Spotlight on a Make: Chevrolet

Parent Company: General Motors
Founded: 1911
Headquarters: Detroit, Michigan
Products: Cars, Trucks, SUV, CUV

History

Chevrolet was founded in 1911 by Louis Chevrolet, a Swiss-French race-car driver, and William C. Durant, an American and former founder of General Motors who had been forced out of the company in 1910. Durant and Chevrolet were previously acquainted as Durant had hired Chevrolet to drive Buicks in promotional races prior to his founding of GM.

The "bowtie" logo used by Chevrolet was first used in 1913. Originally thought to have been inspired by the wallpaper Durant once saw in a French hotel, recent research shows that the design may be based on a logo for "Coalettes". In 1915 Durant was setting up production for Chevrolet vehicles in Toronto, Canada during which they agreed Chevrolets with with McLaughlin-designed bodies would be built. Within three years both companies had been purchased by General Motors and became General Motors of Canada Ltd.

By 1916 Chevrolet had become profitable enough for Durant to purchase the majority share in GM and have himself setup as president of the company by 1917.

In 1957 Chevy produced the first fuel injected engine, and by 1963 one out of every ten cars sold in the United States was a Chevrolet.

Since the acquisition of Chevrolet by GM, it has remained the flagship brand for the company, producing numerous vehicles ranging from subcompact to commercial trucks. Its number one seller in the United States is the Silverado truck, one of 18 vehicles offered under the brand.

Chevrolet Around the World

Chevrolet is sold on every continent except Antarctica. Included is: Australia, Latin America (Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina), Europe, Asia, Middle East, Thailand, South Africa, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, and Russia.

Chevrolet sells vehicles in many of these countries under the name Chevrolet. However, some other names used in countries include GM Daewoo, Opel, and GM Holden. In addition to rebranding in other countries, there are numerous makes offered outside the US, including the Commodore (Asia), Optra (Pakistan), Joy (Pakistan), Corsa (Argentina). Here is a complete list of all Chevrolet vehicles, both current and past, inside the US and abroad.

Future of Chevrolet

Chevrolet (and GM as a whole), are currently undergoing a product restructuring in North America, partly due to the economic times, and also as the demand for more viable, eco-friendly vehicles grows. As well as redesigning and rereleasing previous vehicles (such as the Chevrolet Camaro featured in the 2007 film Transformers), Chevrolet will also be releasing numerous new vehicles in the coming years. They include:

- 2010 Chevrolet Beat (previously the Spark) - a compact, 3-door hatchback.
- 2010 Chevrolet Orlando - a five-door, seven seat wagon.
- 2011 Chevrolet Cruze - a 4-door sedan set to replace the Chevrolet Cobalt.
- 2011 Chevrolet Volt - a 4-door sedan with a much touted plug-in hybrid engine.

Watches

In addition to cars, in 2007 Chevrolet launched its first watch collection under the Louis Chevrolet brand, a nod to the founder of Chevrolet who's father was a watchmaker and used to watch him at his workbench. Featuring various models, the watches take their design notes from Chevy vehicles and are manufactured in Courgenay, Switzerland.