For 77 years, in good times and bad, General Motors sold more cars annually than any other company.

In 2003, Starbucks accomplished something that few companies ever do: It became a Fortune 500 company—a phenomenal achievement for a company that went public only 12 years earlier.

It is one of the least likely businesses ever invented. However, Hall- mark and its main competitors—American Greetings and Gibson Greetings, plus an assortment of so-called alternative card companies—make a good living selling sentiment to American consumers.

The price of admission to many of America’s movie theaters sometimes buys an experience sensible people would pay to avoid.

Although Hershey Chocolate USA, a division of Hershey Foods Corporation, did not meet its performance expectations in 1999, the company played an important role in increasing U.S. candy sales.

Harley-Davidson, Inc., founded in 1903, is the only remaining American motorcycle manufacturer, although there are some new upstart companies.