Today marks the 100th anniversary of the creation of ACDelco, the automotive parts brand owned by General Motors. In Flint, Michigan on May 11, 1916, GM founder William C. “Billy” Durant put together his “dream team” of premium automotive brands to form a new company that would provide a single source for service and replacement parts. Named United Motors Corporation, it was acquired by GM in 1918, eventually becoming known as ACDelco.
Over the course of the last 100 years, the brand has been a part of some major history, from the airplanes of Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, to the rocket ships used on the Apollo moon missions, to the racecars driven by Dale Earnhardt. Today, the company boasts a catalog of over 90,000 parts across 37 lines.
“No business achieves this kind of a milestone by itself, and we’re grateful for the support of our parts customers and employees who’ve helped make ACDelco what it is today,” said ACDelco general director Robert Sanford. “We’re honored that so many insist on using ACDelco parts, and we’re looking forward to another 100 years of aftermarket leadership.”
To honor today’s anniversary, ACDelco is celebrating in a variety of ways, including recognizing its top Professional Service Center stores, giving 100 scholarships to future automotive technicians, and giving back to various communities during Day of Service events throughout the US.
ACDelco is accepting nominations from now until July 30th for its Top Shops contest, which will reward five of the best members of the company’s Professional Service Center (PSC) program with a trip to Las Vegas and special recognition at this year’s Automotive Aftermarket Product Expo (AAPEX) show.
As part of its “100 Years, 100 Futures,” ACDelco is providing 100 scholarships to students in GM’s Automotive Service Educational Program (ASEP). Five scholarship recipients will be announced each week, beginning this month.
And finally, during the week of May 11th, ACDelco will partner with the GM Foundation to help local chapters of Safe Kids Worldwide and its PSC program shops in 17 different cities to ohelp families in need repair their vehicles.
To learn more about this milestone, visit ACDelco.com/100years.
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