the vehicle connector): Note the difference in pin ordering between the connectors and the fact that the letter I

228-521: A British producer of high-performance sports cars . In 1987, in conjunction with AeroVironment , GM built the Sunraycer , which won the inaugural World Solar Challenge and was a showcase of advanced technology. Much of the technology from Sunraycer found its way into the Impact prototype electric vehicle (also built by Aerovironment) and was the predecessor to the General Motors EV1 . In 1988, GM acquired

285-504: A breakthrough in heat treating still in use today as ASTM A255. GM established Detroit Diesel the next year. In 1939, the company founded Motors Insurance Corporation and entered the vehicle insurance market. The same year, GM introduced the Hydramatic , the first affordable and successful automatic transmission , for the 1940 Oldsmobile. During World War II , GM produced vast quantities of armaments, vehicles, and aircraft for

342-472: A continuation of its diversification plans, GMAC formed GMAC Mortgage and acquired Colonial Mortgage as well as the servicing arm of Norwest Mortgage in 1985. This acquisition included an $ 11 billion mortgage portfolio. The same year, GM acquired the Hughes Aircraft Company for $ 5 billion in cash and stock and merged it into Delco Electronics . The following year, GM acquired 59.7% of Lotus Cars ,

399-900: A controlling interest in North American Aviation and merged it with the General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation . The GM labor force participated in the formation of the United Auto Workers labor union in 1935, and in 1936 the UAW organized the Flint Sit-Down Strike , which initially idled two key plants in Flint, Michigan, and later spread to 6 other plants including those in Janesville, Wisconsin and Fort Wayne, Indiana . In Flint, police attempted to enter

456-399: A failure during run time and help perform repairs. Some people may wish to modify their ECU so as to be able to add or change functionality. However modern ECUs come equipped with protection locks to prevent users from modifying the circuit or exchange chips. The protection locks are a form of digital rights management (DRM), the circumventing of which is illegal in certain jurisdictions. In

513-517: A namesake defense vehicles division which produces military vehicles for the United States government and military, the vehicle safety, security, and information services provider OnStar , the auto parts company ACDelco , a namesake financial lending service , and majority ownership in the self-driving cars enterprise Cruise LLC . The company originated as a holding company for Buick established on September 16, 1908, by William C. Durant ,

570-529: A program to develop a lightweight two-stroke diesel engine for possible usage in automobiles. Soon after, GM acquired Electro-Motive Company and the Winton Engine Co. , and in 1941, it expanded EMC's realm to locomotive engine manufacturing. In 1932, GM acquired Packard Electric (not to be confused with the Packard car company, which merged with Studebaker years later). The following year, GM acquired

627-640: A resistor connected to the ALDL port. Later versions were bidirectional and operated at a much faster (but incredibly slow compared to today's standards) rate of 8192 baud. Implementations using the 8192 baud rate were primarily request-driven, meaning that the main diagnostic data was not transmitted until a request was made. Some idle data transmission of trivial parameters, however, existed in many vehicles. Bidirectional communication also allowed many other functions to be performed via ALDL, such as actuator tests, parameter overrides, and in some cases even reprogramming of

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684-566: A single one. Sometimes an assembly incorporates several individual control modules (a PCM often controls both the engine and the transmission). Some modern motor vehicles have up to 150 ECUs. Embedded software in ECUs continues to increase in line count, complexity, and sophistication. Managing the increasing complexity and number of ECUs in a vehicle has become a key challenge for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The development of an ECU involves both hardware and software required to perform

741-422: A strategy by CEO Roger Smith to derive at least 10% of its annual worldwide revenue from non-automotive sources. GM also intended to have EDS handle its bookkeeping, help computerize factories, and integrate GM's computer systems. The transaction made Ross Perot the largest shareholder of GM; however, disagreements with Roger Smith led the company to buy all shares held by Ross Perot for $ 750 million in 1986. In

798-745: Is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit , Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing four automobile brands: Chevrolet , Buick , GMC , and Cadillac . By total sales, it has continuously been the largest automaker in the United States, and was the largest in the world for 77 years before losing the top spot to Toyota in 2008. General Motors operates manufacturing plants in eight countries. In addition to its four core brands, GM also holds interests in Chinese brands Baojun and Wuling via SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile . GM further owns

855-633: Is carried out by Tier 1 suppliers based on specifications provided by the OEM . As part of the development cycle, manufacturers perform detailed FMEAs and other failure analyses to catch failure modes that can lead to unsafe conditions or driver annoyance. Extensive testing and validation activities are carried out as part of the Production part approval process to gain the confidence of the hardware and software. On-board diagnostics or OBD help provide specific data related to which system or component failed or caused

912-448: Is equipped to periodically read its own pulse and communicate the presence of any problems. It is able to do this by flashing a check engine light on the car's instrument panel and storing the information about a malfunction in its memory. When taken to a service center, the ECM uses this same light to "talk" to the mechanic through a flashing code that indicates where the problem is. On Cadillacs,

969-675: Is not used. Unfortunately, the definition of which signals were present on each pin varied between vehicle models. There were generally only three pins used for basic ALDL —ground, battery voltage, and a single line for data—, although other pins were often used for additional vehicle-specific diagnostic information and control interfaces. No battery voltage is present in the 12 pin ALDL connector. The earliest implementations of ALDL were unidirectional and transmitted serial data at 160 baud using PWM . Some 160 baud models constantly transmitted sensor data on startup, while others started transmitting data when placed in diagnostic mode with

1026-606: The Fortune 500 and 50th on the Fortune Global 500 . In 2023, the company was ranked 70th in the Forbes Global 2000 . In 2021, GM announced its intent to end production of vehicles using internal combustion engines by 2035, as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. By 1900, William C. Durant 's Durant-Dort Carriage Company of Flint, Michigan , had become the largest manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in

1083-518: The 2-mode hybrid system in the Chevrolet Tahoe , GMC Yukon , Cadillac Escalade , and pickup trucks . Electronic control unit An electronic control unit ( ECU ), also known as an electronic control module ( ECM ), is an embedded system in automotive electronics that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a car or other motor vehicle . Modern vehicles have many ECUs, and these can include some or all of

1140-813: The Allies of World War II . In 1940, GM's William S. Knudsen served as head of U.S. wartime production for President Franklin Roosevelt , and by 1942, all of GM's production was to support the war. GM's Vauxhall Motors manufactured the Churchill tank series for the Allies, instrumental in the North African campaign . However, its Opel division, based in Germany, supplied the Wehrmacht with vehicles. Politically, Sloan, as head of GM at

1197-515: The Cadillac V8-6-4 variable-cylinder engines. GM sold Frigidaire in 1979. Although Frigidaire had between $ 450 million and $ 500 million in annual revenues, it was losing money. Robert Lee of GM invented the neodymium magnet , which was fabricated by rapid solidification, in 1984. This magnet is commonly used in products like a computer hard disk. The same year, GM acquired Electronic Data Systems for $ 2.5 billion from Ross Perot as part of

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1254-464: The ECU itself. Multiple devices could be placed on the ALDL data line for primitive networking and communication. Many later 8192 baud vehicles, for example, had airbag control, ABS, and even climate control units sending data on the same serial bus. In both versions, ALDL data is sent in a format unique to the model of ECU in the vehicle with little standardization between models, so a proper definition of

1311-505: The General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), which provides financing to automotive customers, was formed. In 1920, du Pont orchestrated the removal of Durant once again and replaced him with Alfred P. Sloan . At a time when GM was competing heavily with Ford Motor Company , Sloan established annual model changes, making previous years' models "dated" and created a market for used cars . He also implemented

1368-664: The LA Auto Show . It was the first car with zero emissions marketed in the US in over three decades. The Impact was produced as the EV1 for the 1996 model year and was available only via lease from certain dealers in California and Arizona. 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. All of

1425-545: The Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan , and the Reliance Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan (predecessors of GMC ) in 1909. Durant, with the board's approval, also tried acquiring Ford Motor Company , but needed an additional $ 2 million. Durant over- leveraged GM in making acquisitions, and was removed by the board of directors in 1910 at the order of the bankers who backed

1482-724: The Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company the same year, and its president, John D. Hertz , joined the board of directors of GM; it acquired the remainder of the company in 1943. In 1926, the company introduced the Pontiac brand and established the General Motors Group Insurance Program to provide life insurance to its employees. The following year, after the success of the 1927 model of the Cadillac LaSalle designed by Harley Earl , Sloan created

1539-472: The corporate spin-off of Electronic Data Systems . In 1997, GM sold the military businesses of Hughes Aircraft Company to Raytheon Company for $ 9.5 billion in stock and the assumption of debt. In February 2000, Rick Wagoner was named CEO, succeeding Smith. The next month, GM gave 5.1% of its common stock, worth $ 2.4 billion, to acquire a 20% share of Fiat . In December 2000, GM announced that it would begin phasing out Oldsmobile . The brand

1596-532: The "Art and Color Section" of GM and named Earl as its first director. Earl was the first design executive to be appointed to leadership at a major American corporation. Earl created a system of automobile design that is still practiced today. At the age of 24, Bill Mitchell was recruited by Earl to the design team at GM, and he was later appointed as Chief Designer of Cadillac. After Earl retired in December 1958, Mitchell took over automotive design for GM. Also in 1926

1653-448: The ECS project center is a common watering hole for all (GM) divisional and corporate staff activities." For example, we had representation from eight component divisions, AC Spark Plug, Delco Electronics, Delco Products, Delco Remy, Diesel Equipment, Packard Electric, Rochester Products, and Saginaw Steering Gear. The five car divisions, the body and assembly divisions, seven corporate staffs, and

1710-575: The EV1s were eventually returned to General Motors, and except for around 40 which were donated to museums with their electric powertrains deactivated, all were destroyed. The documentary film Who Killed the Electric Car? covered the EV1 story. In November 1992, John F. Smith Jr. became CEO of the company. In 1993, GM sold Lotus Cars to Bugatti . In 1996, in a return to its automotive basics, GM completed

1767-665: The United States. Durant was averse to automobiles, but fellow Flint businessman James H. Whiting , owner of Flint Wagon Works , sold him the Buick Motor Company in 1904. Durant formed the General Motors Company in 1908 as a holding company , borrowing a naming convention from General Electric . GM's first acquisition was Buick , which Durant already owned, then Olds Motor Works on November 12, 1908. Under Durant, GM went on to acquire Cadillac , Elmore , Welch , Cartercar , Oakland (the predecessor of Pontiac ),

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1824-448: The company acquired Fisher Body , its supplier of automobile bodies. GM acquired Allison Engine Company and began developing a 1,000 horsepower liquid-cooled aircraft engine in 1929. The same year, GM acquired 80% of Opel , which at that time had a 37.5% market share in Europe, for $ 26 million. It acquired the remaining 20% in 1931. In the late-1920s, Charles Kettering embarked on

1881-477: The company in 1915 after a disagreement with Durant. GM was reincorporated in Detroit in 1916 as General Motors Corporation and became a public company via an initial public offering . By 1917, Chevrolet had become successful enough that Durant, with the backing of Samuel McLaughlin and Pierre S. du Pont , reacquired a controlling interest in GM. The same year, GM acquired Samson Tractor . Chevrolet Motor Company

1938-571: The dash on the driver's side of left-hand drive (LHD) vehicles, though this location was not standardized. For the assembly plant test system computer that was connected to this vehicle connector and known by the same name, see the article IBM Series/1 . In the late 1980s the system was migrated to the ADTS system (ALDL Development and Test System) which utilized an industrialized IBM PC with custom interface hardware. There were at least four different connectors used with ALDL. General Motors implemented both

1995-471: The data is required to interpret it. Most professional scan tools require a large database of vehicle definitions. The signaling of ALDL is similar to the RS-232 serial data standard; differing in the voltages used to denote logical one (usually 0 V DC) and logical zero (either +5 V DC or +12 V DC), and that unlike RS-232, both transmit and receive functions are on the same conductor. Schematics are available on

2052-419: The data link and provided to the service community by the project center service engineers in 1981 (XDE-5024B). This system was only vaguely standardized and suffered from the fact that specifications for the communications link varied from one model to the next. ALDL was largely used by manufacturers for diagnostics at their dealerships and official maintenance facilities. The connector is usually located under

2109-698: The diesel-hybrid market, the Opel Astra diesel engine hybrid concept vehicle was rolled out in January 2005. Later that year, GM sold its Electro-Motive Diesel locomotive division to private equity firms Berkshire Partners and Greenbriar Equity Group. GM paid $ 2 billion to sever its ties with Fiat in 2005, severing ties with the company due to an increasingly contentious dispute. GM began adding its " Mark of Excellence " emblem on all new vehicles produced and sold in North America in mid-2005. However, after

2166-482: The first hydrogen fuel cell car ever produced. Though fuel cells have existed since the early 1800s, General Motors was the first to use a fuel cell, supplied by Union Carbide , to power the wheels of a vehicle with a budget of "millions of dollars". In the 1960s, GM was an early proponent of V6 engines , but quickly lost interest as the popularity of muscle cars increased. GM demonstrated gas turbine vehicles powered by kerosene , an area of interest throughout

2223-448: The following: engine control module (ECM), powertrain control module (PCM), transmission control module (TCM), brake control module (BCM or EBCM), central control module (CCM), central timing module (CTM), general electronic module (GEM), body control module (BCM), and suspension control module (SCM). These ECUs together are sometimes referred to collectively as the car's computer though technically they are all separate computers, not

2280-484: The functions expected from that particular module. Automotive ECU's are being developed following the V-model. Recently the trend is to dedicate a significant amount of time and effort to develop safe modules by following standards like ISO 26262 . It is rare that a module is developed fully from scratch. The design is generally iterative and improvements are made to both the hardware and software. The development of most ECUs

2337-497: The gasoline was harmful to various biological organisms including humans. Evidence shows that corporate executives understood the health implications of tetraethyllead from the beginning. As an engineer for GM, Midgley also developed chlorofluorocarbons , which have now been banned due to their contribution to climate change . Under the encouragement of GM President Alfred P. Sloan Jr., GM acquired Vauxhall Motors for $ 2.5 million in 1925. The company also acquired an interest in

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2394-637: The industry, but abandoned the alternative engine configuration due to the 1973 oil crisis . In partnership with Boeing , GM's Delco Defense Electronics Division designed the Lunar Roving Vehicle , which traversed the surface of the Moon, in 1971. The following year, GM produced the first rear wheel anti-lock braking system for two models: the Toronado and Eldorado. In 1973, the Oldsmobile Toronado

2451-492: The internet for devices that can be used to convert the ALDL voltages to those of the RS-232 standard, allowing the raw data to be read with a computer having a serial port and the proper software. Multiple scanner software programs are available. 94-95 6.5 Turbo Diesel scanner software is also available Direct USB to ALDL cables and even Bluetooth modules are available. General Motors General Motors Company ( GM )

2508-591: The largest seller of horse-drawn vehicles at the time. The first half of the 20th century saw the company grow into an automotive behemoth through acquisitions; going into the second half, the company pursued innovation and new offerings to consumers as well as collaborations with NASA to develop the earliest electric vehicles . The current entity was established in 2009 after the General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization . As of 2024 , General Motors ranks 25th by total revenue out of all American companies on

2565-619: The loans to keep GM in business. The action of the bankers was partially influenced by the Panic of 1910–1911 that followed the earlier enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 . In 1911, Charles F. Kettering of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO) and Henry M. Leland invented and patented the first electric starter in America. In November 1911, Durant co-founded Chevrolet with race car driver Louis Chevrolet , who left

2622-418: The patent section were also represented." "This allows us to pool our knowledge and avoid costly and timely duplication, while at the same time it provides us with a centralized avenue to corporate management," said Lyon. More specifically, the center has responsibility for coordinating such projects as engineering specifications for both hardware and software." "In addition to monitoring the engine process, it

2679-482: The plant to arrest strikers, leading to violence; in other cities, the plants were shuttered peacefully. The strike was resolved on February 11, 1937, when GM recognized the UAW as the exclusive bargaining representative for its workers and gave workers a 5% raise and permission to speak in the lunchroom. Walter E. Jominy and A.L. Boegehold of GM invented the Jominy end-quench test for hardenability of carbon steel in 1937,

2736-528: The pricing strategy used by car companies today. The pricing strategy had Chevrolet , Pontiac , Oldsmobile , Buick , and Cadillac priced from least expensive to most, respectively. In 1921, Thomas Midgley Jr. , an engineer for GM, discovered tetraethyllead (leaded gasoline) as an antiknock agent, and GM patented the compound because ethanol could not be patented. This led to the development of higher compression engines resulting in more power and efficiency. The public later realized that lead contained in

2793-476: The proper code is digitally displayed. To ensure high quality in the Computer Command Control system, it will be given a final check at the end of the assembly line. Here the completely assembled vehicle will be tested by connecting the computer to a test computer. This will significantly improve GM's ability to catch anything wrong with the system or the car's engine." A specification was written for

2850-487: The reorganization in 2009, the company no longer added the logo, saying that emphasis on its four core divisions would downplay the GM logo. In 2005, Edward T. Welburn was promoted to the newly created position of vice president, GM Global Design, making him the first African American to lead a global automotive design organization and the highest-ranking African American in the US motor industry at that time. On July 1, 2016, he retired from General Motors after 44 years. He

2907-499: The time, was an ardent opponent of the New Deal , which bolstered labor unions and public transport . Sloan admired and supported Adolf Hitler . 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 was compensated $ 32 million by the U.S. government because its German factories were bombed by U.S. forces during

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2964-510: The war. Effective January 28, 1953, Charles Erwin Wilson , then GM president, was named by Dwight D. Eisenhower as United States Secretary of Defense . In December 1953, GM acquired Euclid Trucks , a manufacturer of heavy equipment for earthmoving , including dump trucks , loaders and wheel tractor-scrapers , which later spawned the Terex brand. Alfred P. Sloan retired as chairman and

3021-478: Was consolidated into GM on May 2, 1918, and the same year GM acquired United Motors , a parts supplier founded by Durant and headed by Alfred P. Sloan for $ 45 million, and the McLaughlin Motor Car Company , founded by R. S. McLaughlin , became General Motors of Canada Limited. In 1919, GM acquired Guardian Frigerator Company , part-owned by Durant, which was renamed Frigidaire . Also in 1919,

3078-560: Was eventually discontinued in 2004, seven years after it had become the first American car brand to turn 100. In May 2004, GM delivered the first full-sized pickup truck hybrid vehicles , the 1/2-ton Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra trucks. These mild hybrids did not use electrical energy for propulsion, like GM's later designs. Later, the company debuted another hybrid technology, co-developed with DaimlerChrysler and BMW , in diesel-electric hybrid powertrain manufactured by Allison Transmission for transit buses. Continuing to target

3135-557: Was replaced by Michael Simcoe . In 2006, GM introduced a bright yellow fuel cap on its vehicles to remind drivers that cars can operate using E85 ethanol fuel . They also introduced another hybrid vehicle that year, the Saturn Vue Green Line . In 2008, General Motors committed to engineering half of its manufacturing plants to be landfill-free by recycling or reusing waste in the manufacturing process. Continuing their environmental-conscious development, GM started to offer

3192-585: Was succeeded by Albert Bradley in April 1956. In 1962, GM introduced the first ever turbocharged production car in the world in the Oldsmobile Cutlass Turbo-Jetfire. Two years later, the company introduced its " Mark of Excellence " logo and trademark at the 1964 New York World's Fair . The company used the mark as their main corporate identifier until 2021. GM released the Electrovan in 1966,

3249-547: Was the first retail car sold with a passenger airbag . Thomas Murphy became CEO of the company, succeeding Richard C. Gerstenberg in November 1974. GM installed its first catalytic converters in its 1975 models. From 1978 to 1985, GM pushed the benefits of diesel engines and cylinder deactivation technologies. However, it had disastrous results due to poor durability in the Oldsmobile diesels and drivability issues in

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