About Chevrolet
The son of a Swiss clockmaker Louis Chevrolet was born on the 25th December, Christmas Day, in 1878. The family was driven away from their home in Switzerland by the economic problems when Louis was 8 years old, settling in Beaune, France were the family did not prosper and Louis left school at the tender age of 11 to become employed in the Roblin bicycle workshop. Louis had a flair for precision, not surprisingly when you consider that his father was a watch and clockmaker, this talent soon became apparent in his ability at repairing bicycles. He further developed his skills by becoming a motor mechanic in Paris before emigrating from France to Canada in 1900 to work as a chauffeur mechanic.
In 1901 Louis moved to New York to work as a mechanic and designer for de Dion-Bouton and was to become a highly successful racing driver, in fact he could be described as being the Michael Schumacher of his time! In this time whilst racing for the American car company Buick, he met Bill Durant, this was to be fortunate as at the time Buick had just become part of Durant's General Company of New Jersey, this was to become the famous General Motors. Entrepreneur Durant was never one to miss an opportunity and recognised the potential of applying Louis's famous name as a successful racing driver to a new marque of car, so in 1911 the two men joined forces to create the Chevrolet Motor Car Company and launch their first car, the Classic Six. The Chevrolet brand quickly became synonymous with quality, value, reliability and affordability; they became number 1 taking the position from Ford’s famous model T and dominated the US market for 40 years without interruption, from 1936 to 1976. Today, one out of every sixteen cars on the world's roads is a Chevrolet.
From the Korean factory of GM’s car division the Matiz is a cute car that many will know better as the Daewoo, but this does not in any way detract from a little jewel in the crown of small economical cars. The 1 litre engine and Group 3 insurance makes it a benefit for those that just want a real low running cost, cheap to maintain car.
The Aveo is a well built car in the supermini class and is available in 3 or 5 door versions with options of the Corsa derived 1.2 and 1,4 engines which gives the little car plenty of punch.
The Captiva manages to mix the versatility of a 4x4 SUV that is family friendly and is a genuine 7 seat car. With lots of storage space and versatile seating arrangements the Captiva has appeal for larger families on the go.
The Chevrolet Lacetti is available in either a 5 door family hatchback, roomy with loads of clever storage ideas, a big package for a small price, that’s cheap to run, or as a generous estate. The cars have lots of items fitted a standard that would be considered as extras on other makes of family car.
The Spark is bright indeed and is the latest from Chevy to enter the small car sector and is clearly aimed at the younger driver looking for a city car. On the other hand the Orlando is at the other end of the scale and is a big 7 seat MPV that offers value to the car buyer.
The 2010 mission statement from parent company declares: "G.M. is a multinational corporation engaged in socially responsible operations, worldwide. It is dedicated to provide products and services of such quality that our customers will receive superior value while our employees and business partners will share in our success.”