The beginning of Chevrolet History in U S A

The beginning of Chevrolet History in U S A

A legend made by one man called Louis Chevrolet

June 1, 1918. French driver Louis Chevrolet and mechanic in their Frontenac at the Sheepshead Bay Speedway in Brooklyn, racing in the Harkness Handicap. 5

Chevrolet (name of French origin - colloquially Chevy). Louis Chevrolet was a racecar driver, born on December 25, 1878, in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. Louis was taught the rudiments of mechanics and the intricacies of precision work by his father, a watch and clockmaker. He had natural mechanical ability and learned quickly.

His family moved to the Burgundy region of France when he was six years old. When he was somewhat older, he got his first job with a vineyard, where in his observation the wine was decanting too slowly from one barrel to the other, he designed a wine pump for that purpose with great success and it remained in use for many years in the Burgundy country..

While still in his teens he got a job in a bicycle shop, bicycles were just coming into their own and it was a big weekend activity. He worked on bicycle gears and worked at perfecting them. From repairing bicycles it was just a small move to a big interest into the 'new" automobile industry. In 1898, he got a job with the Mors Auto Company, and was sent to an auto dealership in Montreal, Canada. In 1899 he worked as a chauffeur-mechanic and then moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he was hired to work for the DeDion Bouton Motorette Company.

 

He was offered the chance to be substitute race driver for Fiat and was soon racing around New York tracks at a breath-taking 68 miles per hour. He became known when he beat out Barney Oldfield in 1905.

Now renown for his racing skills and having been hired as a Buick racing driver, it was inevitable that he would meet up with William C Durant.

William C. Durant founded General Motors in 1908 to combine Buick, Oldsmobile and Cadillac with a capital stock of $12.5 million. Durant became financially overextended in 1910 and banking interests forced him from the management of GM.

"Billy" Durant recognized the design skills of Louis Chevrolet and went into partnership to found "Chevrolet Motor Car Company" on November 3, 1911. In 1912, Chevrolet came out with an automobile with six cylinders and a 4.9 litre engine, a five passenger touring sedan known as  "Classic Six" and able to reach a top speed of 65 miles per hour (104 km/h).

It was in 1913, that Chevrolet first used its "bowtie" logo. 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.

However the partnership was doomed to failure, as their differences soon became apparent, Louis Chevrolet had always wanted to build high-quality cars, but Durant recognized very early the trend towards the "people's car". Neither would give-in and they parted company in 1913. The "Chevrolet Company" became successful enough for Durant to buy out Chevrolet's share and then buy enough shares back in GM to regain control, Chevrolet, however, left behind his own name. William Durant was president of General Motors from 1916 - 1920.

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.

General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1917 and by 1920, the Chevrolet Division began designing new models and styles to try and beat out Ford's Model A and Dodge. In the 1918 model year Chevrolet introduced 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, but the first "outstanding" car which differed from their competitors was the 1925 Superior, which sported disc wheels and sold for a mere $625. This model allowed Chevrolet to outsell Ford for the first time.

The next big development came in 1929 when Chevrolet introduced its six-cylinder truck engine, which came to be known as the "cast iron wonder", because of its' power and durability. Chevrolet sold over a million cars in the first year alone at the remarkable price of just $595.

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 Chevrolet 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."

Chevrolet has always been the innovator of the GM company, with V-grilles, hydraulic brakes, bigger and better engines, column shifts and the famous convertibles (in 1940 the power top was a top priority). 1939 was the year of the station wagon.

Famous Chevrolet 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.

Chevrolet outside North America 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.

Gm is the world's largest automaker and as such has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services.

GM is the majority shareholder in GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. of South Korea, and has product, powertrain and purchasing collaborations with Suzuki Motor Corp. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. of Japan. GM also has advanced technology collaborations with DaimlerChrysler AG and BMW AG of Germany and Toyota Motor Corp. of Japan, and vehicle manufacturing ventures with several automakers around the world, including Toyota, Suzuki, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. of China, AVTOVAZ of Russia and Renault SA of France.

Chevrolet has greatly added to this impressive history and has always been a leader for the GM line of automobiles