Chevrolet Pics, Stats, & History

Chevrolet, which is now part of General Motors (GM), was founded by Louis Chevrolet on November 3rd, 1911 to compete with Ford's Model T. Louis was a race car driver who was born on December 25th, 1878, in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. He started out as a mechanic, and after acquiring a taste for automobile racing he proceeded to work for Buick. Here his design skills were produced, and he went on to design his own engine for a new car in 1909. Louis Chevrolet was a mechanical genius who lacked a traditional education, and took after his older brother Gaston who won the 1920 Indy 500 from a car he built himself. The Chevrolet Motor Car Company had been launched in Detroit, Michigan and Louis Chevrolet started it with a partner, named William C. Durant. In 1915 Chevrolet and Durant had some designing disagreements and Chevrolet sold Durant his portion of the company. The next year Chevy was merged into Durant's General Motors.

General Motors had been founded a few years previous, in 1908 by William Crapo ("Billy") Durant. Originally at Durant-Dort Carriage Company, Durant took control of the Buick Motor Company on November 1st, 1904 and went on to form General Motors as a holding company for Buick. Before taking Chevrolet he had already managed to acquire Cadillac in 1909 as well as the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac. The Rapid truck, actually the predecessor of the GMC Truck, went on to become the first vehicle to conquer Pikes Peak the same year.

In 1912 the "Classic Six" was unveiled to the public to rival the Ford Model-T. This was a sedan with a 4.9 litre, 299cc engine capable of hauling five passengers at 65 mph. Needing a logo, Chevrolet came up with the "bowtie" logo in 1913. We've included a photo of the first advertisement printed after the logo's development. As most all car enthusiasts know, Chevrolet has produced tons of different vehicle types throughout the 20th century such as the Impala, Chevette, Chevelle and the short lived, Mid-Rear Engine, called the Corvair. The Camaro was discontinued in 2002 after being produced since 1967 (35 years). Five years before the introduction of the Impala, in 1953 came the Corvette, which has become Chevrolet's longest car model in production, continuing its showcase even today with the C6 model. The longest truck in production by Chevy would definitely be the Suburban, which was presented in 1936 and is still being produced.

In 1992 Louis Chevrolet was introduced into the International MotorSports Hall of Fame. He was buried at the Holy Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Although most of GM's Chevrolet branding is shown to North America, Chevy retains brand names in some foreign countries as well for various GM cars such as the Lumina, Corsa, Astra, and the Vectra.