Chevrolet, Chevrolet

It is the top selling GM marque, with "Chevrolet" or "Chevy" being at times synonymous with GM.Chevrolet offers 18 vehicles and many different enhanced versions in its home market. The vehicles range from subcompact cars to medium duty commercial trucks. Its number one seller in the United States is the Silverado pickup.

He wanted to use Chevrolet's designs to rebuild his own reputation. As head of Buick Motor Company, prior to founding GM, Durant had hired Chevrolet to drive Buicks in promotional races.

Later that year, during a luncheon meeting in New York with "Colonel Sam" McLaughlin, whose McLaughlin Motor Car Company manufactured McLaughlin-Buick cars, it was agreed that Chevrolets with McLaughlin-designed bodies would be added to the Canadian company's product line. Three years later, the two Canadian operations (Chevrolet was by then a part of GM in the United States) were bought by GM to become General Motors of Canada Ltd.

After the deal was completed in 1917, Durant was president of General Motors, and Chevrolet was merged into GM, becoming a separate division. In the 1918 model year, Chevrolet introduced the Model D , a V8-powered model in four-passenger roadster and five-passenger tourer models.

The original small-block design is simplistic compared to the overhead-cam V-8 that Ford Motor Company used and continues to use in its line of larger cars and light trucks. Depending on the vehicle type, Chevrolet V-8s are built in displacements from 4.8 to 8.1 litres with outputs ranging from to as installed at the factory. The engine design has also been used over the years in GM products built and sold under the Pontiac. Oldsmobile, Buick, Opel (Germany) and Holden (Australia) nameplates.

Mexico also has some cars of its own, such as the Chevy C2, which is a reworked previous generation Corsa. Vehicles based on US platforms are the Avalanche, the Suburban, the Equinox, the Tahoe, the Cheyenne (which is similar to the Silverado but with minor differences), the Aveo, the HHR, the Traverse, the Malibu and the Corvette. The Chevrolet Optra, assembled in South Korea by GM Daewoo, is also sold in Mexico. The European Epica is sold as a Business only vehicle.

In the 1970s, the advertising jingle "braaivleis, rugby, sunny skies and Chevrolet" SPRINGBOK RADIO SOUNDS: CHEVROLET (adapted from the US "Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pies and Chevrolet") came to epitomise the ideal lifestyle of white male South Africans. Holden in Australia used the jingle "Football, Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden cars". Originally, Chevrolets were CKD kits of US models assembled in their plant in Port Elizabeth. However, since South Africa was right-hand drive and the US was left-hand drive, along with encouragement by the South African government to use local content, Chevrolets such as the Biscayne were eventually made entirely in South Africa, along with GM's "own car for South Africa": the Ranger.

The Chevrolet Nomad sold in South Africa was entirely different from the Nomad sold in America; whereas the American Nomad was originally conceived as a station wagon version of the Corvette and eventually became the station wagon version of the Bel Air, the South African Nomad was an SUV of truck proportions before SUVs were popular.

The longer wheelbase Holden Statesman is sold as the Chevrolet Caprice in the Middle East.

Until June 6, 2003 (the official birthday of Chevrolet), GM India (which was originally a joint venture with Hindustan Motors) sold the Opel Corsa, Opel Astra, and the Opel Vectra. The Corsa and Astra were built at a plant in Halol, Gujarat.

The Optra and Tavera are built at the Halol plant.The latest Chevrolet launched in India is the Chevrolet Captiva SUV, a rebadged Holden Capitva.

Mitsui currently distributes and markets the Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Express, Chevrolet HHR, and Starcraft versions of the G-Van and Chevrolet Trailblazer. General Motors Japan directly imports and distributes the Corvette, which is marketed under its own marque. Thus there are three distinct distribution channels for Chevrolet-branded vehicles, and a separate network for Corvette-branded cars.

As of December 2005, the Chevrolet Joy is being assembled locally in Pakistan.By 2008 Chevrolet launched their own website and added the Chevrolet Aveo and Chevrolet Colorado.

Current Chevrolets include theSpark,Aveo,Lanos,Lacetti,Rezzo,Epica,Captiva,TrailBlazer,and Tahoe. All of these models (with the exception of the TrailBlazer and Tahoe) are rebadged Daewoo models.

However, many global-market Chevrolet vehicles are sourced from GM Daewoo of South Korea.

Vintage Chevrolet models such as Bel Air, Impala etc, are still found in many states around Australia. Manufacturing has now ceased, and to this day has been succeeded by Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler in terms of American Cars. The 1998-2001 Chevrolet Suburban was branded under GM Holden for sale within Australia. Today several of Chevrolet's designs are based on their Australian counterparts (GM Holden). Chevrolet is expanding its availability of large pick ups and SUV's in the Australian Market.

Among other models sold by Chevrolet Europe were the Camaro, the Beretta, the Corvette, the Blazer, and the TrailBlazer. The current generation of North American-built Chevrolet Impala V-8 sedans has also been available in Europe in recent years, marketed as both large family sedans and more economically-priced alternatives to Jaguars and BMWs as high performance executive cars.

However the Daewoo name was retained in South Korea and Vietnam. In the rest of the world, most Daewoo models have worn the Chevrolet badge since 2003. Exceptions include the use of the Suzuki badge in the United States and Canada, the Pontiac badge in Canada, the Holden badge in Australia and New Zealand, and the Buick badge in China for certain GM Daewoo models.

The current S10 and Blazer exemplify this strategy. However, more modern vehicles are now being marketed as market conditions change and competition increases. Besides those older models made in Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Mercosur countries, Korean sourced cars from former Daewoo factories some markets also get German Opel and US made Chevrolet on top of their local line-ups.

Other smaller Chevrolets in Brazil, such as the Kadett and Monza, were based on the Opel Kadett and Ascona respectively. Chevrolet's product line-up in Brazil now comprises some exclusive designs like the Corsa "B" based Celta sold in Argentina under the Suzuki brand, the Astra, and a brand new, Brazilian designed Vectra based on the current Opel Astra, while the current Corsa is built and the Omega name is now used on the Holden Commodore. Utility and four wheel drive vehicles line-up includes the S10, the Blazer, and the Montana. The Montana is a compact pickup truck, based on the Corsa, that is also sold in other Latin American markets. From the 1960s to the mid-1980s, there was also a large station wagon, derived from the C10 truck (somewhat similar to the Suburban), called the Veraneio.

Chevrolet assembled more than 1,500,000 vehicles in its first 50 years in Venezuela.

The Master Deluxe Sedan of the late 1930s was considered to be a pinnacle of luxury. All cars sold through the local dealer, Neal and Massey (also franchisee for Vauxhall and Buick) , were right-hand-drive , and imported from Canada and Australia. Throughout the 1940s and 50's, GM maintained a market presence with the Bel Air , Impala and Fleetline . During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Australian Holden DeVilles badged as Chevrolet Caprices were sold, though a few "Islander" limited edition American Chevrolet Caprices were imported. Neal and Massey gave up the GM franchise in 1974 and the brand left the market. During the period 1998-2001, Southern Sales Ltd. imported the Chevy Monza and Joy. Based on the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa platform and assembled in Mexico, these were the cheapest new cars available. Poor build quality, unprofessional dealer service, and a limited spare parts supply saw these cars exit the market with only a few units being sold. In 2003, the local Renault dealer , marketed the Aveo sedan and hatchback , as well as the Optra sedan (a rebadged Suzuki Forenza) with limited success. A more intensive marketing campaign by the latest Chevrolet dealer , Lifestyle Motors , has met with more success. The models available as of 2009 are the Chevrolet Colorado (a rebadged Isuzu D-Max pickup assembled in Thailand), Spark (a reinvention of the defunct Daewoo Matiz), Aveo , Optra , and a rebadged version of the Holden Commodore.

In 1941 the Chevrolet 250.000 is made, but the shortage of products made car production impossible.The last Chevrolet goes out of the plant in august, 1942.

General Motors has recently been in development to make more fuel efficient Chevrolet branded vehicles in order to compete with companies like Toyota and Honda. The Monte Carlo, discontinued in 2007, is said to be replaced by the Camaro, also a coupe. At the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, the production version of the Chevrolet Beat was displayed under the nameplate of Spark. General Motors announced that the Spark, along with the Chevrolet Orlando, would go into production in the US. The Orlando will be a successor, but it is unknown what car it will replace. Along with the Spark and Orlando, General Motors will introduce two more models: the plug-in hybrid 2011 Chevrolet Volt; and the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, successor to the Cobalt. Chevrolet is expected to a all new Aveo replacement called the Viva as announced in 2009 to compete with other sub-compacts.

The collection was called Frontenac, the name inherited from the race car company founded by Louis Chevrolet. The Chevrolet watch collection comprises automatic, manually-wound and quartz models, equipped with ETA and Ronda movements.

Pearled appliques on the Chevrolet watches' dials remind the metal forms of the old dashboards. The number '8,' Chevrolet's racing number, is sported on the case back.

Source: Wikipedia > Chevrolet