Celebrating 100 years of Chevrolet
- March 8, 2011
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- Posted by Website Administrator
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2011 officially marks the 100th year for Chevrolet and when you stop to think about it, 100 years of Chevrolet is quite a bit of time for any business to stay up and running. But boy, is it running smooth. Through the years Chevrolet has become a leader in the automotive industry and only shows signs of growing stronger. Lets take a look back to see how it all started.
William Durant – The Man Who Started it All
GM was started by automotive marketer William C. Durant in 1908. Through the years Durant took notice of the famous racer, Louis Chevrolet, as he set the land-speed record in 1905 for reaching 111 MPH in a special open race car. Durant hired Chevrolet to do big races and promotional drives for his company.
Being cast out from the company he founded, Durant left GM in 1910 and got together with Mr. Chevrolet and some of his partners to make a new car. Believing that Chevrolet’s fame as a racer would help sell the car, the name “Chevrolet” was used and the Chevrolet company was introduced in 1911 and its first car, the Series C Classic Six was produced as a higher end (price comparable to $50,000 in today’s market) vehicle with a 4.9L, six-cylinder engine producing 40 horsepower.
Random Fact:
Chevrolet first used its “Bowtie emblem” logo in 1913 which is said to have been inspired from wallpaper Durant saw in a French hotel. Back then, I’m sure it never occurred to him that we’d eventually be celebrating 100 years of Chevrolet.
Runde Auto Group has also had a long successful run in the car business with a history of providing great service to the Tri-State community. And our hats are off to all the folks who work for Chevrolet. We couldn’t do what we do without you.
