100 Years of History

90,000 Parts, 100+ Years, 10,000s Locations

Over the last century, ACDelco GM Original Equipment has taken you to the moon and across the Atlantic, from sea to shining sea and just around the
corner. We hope you’ll watch this video and honor our centennial by learning more about where we’ve been, where we are and where we’re going.

After all, it’s not every global parts brand that gets to celebrate a 100th birthday.

SOARING
HISTORY

You make a lot of history when you stand with General Motors. Take a scroll through our century of innovation.

THE SPARK
IGNITES

It began with William Durant and his United Motors Corporation, which acquired dozens of smaller parts manufacturers, including Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO). When General Motors came along, changing United Motors Corporation to United Motors Service and adding AC Spark Plug to the roster, only the sky was the limit.

LUCKY
LINDY

Literally! When Charles Lindbergh set off in the Spirit of St. Louis to become the first person in history to be in New York one day and Paris the next, AC Spark Plug helped power the transatlantic journey that captured imaginations around the world.

QUEEN
OF THE AIR

But there was more aviation history to be made, and we helped Amelia Earhart make it. The plane in which Earhart became the first woman pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic (in under 15 hours) featured AC spark plugs.

BUILDING FOR
VICTORY

The 1940s brought the challenging, threatening years of World War II, and both UMS and AC Spark Plug parts went to work for the Allied cause. We also took to the skies again, producing DELCO batteries for Navy planes.

PEACETIME
EXPANSION

Having helped secure a brighter future for all, we got to work building our own. United Motors Service branched out, and began providing sales, service and training for AC rebuilt fuel pumps, DELCO batteries, DELCO radio service parts, Saginaw recirculating-ball bumper jacks and more.

OUT OF THIS
WORLD

But the space race was on, and we were proud parts of it. In fact, AC Spark Plug and DELCO Electronics teams helped NASA develop the inertial guidance systems for the entire Apollo program that took the first Astronauts to the moon.

NEW
FRONTIERS

We didn't stop there. Once man landed on the moon, he needed a way to explore it. So AC Spark Plug and DELCO (which General Motors united to form ACDelco), helped to create key components of the lunar rover vehicle used by Apollo 15 astronauts.

THE
RIGHT FIT

Back on solid ground, we kept our minds on science. With field resources deployed to support the aftermarket, service engineers were brought into the engineering of GM vehicles to ensure that ACDelco parts fit exactly like true GM Original Equipment should.

SPEEDING
AHEAD

Then we made the most of solid ground by hitting the track, with ACDelco sponsoring multiple drivers in leading motorsports events throughout the last decade of the millennium.

A GLOBAL
IMPACT

The new millennium brought new and exciting ways to connect; online commerce helped ACDelco expand its already extensive reach, with distribution across North America, Africa, and countries including Japan and India.

EYE ON THE
FUTURE

And we're celebrating all of it as we mark our 100th anniversary this year, with a renewed commitment to offering the latest in GM technological improvement and innovation as the true GM Original Equipment parts brand.