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<h4>I was there...</h4>
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<li>[[GM's Road to Virtual Product Development]]</li>
<li>[[The Apollo Guidance System]]</li>
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When you think of General Motors, you think of cars and trucks.  Over the past hundred years, GM has scored dozens of “firsts” that are little known even to car buffs.

What you may not know is that GM’s other activities have ranged from the first diesel locomotive to medical research, the Apollo space program, and several other areas that will surprise most people. The following list is just a sample of little known historical GM feats — a mini-version of GM’s own ''Guinness Book of World Records''.  


[[Image:1919-4-1.jpg|thumb|]]In [[1919, Frigidaire Gives GM a Non-Automotive Edge|1919, GM bought an unknown company]] that had built the world’s first commercial refrigerator for $100,000 and re-named it Frigidaire.  Eight years later, [[The Frigidaire Story|Frigidaire]] was a household name and was contributing more than $15 million to GM’s annual net earnings.




[[Image:1919 GM ENTERS AIRPLANE BUSS GMR-AD-7010.jpg|thumb|]]One of the [[North American Aviation and GM|early non-automotive enterprises]] that GM bought in the 1920s eventually became known as Eastern Airlines, one of the largest airlines in the U.S. until it was broken up in the late 1970s.




[[Image:1929-3-1.jpg|thumb|]]In [[1929, The First Room Air Conditioner|1929, GM’s Frigidaire Division]] brought the world’s first room air conditioner to market.




[[Image:66702-0001.jpg|thumb|]]GM Research demonstrated the revolutionary [[1933, GM’s Two-Cycle Diesel Changes the Propulsion Game|two-stroke diesel engine]], which had been in development for five years, at the [[1933, GM at the Chicago World’s Fair|Chicago World’s Fair]] in 1933.  The President of Burlington Railroad saw the exhibit and immediately ordered one built for his railroad’s new streamlined [[GM Powers the Burlington Zephyr|Pioneer Zephyr]].  The Zephyr’s speed and efficiency spelled the end of the steam locomotive and the GM two-stroke diesel was soon adopted not only by railroads but manufacturers of heavy trucks, boats, and off-road equipment around the world.  




[[Image:109245.jpg|thumb|]][[1942, Production Goes to War|During World War II]], GM was the Allied Forces’ biggest supplier, delivering more than $12 billion in goods ranging from airplanes to tanks, marine diesel engines, trucks, machine guns, bullets, and artillery shells.




[[Image:X10565-0001.jpg|thumb|]]GM scientists and engineers developed and built the world’s [[1952, The First Mechanical Heart Pump|first mechanical heart pump]] in 1952, making possible the world’s first open heart surgery.  Today, it is on display at the Smithsonian Institution. 




[[Image:X31381-0001.jpg|thumb|]]In 1955, GM collaborated with Lockheed and IBM to develop the world’s first computer operating system:  today, GM’s cars have 10 times the computing power of that system and more than the computer system used in Apollo moon rockets.




[[Image:1969-1.jpg|thumb|]]GM was a leader in developing and manufacturing the guidance and navigation systems for commercial aircraft in the 1960s and was tapped to develop and build the guidance and navigation systems for the Apollo 11 astronauts’ [[1969, Getting to the Moon|mission to the moon]] in 1969.




[[Image:19175.jpg|thumb|]]GM designed and manufactured the mobility system for the Lunar Roving 	Vehicle used by the Apollo 15 astronauts to [[1971, Getting Around on the Moon|navigate the moon’s surface in 1971]]. This unique vehicle is now on display at the [http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/apollo/lrv/lrv.htm Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum].




[[Image:X57700-0037.jpg|thumb|]]In the early 1970s, after experimenting with several different designs and materials, GM median safety barrier: the same basic design and concept are still used on highways across the U.S. today.




[[Image:B3425-R250-0012.jpg|thumb|]]In 1974, GM’s earth-moving equipment [[Euclid and Terex History|division, Terex]], built the world’s largest truck, called the Terex Titan.  Used in mining operations, it was powered by a 3,300 horsepower locomotive engine supplied by GM’s [[The Electro-Motive Story|Electro-Motive Division]]. It measured 66 feet in length and 22.6 feet scientists and engineers at the Milford Proving Ground developed the first metal highway in height and could haul a load of more than 360 tons.

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=== Related Links ===
[[GM Heritage Center Archives]]<br>
[[The Story Behind the GM Mark]]<br>
[[One of G.M.'s Contributions to National Security]]<br>
[[GM Goes to the Moon]]<br>
[[Fisher Body Goes to War]]
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