Chevrolet ( /ʃɛvrəˈleɪ/), also known as Chevy (/ˈʃɛvi/), is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company (GM). Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918. Chevrolet was positioned by Alfred Sloan to sell a lineup of mainstream vehicles to directly compete against Henry Ford's Model T in the 1920s, with "Chevrolet" or "Chevy" being at times synonymous with GM. In North America, Chevrolet sells and produces a wide variety of automobiles, from subcompact cars to medium-duty commercial trucks, whereas in Europe, the brand name is used on automobiles produced in Korea by General Motors.
On November 3, 1911, race car driver and automotive engineer Louis Chevrolet co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company with William C. Durant (ousted founder of General Motors for 5 years) and investment partners William Little (maker of the Little automobile) and Dr. Edwin R. Campbell (son-in-law of Durant)and in 1912 R S McLaughlin of Canada.
Durant was ousted from the management of General Motors in 1910 for 5 years. He took over the Flint Wagon Works, incorporating the Mason and Little companies. As head of Buick Motor Company prior to founding GM, Durant had hired Louis Chevrolet to drive Buicks in promotional races.Durant planned to use Chevrolet's reputation as a racer as the foundation for his new automobile company.
Actual design work for the first Chevy, the costly Series C Classic Six, was drawn up by Etienne Planche, following instructions from Louis. The first C prototype was ready months before Chevrolet was actually incorporated.
Chevrolet first used the "bowtie emblem" logo in 1913. It may have been designed from wallpaper Durant once saw in a French hotel. More recent research by historian Ken Kaufmann presents a case that the logo is based upon a logo for "Coalettes". Others claim that the design was a stylized Swiss cross, in honor of the homeland of Chevrolet's parents.
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