Chevrolet is a division of General Motors that manufactures pickups, SUVs, and cars. Today the Chevrolet brand is the most popular brand of the automobile concern. The history of Chevrolet began on November 03, 1911, when the head of General Motors, William Durant, invited Louis Chevrolet, the most famous racer in America at that time, to create his own car. The company got its name from the name of the racer, which was a big plus at the dawn of the formation of the Chevrolet company because the name of the race car driver was heard in the motorsport of that time. In 1912, Chevrolet released the first car model, called the Classic-Six. The car was a five-seater sedan with a six-cylinder engine and 30 horsepower. The model turned out to be quite perfect, high-speed, and therefore not cheap, which became the reason for its low purchasing power. To correct the situation in the market, William Durant, as a practical person, decided to bet on the creation of inexpensive cars, but Louis Chevrolet dreamed of producing expensive, high-speed cars. So immediately, since 1912, the interests of the founders of the company diverged, and Louis Chevrolet left the company and did not take part in the further automotive industry. However, despite this, William Durant decided to keep the name “Chevrolet” for the company.
Since 1914, the inexpensive four-cylinder Royal Mail and Baby Grand began to be produced under the Chevrolet brand. The well-known logo of the Chevrolet company – across, or its other name: a bow tie – first appeared on these models. The history of Chevrolet, as a company specializing in the production of inexpensive and simple cars, began in 1916, when a cheap but reliable Chevrolet-490 was published. The car proved to be very popular, it had a conventional three-speed gearbox, as well as a 2.8-liter four-cylinder engine, it was equipped with electric headlights and a starter. Mass production of Chevrolet-490 cars continued until 1922. The 490 was replaced in 1923 by a new, modern at that time 26-horsepower Superior car, which became no less popular than the Chevrolet-490.
One of the next significant technological achievements of the company came in 1934 when Chevrolet began to produce cars with independent front wheel suspension. Having a positive effect on the ease and convenience of driving, it at the same time reduced tire wear while driving. During the Second World War, Chevrolet switched to the production of military equipment. And the production of civilian cars resumed only in 1946.
In the post-war period, the company was engaged in the production of already well-known models, and only in 1949 did the De Luxe model and the Special model appear on the market. In 1953, the history of Chevrolet continued with the release of the first car in the Corvette line, which became the first production sports car in America. The car was equipped with a powerful 3.8-liter engine and an automatic transmission. Since 1956, “Corvette” has already been embodied in a real sports car, its power reached 290 horsepower. In 1961, “Corvette 283” with fuel injection could boast of a capacity of 315 “horses”, he was able to pick up a speed of 100 km / h in a record 5.5 seconds. In 1963, the Corvette model became a regular participant in various car dealerships. She was the subject of universal admiration, rightfully representing the American style of automobile construction.
In 1969, the Chevrolet Corporation created the all-wheel drive, Chevrolet Blazer. This SUV significantly changed the idea of cars of this type, it turned out to be more spacious, roomy, and more powerful than similar models of competitors. The Chevrolet Blazer “K” series, which had a full-size pickup chassis, boasted small dimensions and excellent maneuverability while remaining spacious enough. Since 1970, the company’s activities have been focused on the production of smaller cars, so the Vega model becomes the first minicar produced by Chevrolet. The vigorous activity of the company in those years led to the appearance in 1981 of the first Cavalier car. Initially, the Cavalier was aimed at capturing imported car buyers. This led to the Cavalier becoming the top-selling car in the United States very quickly from 1984-1985. In 1992, Chevrolet developed two new four-wheel-drive vehicles: the Suburban and the Blazer. In 1995, the revamped Blazer was voted “Off-Road Vehicle of the Year” by Motor Trend magazine. In 1996, Chevrolet returned to the classic Malibu brand. A version of the classic sedan was born, which won the title “Car of the Year” in 1997. Today, the history of Chevrolet cars continues, under the Chevrolet brand, a huge number of cars of various types and all kinds of classes are produced in many parts of the world: the USA, Brazil, Canada, Kore, Russia, Argentina, and other countries.
Leave a Reply