A History of Chevrolet

The story of the Chevrolet brand is a testament to the power of marketing savvy. With the support of investors like the founder of General Motors, William Durant and his son-in-law, William Little of Little automobile fame, and R.S. McLaughlin, founder of the Canadian McLaughlin Motor Company, racecar driver Louis Chevrolet became the face of the only automobile that might pose some real competition for Henry Ford’s Model T.

William Durant

Durant, a partner in the country’s number one carriage manufacturing firm, broke into the automotive business because of a desire to improve it, as the gasoline-powered vehicles were noisy, and choked the streets with their noxious exhaust. It did not appear, however that these negative attributes had any effect on the popularity of the motorized carriage. Durant was not one to wait around hopefully for government agencies to impose new laws regulating motorcars: he rescued the Buick company, which was long in debt and short in production. His goal was to build safer, quieter, smoother-riding cars. In the spirit of a true entrepreneur, Durant presented the Buick at the New York Auto Show in 1904, despite the fact that the factory had only produced about 40 vehicles under his direction. This gamble paid off, and Durant returned to the Flint, Michigan factory with over 1,100 new orders. Out of necessity, Durant partnered with Samuel McLaughlin, the head of General Motors, Canada, and the McLaughlin Buick was manufactured primarily in Canada. Soon thereafter, Durant established the General Motors Holding Company stateside, and quickly built an empire incorporating 13 different car companies, and almost as many parts companies. Durant was fired after a 1910 merger with the Ford Motor Company fell through. Durant refused to abandon the automobile industry and soon took back the helm of Flint Wagon Works, the aforementioned carriage manufacturer. Flint Wagon Works began manufacturing vehicles for the Mason-Maytag Company and Little automobiles. Durant’s plan was to create a car that would compete with Ford’s Model T, and his prospects were looking bleak. That is, until he decided to partner up with racer Louis Chevrolet.

Radical Changes

With additional backing from Samuel McLaughlin, Durant would change the face of the automotive industry, hiring a well-known racecar driver to drive his Buicks and establish a reputation of superior road-speed, handling, and safety. Chevrolet began drawing up ideas for what would become the Series C Classic Six, a larger, more powerful version of its successors. Durant and Chevrolet never truly saw eye-to-eye, and Chevrolet eventually sold out of the business, leaving the rights to his designs and his name. By 1916, Durant was able to resume a position at General Motors, and he brought Chevrolet with him as a subsidiary. Chevrolet had eight factories across the United States and Canada, and soon became known for its sporty roadsters and touring cars, and the image that Louis Chevrolet brought to the brand remained for decades.

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