Chevrolet

Chevrolet (IPA: ʃɛv.ro.leː - French origin), (colloquially Chevy) , is a brand of automobile, produced by General Motors. It is the top selling GM marque and the best known brand of General Motors worldwide, with "Chevrolet" or "Chevy" being at times synonymous for GM. more...

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Chevrolet is General Motors' largest brand currently offering 19 vehicles and many different enhanced versions. The brand's vehicles range from compact cars to large SUVs. Its number one sellers include the Impala - which is the number one selling car with a domestic nameplate in the United States - and the Tahoe, the highest selling SUV.

In the North American market in 2005, a battle for bragging rights came about with Ford; both divisions needed strong sales performances as losses in the billions of dollars, market share losses, and recent announcements of factory closings and job cuts had become the norm. These losses have been linked in part to the questionable quality of American cars in recent years.

History

Chevrolet was co-founded by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant. Louis Chevrolet was a racecar driver, born on December 25, 1878, in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. William Durant, founder of General Motors, had been forced out of GM in 1910 and wanted to use Louis Chevrolet's designs to rebuild his own reputation as a force in the automobile industry.

On November 3, 1911, Chevrolet entered the automobile market to compete with the Ford Model T. A year later, the "Classic Six" was introduced. The Classic Six was a five-passenger touring sedan equipped with a 299 in³ (4.9 L), six-cylinder engine capable of taking the car to a top speed of 65 miles per hour (104 km/h).

Chevrolet first used its "bowtie" logo in 1913. This logo is said to have been designed from wallpaper Durant once saw in a French hotel.

In 1916, Chevrolet was profitable enough to allow Durant to buy a majority of shares in GM. After the deal was complete in 1917, Durant was president of General Motors, and Chevrolet was merged into GM, becoming a separate division. In the 1955 model year Chevrolet introduced the small block V8 engine, the most famous and versatile V8 engine ever produced. It came out with 265 cubic inches and was offered in three versions. The basic 265 had a two-barrel carburetor and was rated at 165 H.P. Horsepower was increased to 185 with the addition of a four-barrel carburetor, and an underrated 195 HP version, called the "power pack" had a high lift solid lifter cam, high compression heads, and dual exhaust. This engine became a hit with hot rodders and almost overnight became the engine of choice replacing the flathead Ford engine as the hot rodders preferred motor. In 1955 the 265 cubic inch engine was the smallest V8 engine offered by the big three U.S. automakers, however, no other U.S. car could out perform it. A Chevy equipped with the power pack engine and a three-speed manual shift transmission would go from zero to 60 in 8.4 seconds, an astonishing feat for the time. Because his engine was placed in production only fifteen weeks after authorization was given by management, the engineers did not have the necessary time to do the proper dynamometer testing and rate its horsepower prior to release. The untested engine rated at 185 H.P. when released in 1955 but was rated at 205 H.P. in 1956 after dynamometer testing. Because of its exceptional breathing ability a 225 H.P. option was available by adding two four-barrel carbs. The power pack engine for 1956 also had two four-barrel carburetors and was rated at 245 H.P. In 1957 the carburetors were replaced with fuel injectors, the engine displacement was increased to 283 cu. in., and the engine was fitted with heads with larger ports and bigger valves. Rated at 283 H.P., this was the first engine offered by U.S. auto manufactures to produce 1 H.P. per cubic inch. This rating, however, was again incorrect due to delayed production schedules for the Rochester fuel injection unit. After proper dynamometer testing, it was rated at 290 H.P. in 1958. Enthusiasts affectionately called this engine the "fuelie."

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