Chevrolet sells an impressively wide range of vehicles, from subcompact hatchbacks to huge vans and SUVs. If you're looking for a reasonably priced vehicle, the odds are that Chevy will have something to fit your needs. In 1911, after William C. Durant had been ousted from General Motors, he joined forces with Swiss-born racecar driver Louis Chevrolet to found the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. The company's first offering was the Classic Six. Introduced in 1912, this five-passenger touring sedan boasted an engine that could top 65 miles per hour, and a standard features list that included electric lights and a folding top. Chevrolet's storied bowtie logo made its first appearance in 1914. According to Chevy lore, Durant created the logo after being inspired by the wallpaper pattern of his Paris hotel room. Another vehicle, the 490, was introduced in 1915 and met with huge success. Sales hit the 100,000 mark, and by 1918, Chevrolet's profitability allowed Durant to purchase enough shares in GM to regain control. Chevrolet quickly became another division of GM, earning honors as GM's largest volume division by the mid-1920s. Chevrolet grew from strength to strength. By 1927, the company had managed to outsell Ford, with sales in excess of 1 million units. The company helped make life for drivers and passengers everywhere a whole lot smoother in 1934 when it introduced independent front suspension. This technology becomes even more valuable when one considers how rough the roads were back in those days. By the 1950s, Chevrolet, GM's entry-level division, had added power brakes, seats and windows to its list of available features, allowing luxury for those on a tighter budget. The company introduced its alluring Corvette in 1953; the vehicle was the first production car with a fiberglass body. The 1960s saw the unveiling of the popular, air-cooled Corvair compact, which held the distinction of being the first domestic production car with all-round independent suspension. That decade also witnessed the launch of the compact Nova and the sporty Camaro, the latter Chevrolet's answer to the wildly successful Ford Mustang. The Camaro proved an instant hit, comprising 10 percent of Chevrolet's total sales in 1967, its first year of production. In the 1970s, Chevy responded to changing preferences by introducing small cars like the Vega and the Chevette, and by downsizing larger models such as the Caprice and Malibu. The company combated the market domination of foreign nameplates in the 1980s by rolling out the Cavalier. This was also the period where trucks and SUVs started to become increasingly popular with the general consumer, and the brand's mid- and full-size models continue to this day to be some of the most popular on the road. Chevrolet stands tall as the manufacturer of some of the most famous American cars and trucks of all time, including the '57 Bel Air, the Corvette, the Camaro, the Blazer and the Suburban. After several downward years of disappointing products and sagging sales, GM's best-selling brand is in the midst of starting a new renaissance for itself by adapting to current market trends, such as developing hybrids and other fuel-saving technologies.
