History of Chevrolet
Chevrolet (/ˌʃɛvrəˈleɪ/ SHEV-rə-LAY), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ousted General Motors founder William C. Durant (1861–1947) started the company on November 3, 1911 as the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Durant used the Chevrolet Motor Car Company to acquire a controlling stake in General Motors with a reverse merger occurring on May 2, 1918, and propelled himself back to the GM presidency. After Durant's second ousting in 1919, Alfred Sloan, with his maxim "a car for every purse and purpose", would pick the Chevrolet brand to become the volume leader in the General Motors family, selling mainstream vehicles to compete with Henry Ford's Model T in 1919 and overtaking Ford as the best-selling car in the United States by 1929 with the Chevrolet International.
Chevrolet-branded vehicles are sold in most automotive markets worldwide. In Oceania, Chevrolet was represented by Holden Special Vehicles, having returned to the region in 2018 after a 50-year absence with the launching of the Camaro and Silverado pickup truck (HSV was partially and formerly owned by GM subsidiary Holden, which GM retired in 2021). In 2021, General Motors Specialty Vehicles took over the distribution and sales of Chevrolet vehicles in Oceania, starting with the Silverado. In 2005, Chevrolet was relaunched in Europe, primarily selling vehicles built by GM Daewoo of South Korea with the tagline "Daewoo has grown up enough to become Chevrolet", a move rooted in General Motors' attempt to build a global brand around Chevrolet. With the reintroduction of Chevrolet to Europe, GM intended Chevrolet to be a mainstream value brand, while GM's traditional European standard-bearers, Opel of Germany and Vauxhall of the United Kingdom, would be moved upmarket. However, GM reversed this move in late 2013, announcing that the brand would be withdrawn from Europe from 2016 onward, with the exception of the Camaro and Corvette. Chevrolet vehicles were to continue to be marketed in the CIS states, including Russia. After General Motors fully acquired GM Daewoo in 2011 to create GM Korea, the last usage of the Daewoo automotive brand was discontinued in its native South Korea and succeeded by Chevrolet.
Chevrolet Sport Victories and Racing
NASCAR
Major teams include Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, and Chip Ganassi Racing, who all drive Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE-themed cars. Hendrick has twelve championships, Childress has six championships, and now-Ford Stewart-Haas Racing has two. Chevrolet is the most successful manufacturer to be involved in NASCAR with thirty-nine manufacturer's titles and the most recorded wins by a manufacturer. Previously, the Chevy Monte Carlo, Impala and the SS were used in both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Chevrolet teams in the NASCAR Cup Series currently use the Camaro ZL1 1LE, while Xfinity teams run the Camaro SS and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series organizations race with the Silverado.
IndyCar
Chevrolet claimed six consecutive Indianapolis 500 wins from 1986 to 1993 and five consecutive CART World Series wins from 1986 to 1992, with notable drivers such as Rick Mears, Al Unser Jr., Michael Andretti, Danny Sullivan, Arie Luyendyk, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Bobby Rahal.
Chevrolet replaced Oldsmobile as the General Motor brand at the IndyCar Series from 2002 to 2005. Hélio Castroneves won the Indianapolis 500 and Sam Hornish Jr. the championship, but the American brand had little success the next years.
Chevrolet returned to IndyCar in 2012. After several years of Honda being the only engine provider, Chevrolet rejoined the series in 2012. Major teams include Team Penske, KV Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing and CFH Racing who all use Chevy engines. Chevrolet won several races including the 2013 and 2015 Indianapolis 500, as well as three drivers championships.
Family Tree
Chevrolet is a division of General Motors. Chevrolet became part of GM in 1918 and by 1919 was its flagship company. Chevrolet or Chevy as its more commonly known is a car, truck and SUV manufacturer. Its most common car type is its trucks with its most popular being the Silverado. However Chevy is also know for its Camaro although not necessarily considered an exotic sports cars they hold their own on the streets. Chevy also makes the Corvette, Their higher end sports car. The sleek design and powerful engines make them a menace on and off the track. Chevy also produces a plethora of other utility trucks, cars, SUV's and EV's. These include the Impala, the Bolt , the Colorado, the Suburban, the Tahoe, and the Blazer among many others.