Chevrolet
Chevrolet (colloquially Chevy) , is a brand of automobile, produced by General Motors. It is the top selling GM marque and the best known brand of General Motors worldwide, with "Chevrolet" or "Chevy" being at times synonymous for GM.
Chevrolet is General Motors' largest brand, currently offering 19 vehicles and many different enhanced versions. The brand's vehicles range from subcompact cars to medium duty commercial vehicles. Its number one sellers include the Impala, which is the number one selling car with a domestic nameplate in the United States, and the Silverado, the second best-selling pickup truck in the U.S.
In the North American market in 2005, a huge battle for bragging rights came about with Ford; both divisions needed strong sales performances as losses in the billions of dollars, market share losses, and recent announcements of factory closings and job cuts had become the norm.
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.
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.
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.
