Chevrolet History

Louis Chevrolet and William Durant founded the Chevrolet brand of automobile in 1911. General Motors acquired the Chevrolet brand in 1917 to be direct competition to the Model T. Today, Chevrolet is still the feather in GM's cap as their highest selling brand. The entire range of vehicles is manufactured by Chevrolet, from compacts to commercial sized trucks.

The "bowtie" logo was introduced in 1913 and there are several stories of how it came to be. One story is that Durant fashioned it after a design on wallpaper he saw in a French hotel. Another story says the logo is based upon the Coalettes logo. Some say the bowtie shaped symbol is in honor of his parent's homeland and the Swiss cross. Throughout the next few decades, Chevrolet remained top competition for Ford. In 1927, for the first time, Chevrolet outsold Ford as it topped 1 million units sold. When the Chrysler Corporation introduced the Plymouth line in 1928, Chevrolet, Plymouth and Ford became known as the "low-priced three."

Innovations made by Chevrolet to the auto industry include articulated brake shoes and independent front suspension. During the war years from 1942 to 1948, Chevrolet concentrated on producing wartime equipment. 1949 and Chevy is back in civilian production with the Fastback and the Bustleback styles. The first automatic transmission in the lower price sector was introduced in 1950 and was called Powerglide.

The Chevrolet Corvette was introduced in 1953 as the first volume produced sports car with a plastic body. In 1957, Chevrolet produced its first fuel-injected engine - the Ramjet system. Chevrolet created the Impala in 1958 as competition for Cadillac and was met with instant success. The Corvair was born in 1959 and in 1967, Camaro joined the family.

The 1979 Monza becomes the 100-millionth Chevrolet built and in 1980, the Citation was introduced as the first front-wheel-drive car. Motor Trend magazine votes the 1982 Camaro, "Car of the Year", and in 1985, the Astro van was established.

Popular culture has many references to the iconic car. Songs such as Little Red Corvette, American Pie, Chevy Van, and My Camaro are all about the well-known auto. Advertising catch phrases like "The most dependable, longest lasting trucks on the road", "Like a Rock", "The cars more Americans can depend on", and "This is our Country", are all famously remembered. There is even a brand of watches marketed under the Louis Chevrolet brand. NASCAR has several major teams that drive their cars and Chevrolet is by far the most successful automaker in the history of NASCAR.

It was reported in spring 2010 that Chevrolet makers, General Motors, were trying to get rid of the nickname "Chevy" from their Chevrolet brand. In a memo from GM executives to Chevrolet employees in Detroit, the execs suggested using the brands name Chevrolet consistently to promote brand recognition. There was an outpouring of criticism for this decision and General Motors re-evaluated their opinion. "Chevy Runs Deep" is the marketing slogan for the 2011 line of vehicles, and it is intended to elicit emotions of the past. Another slogan of "Excellence for Everyone" is slated to improve the image of the largest division of General Motors. TheOnceProject.net contains much more information about the Chevrolet brand of automobiles.