History of Chevrolet

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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" 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 one of the originial founders was from there.

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 1955 model year Chevrolet introduced the small block V8 engine, 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--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.

In recent years, Chevrolet, along with the other major North American automobile manufacturers, have come under fire for the quality assurance and general reliability of their model ranges. However, North American automobile models tend to have better reliability ratings and are generally of somewhat better quality than foreign marques.

Louis Chevrolet won 27 major races during his career and was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1926. He died of complications from leg surgery in 1941 at the age of 63.