50 Fun Facts About Chevrolet

In what year was the Chevrolet Motor Car Company founded?

Louis and Arthur Chevrolet started it with William C. Durant on November 3, 1911; Durant had founded General Motors in 1908 and been forced out in 1910.

In which country was Louis Chevrolet born?

He was born on Christmas Day 1878 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a watchmaking town in French-speaking Switzerland, and moved to France as a boy.

What was Louis Chevrolet's profession before lending his name to the company?

Durant had hired him to race Buicks and planned to build the new brand on his reputation; Chevrolet drove the Indianapolis 500 four times.

How did William C. Durant use the Chevrolet company in 1918?

Durant used Chevrolet's profits to buy GM stock and regain control of General Motors by 1916; on May 2, 1918 GM absorbed Chevrolet in a reverse merger, and he remained president until 1920.

In which Michigan city did Durant consolidate Chevrolet production in 1913?

Durant consolidated Chevrolet production in Flint in 1913, alongside his Buick and carriage businesses; the riverside complex known as 'Chevy in the Hole' is today's Chevy Commons.

What was the first Chevrolet automobile called?

The Series C Classic Six, designed by Etienne Planche with Louis Chevrolet, was a $2,150 tourer capable of 65 mph, far pricier than the mass-market car Durant had in mind.

According to the most-repeated legend, where did Durant get the idea for the bowtie logo?

Durant claimed he copied the bowtie from wallpaper in a French hotel room in Paris in 1908; a rival theory traces it to a newspaper ad for 'Coalettes' fuel, and the logo first appeared on 1914 models.

In what year did Chevrolet unify all its models under the gold bowtie?

In 2004 Chevrolet put the gold bowtie on every model worldwide; before that passenger cars had worn blue bowties, trucks gold and some performance models a red outline.

Which GM chief's maxim 'a car for every purse and purpose' made Chevrolet the corporation's volume brand?

A 1921 management survey had actually recommended killing the Chevrolet division; Sloan saved it and hired ex-Ford man Knudsen to run operations.

In which year did Chevrolet first outsell Ford in the United States?

Chevrolet first outsold Ford in 1927, when Ford shut its assembly lines for months to switch from the Model T to the Model A.

What nickname did Chevrolet's famous 1929 overhead-valve inline six acquire?

The 'Stovebolt' nickname came from the engine's slotted-head fasteners, which looked like stove bolts; the Blue Flame and Turbo-Thrift were later Chevrolet sixes.

In what year did the Chevrolet small-block V8 debut?

The small-block V8 debuted for 1955 as a 265-cubic-inch engine in Chevrolet cars and the Corvette; its descendants have powered Pontiacs, Buicks, Hummers, Opels and Holdens.

The Corvette was named after what?

PR assistant director Myron Scott suggested the naval name in 1953; the car debuted as a Motorama show car at New York's Waldorf-Astoria.

What color were all 300 hand-built 1953 Corvettes?

Every 1953 Corvette was Polo White with a red interior, a Blue Flame six and a two-speed Powerglide automatic; just 300 were hand-assembled that first year.

In which Kentucky city has the Corvette been built since 1981?

Corvette assembly moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, in June 1981 from St. Louis, which had built the car since 1954; the National Corvette Museum opened across the road in 1994.

Which Corvette generation was the first to move the engine behind the driver?

Seven generations kept a front mid-engine layout through 2019; the C8 finally went rear mid-engined, an idea the car's chief engineer had pushed for decades.

Which engineer is nicknamed the 'Father of the Corvette', though Harley Earl created the car?

Zora Arkus-Duntov, a Belgian-born engineer who raced at Le Mans and joined GM in 1953 after seeing the Motorama car, spent two decades turning Earl's show car into a true sports car.

The Camaro was launched in 1966 to compete with which car?

The Camaro answered the Ford Mustang, which had sold a million cars within two years of its 1964 launch; the Camaro and its Pontiac Firebird twin arrived for 1967.

What was the Camaro's codename during development, before GM staged a mock 'society' to eradicate it?

Journalists got telegrams about the 'Society for the Eradication of Panthers from the Automotive World' before the June 1966 unveiling.

When reporters asked 'What is a Camaro?', what did Chevrolet product managers famously answer?

Product managers told reporters a Camaro was 'a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs'; merchandising manager Bob Lund and GM VP Ed Rollett had found the name in a French-English dictionary.

Which Transformers character has taken the form of a Camaro since the 2007 film?

Bumblebee first appears as a battered 1970s second-generation Camaro, then a 2006 Camaro Concept; Age of Extinction switched him to a customized 1967 model.

When did production of the sixth-generation Camaro end?

The last sixth-generation Camaro, a 2024 model, left the Lansing Grand River plant in December 2023; an earlier hiatus had run from 2002 to the fifth generation's 2010 return.

The Bel Air was named after a wealthy neighborhood in which city?

The name came from Bel Air, the wealthy Los Angeles enclave; from 1950 to 1952 it was used only on two-door hardtops, before the mid-1950s 'Tri-Five' Bel Airs became icons.

The Impala is named after what?

The leaping African antelope became the car's badge; the debut Impala stood out with symmetrical triple taillights that became a marque signature.

In what year did the Impala debut, as part of GM's 50th-anniversary lineup?

The Impala debuted for 1958, GM's golden-anniversary year, as the top Bel Air trim; the Caprice grew out of it in 1965.

Which Chevrolet holds the record as the longest-produced automobile nameplate in the world?

The Suburban nameplate dates from 1935, the longest continuous run of any automobile nameplate; GMC sells the same vehicle as the Yukon XL and Cadillac as the Escalade ESV.

What was unusual about the Corvair's engine layout when it launched for 1960?

The Corvair's rear-mounted and air-cooled flat-six sat behind the rear axle, Beetle-style, making it Chevrolet's answer to imports; its early swing-axle rear suspension drew Ralph Nader's criticism.

Which 1965 book by Ralph Nader attacked the early Corvair's handling?

Unsafe at Any Speed devoted its first chapter to the 1960–63 Corvair; a 1972 NHTSA study by Texas A&M later found its handling no worse than its contemporaries'.

The El Camino was introduced in 1959 in response to which rival's success?

The Ford Ranchero, launched for 1957, sold well enough that Chevrolet answered with the 1959 El Camino; after a two-year run it returned in 1964 on the Chevelle platform.

Which top-of-the-line Chevelle model fully replaced the Chevelle name in 1978?

Malibu, the Chevelle's top trim since 1964, became the model name when Chevrolet downsized the A-body for 1978 and dropped 'Chevelle' altogether.

Under what name was the Nova originally sold when it launched in 1962?

Nova was the top trim of the Chevy II line; the Chevy II name was dropped after 1968 and the whole car became the Nova from 1969.

The Silverado, launched for 1999, took its name from what?

It succeeded the long-running C/K line and shares its mechanicals with the GMC Sierra; high-trim Mexican versions are called Cheyenne.

The Chevrolet Volt was sold in Europe under which name?

As the Opel Ampera (Vauxhall Ampera in Britain), the Volt's European twin was named 2012 European Car of the Year; the Volt itself was 2011 North American Car of the Year.

When did Volt production end?

The last Volt was built at Detroit-Hamtramck in February 2019 after more than 157,000 US sales; GM dropped it in the same cull as the Cruze sedan.

The 2017 Bolt EV was billed as the first affordable mass-market electric car with a range over what?

The Bolt EV's EPA rating of 238 miles delivered a range over 200 miles at a price near $37,000 before incentives; it won both Motor Trend and North American Car of the Year for 2017.

Which singer's 1950s NBC variety show ended with the 'See the USA in Your Chevrolet' sign-off?

Dinah Shore hosted NBC's Chevrolet-sponsored show from 1956 to 1963, singing 'See the USA in Your Chevrolet' and blowing the audience a kiss at the close.

Chevrolet's famous 1970s jingle grouped the brand with baseball, hot dogs and what?

The mid-1970s jingle ran 'Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet'; South Africa adapted it as 'braaivleis, rugby, sunny skies and Chevrolet'.

Which Chevrolet subcompact, built at Lordstown, Ohio, was Motor Trend's 1971 Car of the Year?

The Chevrolet Vega, built at Lordstown, Ohio, was Motor Trend's 1971 Car of the Year, but rust, oil consumption and the 1972 Lordstown strike soured its reputation.

Which refrigerator maker did Durant personally buy in 1918, rename, and sell to GM?

Durant bought the Guardian Frigerator Company of Detroit in 1918 with his own money, renamed it Frigidaire and sold it to General Motors in 1919.

In 1916, Louis Chevrolet and his brothers founded which company to build racing cars?

Frontenac Motor Corporation, set up in 1916 by Louis, Arthur and Gaston Chevrolet, produced the Frontenac racers that won the Indianapolis 500 in 1920 and 1921.

In 2005 GM relaunched Chevrolet in Europe selling cars built by which company?

The tagline was 'Daewoo has grown up enough to become Chevrolet.' GM reversed course in 2013 and withdrew the brand from Europe except for the Camaro and Corvette.

Which two vehicles led Chevrolet's 2018 return to Australia and New Zealand after 50 years?

HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) converted imported Camaros and heavy-duty Silverados to right-hand drive for the 2018 relaunch in Australia and New Zealand.

What did Chevrolet introduce in 1957 as a $484 option on the Corvette and Bel Air?

The Rochester Ramjet system was a big deal for the era; air conditioning had arrived on V8 Bel Airs in 1955.

Which Chevrolet nameplate was a rebadged Suzuki imported in the 1980s to fight the Corolla and Civic?

The Sprint was a Suzuki Cultus built in Japan and sold by Chevrolet from 1985; its Isuzu-built stablemate was the Spectrum, while Cavalier, Celebrity and Citation were home-grown.

From the 2014–15 season, Chevrolet became principal shirt sponsor of which English football club?

Chevrolet's seven-year, $559 million deal put the bowtie on Manchester United shirts from 2014–15 to 2020–21, a record shirt sponsorship when it was signed in 2012.

Which cheap Chevrolet model's strong sales let Durant repurchase control of General Motors by 1916?

Louis Chevrolet had already sold Durant his share in 1914 after disagreements over design.

Which Chevrolet driver won five straight NASCAR Cup championships from 2006 to 2010?

Jimmie Johnson took five consecutive Cup titles from 2006 to 2010 in Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets, then added 2013 and 2016 to reach seven championships.

In the 1990s, Chevrolet's partnership with Toyota produced which Geo-branded compact?

The Geo Prizm was a Toyota Corolla twin built at NUMMI, the GM–Toyota joint venture in Fremont, California, and became the Chevrolet Prizm when Geo was folded in 1998.

Which 1933 Chevrolet was advertised as the cheapest six-cylinder car on sale in the United States?

The 1933 Standard Six, a shorter, lighter line sold beside the Master, was billed as the lowest-priced six-cylinder car in America, cementing 'A Six at the price of a Four'.

In 2009, which country became Chevrolet's third-largest market, behind the US and Brazil?

Chevrolet sold 332,774 cars in China in 2009, making it the brand's third-largest market after the US and Brazil; sales passed half a million in 2010, led by the Cruze.