If Henry Ford was the cold-blooded engineer of Detroit’s motor revolution, then William Crapo Durant was its wild-eyed carnival barker – a showman, a gambler, and a man who built and lost empires with the same blinding stare.

The car was not invented by him. 

He barely enjoyed driving. 

And yet, Durant saw something more in the auto industry – a future filled with gears, glass, and unstoppable ambition.

With that in mind, he was creating more than just a car company when he started General Motors in 1908.

He was imagining capitalism in motion.

Durant was raised by his grandfather, Henry Crapo, a lumber baron and former governor of Michigan, born in 1861. 

Young Billy Durant then left high school for sales. 

He had a voice that calmed bankers and excited crowds, not to mention a charisma that made investors believe in whatever he was selling, be it cigars or carriages. 

Durant’s first big win came in the form if the Durant-Dort Carriage Company, one of the largest carriage manufacturers in 1900, during a time when horses were on their way out and the entire world was starting to smell of oil.

In short – while some feared the future, Durant saw only raw opportunity.

The struggling Buick Motor Company caught Durant’s eye in 1904, mainly because their car was better than many others on the market in a mechanical sense, albeit poorly managed.

A man allergic to small thinking, Durant took control and made Buick the crown jewel of a new kind of business idea – a corporate umbrella for many car companies rather than just one.

In 1908, Durant had accomplished one of the largest industrial fusions in American history. He formed General Motors in Oakland (which would later become Pontiac), and in just a few short years GM absorbed:

• Buick
• Oldsmobile
• Cadillac

Durant did not merely build these companies.

He bought them, charmed their owners, and attracted as many investors and bankers as he could find to take his pitch.

But Durant did not want just one perfect car.

The whole thing was about diversification – luxury, mid-range, and affordable. 

A vehicle for every driver and a brand for every dream.

It was brilliant, chaotic, and decades ahead of its time.

Or so he thought…

Durant was not a man of caution. 

He preached expansion, not restraint. 

To expand growth, he overleveraged GM, and by 1910, the banks had had enough.

His company forced him out – a blow that would have buried most men – but not Billy Durant.

He did not weep.

He did not retire.

He built a new rival from scratch.

Durant teamed up with Louis Chevrolet – a fiery Swiss racecar driver with a fast engine – in 1911.

The result was the Chevrolet Motor Company, a slick, practical car for the middle class.

That said, Durant was not overly sentimental.

In 1915, he bought Louis out, took full control of the brand, and did the unthinkable: he smashed the German market in two.

He then used Chevrolet stock and profits to retake General Motors control in 1916, pulling off one of American business’s greatest corporate comeback coups.

Just like that, Durant once again headed General Motors – a giant with Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, and GMC under its belt.

He had Detroit right where he wanted it now.

At least for the moment…

Durant was just as volatile in his second stint at General Motors. 

Though the post-WWI economic crash in 1920 hit GM hard, Durant’s risky financial style did not fit the board’s growing call for discipline and control.

The result was him finally being pushed out for good.

At 59, he could have easily called it quits, but that wasn’t Durant.

Instead, he tried again.

A second empire-building attempt came in 1921 with Durant Motors, and though it didn’t replicate GM’s exact magic, it would go on to launch Flint Motors and Star Motors at a time when the industry was consolidating and a depression seemed inevitable. 

In short: the world was changing, and Durant’s risky, personal, instinctive style was looking increasingly old-fashioned.

In the early 1930s, Durant Motors failed.

And by the 1940s, William C. Durant – the man who once ruled Detroit – was now so hard up on cash that he was running a bowling alley in Flint.

Durant died in 1947 largely unnoticed by the business world he once controlled.

And yet, his fingerprints were everywhere:

The company he envisioned became General Motors, the largest automaker in the world, and his multi-brand portfolios became the model for modern corporations.

He proved that charisma, vision, and boldness could create more than a product – but an institution. 

His name may be overshadowed by Ford’s perfectionism, Lacocca’s bravado, and Chrysler’s skyscraper, yet Durant was still the original mad architect.

While other men engineered cars, he engineered empires.

When other players played it safe, he bet it all – twice.

Where others left behind blueprints, Durant left behind stories:

About risk.

About rebirth.

And about the raw, relentless energy of Detroit in its wildest automotive age.

Victoria Jackson (Editor In Chief)

Victoria Jackson is a lifelong student and sharp-eyed documentarian of all things Detroit, from its rich musical roots and cultural icons to its shifting neighborhoods, storied architecture, and underground legends. With her finger firmly on the pulse of both the city’s vibrant past and its rapidly unfolding future, she brings a deeply personal, historically grounded lens to every piece she writes.

Published on: June 26, 2025