Th e big three automakers — Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler — could have been the big two automakers had Henry Ford agreed to join the GM consortium. In September 1908 William Durant of the Buick Motor Car Company established General Motors Company, a holding company of several smaller car companies. The first merger was with Oldsmobile, and by the end of 1909 Durant had acquired a dozen automobile companies, including Oakland, Rainier, Welch-Pontiac, and Cadillac, as well as two commercial-vehicle producers and ten automotive-parts manufacturers. Durant also wanted to add the Ford line to General Motors and invited Henry Ford to join. Ford, who planned to turn to manufacturing farm equipment, demanded $8 million in cash. Durant agreed to terms stipulating an initial $2 million in cash with the balance to be paid in three years at 5 percent interest. Strapped for working...