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Chevrolet Car Clubs
The American based car manufacturer Chevrolet has become one of the biggest selling car marques in the USA and offers a variety of models all over the world. The story behind this famous American brand began in Switzerland, with the birth of Louis Chevrolet. At the age of 8 Louis and his family moved to France and by 11 he had left school to work at the Roblin Bicycle workshop. Throughout his teenage years Louis Chevrolet became a gifted bicycle mechanic and by the age of 18 he is said to of had an encounter which would shape his future forever. Whilst working on a motorised three-wheeler he is said to of impressed its American owner so much with his ability, that the wealthy American tourist urged Louis to take his skills over the Atlantic in order to find his fortune. Four years later, in 1900 Louis moved to Canada to work as a mechanic and chauffeur and just a year later he went to work for de Dion-Bouton in New York, at this time the largest car manufacturer in the world. This also led to the start of Louis’ motor racing career which would lead him to race for Buick by 1907, winning many races and becoming famous as one of the worlds leading drivers. This success caught the eye of General Motors founder William Durrant who, in 1910, was forced off the board of directors by GM. Eager to regain control of the company he approached Chevrolet with a proposal to use the now well known Chevrolet name and form the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911. The first car to be launched was the ‘Classic 6’, a direct competitor to Ford’s ‘Model T’ and a reasonable success. However even at this early stage differences of opinion between Louis Chevrolet and William Durrant became apparent. Chevrolet wanted to make high-end, luxury models, while Durrant sought to conquer the mass market which had already proved so lucrative. Eventually in 1913 Chevrolet sold his share in the company to Durrant who went on to produce the immensely popular ‘490’ model. So many ‘490’s were sold that Durrant was able to buy a controlling share in GM and he became president once more in 1917. A year later Chevrolet and General Motors were merged. Between 1931 and 1934 Chevrolet became America’s biggest selling car and by the 50’s the company was producing models such as the ‘Bel Air’, ‘El Camino’ and ‘Corvette’. However the companies most enduring production was the 1955 ‘Chevvy small block V8’ engine which has become the worlds longest produced, mass market engine and is still built today, albeit with numerous changes to its original design. The 1960’s saw the ‘Camaro’, ‘Corvair’ and ‘Impala’ models make their debuts and by 1979 Chevrolet had built over 100 million cars! Until 2005 GM had sold modified US models into the European market under the Chevrolet name, however since this time the Chevrolet badge has been used on GM’s Daewoo models such as the ‘Spark’, ‘Aveo’ and ‘Lacetti’ (Made famous for its use in Top Gear’s “star in a reasonably priced car” between 2006-2010). One of Chevrolet’s most recent models is the ‘Volt’; a plug-in electric car which the company hopes will lead it toward producing more environmentally friendly models in the future. Owners and Fans of the Chevrolet marque can join one of the clubs listed in this directory including the Chevrolet Owners Club car club and the Classic Chevvy Club car club which is part of the Association Of American Car Clubs UK. |
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