ChevroletChevrolet sells an impressively wide range of vehicles, from subcompact hatchbacks to huge vans and SUVs. If you're looking for a reasonably priced vehicle, the odds are that Chevy will have something to fit your needs.
In 1911, after William C. Durant had been ousted from General Motors, he joined forces with Swiss-born racecar driver Louis Chevrolet to found the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. The company's first offering was the Classic Six. Introduced in 1912, this five-passenger touring sedan boasted an engine that could top 65 miles per hour, and a standard features list that included electric lights and a folding top. Chevrolet's storied bowtie logo made its first appearance in 1914. According to Chevy lore, Durant created the logo after being inspired by the wallpaper pattern of his Paris hotel room.
Another vehicle, the 490, was introduced in 1915 and met with huge success. Sales hit the 100,000 mark, and by 1918, Chevrolet's profitability allowed Durant to purchase enough shares in GM to regain control. Chevrolet quickly became another division of GM, earning honors as GM's largest volume division by the mid-1920s.
Chevrolet grew from strength to strength. By 1927, the company had managed to outsell Ford, with sales in excess of 1 million units. The company helped make life for drivers and passengers everywhere a whole lot smoother in 1934 when it introduced independent front suspension. This technology becomes even more valuable when one considers how rough the roads were back in those days.
By the 1950s, Chevrolet, GM's entry-level division, had added power brakes, seats and windows to its list of available features, allowing luxury for those on a tighter budget. The company introduced its alluring Corvette in 1953; the vehicle was the first production car with a fiberglass body. The 1960s saw the unveiling of the popular, air-cooled Corvair compact, which held the distinction of being the first domestic production car with all-round independent suspension. That decade also witnessed the launch of the compact Nova and the sporty Camaro, the latter Chevrolet's answer to the wildly successful Ford Mustang. The Camaro proved an instant hit, comprising 10 percent of Chevrolet's total sales in 1967, its first year of production.
In the 1970s, Chevy responded to changing preferences by introducing small cars like the Vega and the Chevette, and by downsizing larger models such as the Caprice and Malibu. The company combated the market domination of foreign nameplates in the 1980s by rolling out the Cavalier. This was also the period where trucks and SUVs started to become increasingly popular with the general consumer, and the brand's mid- and full-size models continue to this day to be some of the most popular on the road.
Chevrolet stands tall as the manufacturer of some of the most famous American cars and trucks of all time, including the '57 Bel Air, the Corvette, the Camaro, the Blazer and the Suburban. Today, the company continues to create the most popular brands in GM's lineup.
Chevrolet was co-founded by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant. Louis Chevrolet was a racecar driver, born on December 25, 1878, in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. William Durant, founder of General Motors, had been forced out of GM in 1910 and wanted to use Louis Chevrolet's designs to rebuild his own reputation as a force in the automobile industry. As head of Buick Motor Company, prior to founding GM, Durant had hired Chevrolet to drive Buicks in promotional races.
On November 3, 1911, Chevrolet entered the automobile market to compete with the Ford Model T. A year later, the "Classic Six" was introduced. The Classic Six was a five-passenger touring sedan equipped with a 299 in3 (4.9 L), six-cylinder engine capable of taking the car to a top speed of 65 miles per hour (104 km/h).
Chevrolet first used its "bowtie"[3] logo in 1913. This logo is said to have been designed from wallpaper Durant once saw in a French hotel. Another theory of the design of the mark is from the Swiss cross, because Louis Chevrolet was from Switzerland.
In 1915, Durant made a trip to Toronto, Ontario to determine the possibility of setting up production facilities in Canada. After meeting with "Colonel Sam" McLaughlin, whose McLaughlin Motor Car Company manufactured the McLaughlin-Buick, it was agreed that the Chevrolet Motor Car Company of Canada, operated by McLaughlin, would be created to build Chevrolet cars in Canada. Three years later, the two Canadian companies were purchased by GM to become General Motors of Canada Ltd.
By 1916 Chevrolet was profitable enough to allow Durant to buy a majority of shares in GM. After the deal was completed in 1917, Durant was president of General Motors, and Chevrolet was merged into GM, becoming a separate division. In the 1918 model year Chevrolet introduce the Model D V-8 series 4-passenger roadster and 5 passenger touring. These cars had 288ci, 35 hp engines with Zenith carburetors and 3 speed transmissions. In the 1955 model year Chevrolet introduced the most famous and versatile V8 engine ever produced. It came out with 265 cubic inches and was offered in three versions. The basic 265 had a two-barrel carburetor and was rated at 165 H.P. Horsepower was increased to 185 with the addition of a four-barrel carburetor, and an underrated 195 HP version, called the "power pack" had a high lift solid lifter cam, high compression heads, and dual exhaust. This engine became a hit with hot rodders and almost overnight became the engine of choice replacing the flathead Ford engine as the hot rodders preferred motor. In 1955 the 265 cubic inch engine was one of the smallest V8 engines offered by the big three U.S. automakers (see 264 Buick Nailhead, 241 Plymouth non-Hemi and 241 Dodge Hemi; however, it gave similar-sized cars with far more powerful engines--like the 88-series Oldsmobile with its 324 cubic-inch "Rocket" engine 324 Oldsmobile--a run for their money. For example, a Chevy equipped with the power pack engine and a three-speed manual shift transmission can achieve 60 miles per hour from a standstill in 8.4 seconds, an astonishing feat for the time. Because his engine was placed in production only 15 weeks after authorization was given by management, the engineers did not have the necessary time to do the proper dynamometer testing and rate its horsepower prior to release. The untested engine rated at 185 H.P. when released in 1955 but was rated at 205 H.P. in 1956 after dynamometer testing. Because of its exceptional breathing ability a 225 H.P. option was available by adding two four-barrel carbs. The power pack engine for 1956 also had two four-barrel carburetors and was rated at 245 H.P. In 1957 the engine was increased to 283 cubic inches. This engine also had heads with larger valves and ports and the four-barrel carburetor engine was rated at 220 H.P. Two four-barrel's gave 245 H.P. A high performance version, with a high lift solid cam and fitted with heads that had even larger intake valves, called fuel injection heads by enthusiasts, was rated at 270 H.P. Fuel injection was also offered that year. Rated at 283 H.P., this was the first engine offered by U.S. auto manufactures to produce 1 H.P. per cubic inch. This rating, however, was again incorrect due to delayed production schedules for the Rochester fuel injection unit. After proper dynamometer testing, it was rated at 290 H.P. in 1958. Enthusiasts affectionately called this engine the "fuelie."
Famous Chevy models include the large and luxurious Impala (1958) and the innovative air-cooled rear-engined Corvair (1960 - 1969.) Chevrolet had a great influence on the American automobile market during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1963, one out of every ten cars sold in the United States was a Chevrolet.
Latin America
Historically, many Latin American-market vehicles from GM were modified derivatives of older models from GM's North American and European operations. The current S10 and Blazer exemplify this strategy. However, more modern vehicles are now being marketed as market conditions change and competition increases. Besides those older models made in Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Mercosur, Korean sourced cars from former Daewoo factories some markets also get German Opel and US made Chevrolet on top of thir local line-ups.
In Argentina (whose factory was opened in Rosario in 1995), the models are the same Opels made in Brazil, along with the S-10, Blazer, and Avalanche. Chevrolet had a presence in Argentina since the 1960s where it locally produced the Chevy II (sold in Argentina as the Chevrolet 400 or Chevy), but it stopped its operations in 1978, due to high inflation.
In Brazil, the Chevrolet Opala was based on the German Opel Rekord from the late 1960s, continuing in production until the early 1990s, when it was replaced by a version of the Opel Omega. Other smaller Chevrolets in Brazil, such as the Kadett and Monza, were based on the Opel Kadett and Ascona respectively. Chevrolet's product line-up in Brazil now comprises some exclusive designs like the Corsa "B" based Celta sold in Argentina under the Suzuki brand, the Astra, and a brand new, Brazilian designed Vectra based on the current Opel Astra, while the current Corsa is built and the Omega name is now used on the Holden Commodore. Utility and four wheel drive vehicles line-up includes the S10, the Blazer, and the Montana. The Montana is a compact pickup truck that is also sold in other Latin American markets. From the 1960s to the mid-1980s, there was also a large station wagon, derived from the C10 truck (somewhat similar to the Suburban), called the Veraneio.
Chevrolet production in Chile began in 1962, although at first through local partners (in this case, Avayu with the Nova II) [2]. GM still assembles the Isuzu D-Max as LUV D-Max in Arica and Isuzu´ F and N series in Huechuraba, Santiago.
Chevrolet has been operating in Ecuador for 80 years. GM Ecuador sells US Chevrolets alongside GM-Daewoo and Opel sourced models. It also sells the 1983 Suzuki Supercarry under the Chevrolet name.
In Mexico, some of these Opel-sourced Chevrolet models are sold alongside US models. An example is regarding the Vectra. While the Brazilian Vectra is derived from the current Astra, the Mexican Vectra is actually the current Vectra as sold in Europe. Mexico also has some cars of its own, such as the Chevy C2, which is a reworked last-generation Corsa, the Sonora (which is a re-badged Tahoe), and the Cheyenne (which is similar to the Silverado but is as different as the Sonora is to the Suburban).
In Venezuela, Chevrolet has been operating since 1948, when truck production began in Caracas. In 1979 production moved to a plant in Valencia that was purchased from Chrysler. Chevrolet assembled more than 1,500,000 vehicles in its first fifty years in Venezuela.
Europe
Chevrolet Europe is a Swiss-based firm (in Zürich) that sells the rebranded products of GM Daewoo.
Until 2005, Chevrolet Europe sold a few models, mostly United States domestic market (USDM) models modified to suit European regulations. Among them were the Chevrolet Alero (which was a rebadged Oldsmobile Alero) and the Chevrolet Trans Sport (which was a Chevrolet Venture with the front end of the Pontiac Trans Sport). Among other models sold by Chevrolet Europe were the Camaro, the Corvette, the Blazer, and the TrailBlazer.
It was in 2005 that all the mainstream models from Daewoo were rebranded as Chevrolet in Europe (The ownership of the SUV models in the former Daewoo range had reverted back to ownership of Ssangyong by this time). However the Daewoo name was retained in South Korea and Vietnam. In the rest of the world, most Daewoo models have worn the Chevrolet badge since 2003. Exceptions include the use of the Suzuki badge in the US and Canada, the Pontiac badge in Canada, the Holden badge in Australia and New Zealand, and the Buick badge in China for certain Daewoo models.
The Corvette is marketed in Europe through a separate distribution channel operated by Netherlands-based Kroymans Corporation. Because the Chevrolet brand now represents value-driven cars in Europe, the Corvette name was made into a separate marque for Europe and Japan.
What most people are only just starting to realise is that across Europe Chevrolet represents quality small to medium cars a million miles away from the American gas guzzlers one might associate with a very American brand. Chevrolet are about to embark on a campaign to raise the awareness levels across Europe as to what their brand actually stands for outside the U.S. and to generate a hype around this brand.
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