American History Online

Chevrolet is often called Chevy by those who love it. It’s an automobile brand that was recently acquired by General motors. Chevrolet is on of the most popular American cars, and in 2005 it sold more cars and trucks then it’s main rival - Ford.

Chevrolet was co-founded by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant. Louis Chevrolet was a Swiss racecar driver, who developed the design of the first Chevrolet. William Durant, was the man who actually founded General Motors, but was forced out of it in 1910. He wanted to use Louis Chevrolet’s unique designs to make his way back to the top of the automobile industry.

In 1911, Chevrolet and Durant entered the automobile market to compete with the Ford Model T. In 1914, the “Classic Six” Chevrolet started marketing a new model they called ” The Classic Six”. It was a 5-passenger touring sedan equipped with a 4.9 L, 6-cylinder engine capable of taking the car’s passengers to a “stunning” top speed of 15 miles per hour.

The first use of the Chevrolet logo we all know was in 1913. That logo is often called “the bowtie”.

In 1916, Chevrolet was enough a strong player to allow Durant to buy his way in to General Motors. After the deal was finalized in 1917, Durant was president of General Motors, and Chevrolet was merged into GM, becoming a separate division.

The sixties have been an exiting time for the Chevy. Here are some trivia details from those years:

In 1960 The Corvair sedan model hit the market. It was the first American production car with all-round independent suspension. In 1962 Compact Chevy II Nova introduced. all-round independent suspension. In 1963, one out of every ten cars sold in the United States was a Chevrolet. In 1964 the All-new, full-size Chevrolet features dramatic, flowing styling. Luxurious Caprice model introduced. Also in that year, Chevrolet is the first to build more then 3 million cars and trucks in one year. 1966 - Chevrolet unveils the Camaro as a 1967 model. It proves an instant hit — so much so that, in a 2.2 million-car year, 10 percent of 1967 Chevrolet sales are Camaros. 1967 First Camaro SS version paces Indy 500. By now, the pony car phenomenon has captured the country’s imagination and Camaro is right there to grab it. A popular magazine says, “the youth quake in Detroit has brought a new generation of cars”

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Early American History