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The Beginning
In the freewheeling auto industry at the dawn of the 1900s, the maestro who created, then lost, General Motors bounced back to create his greatest automotive endeavor yet.
In the year Chevrolet was born, there were 270 auto companies operating in the United States. Although Chevrolet was started by one of the best-known and most prolific names in the fledgling industry, its survival was not ensured. But Chevrolet not only endured, it prospered. It went on to become one of the few American auto brands to reach the century mark, and it was the number-one-selling brand in the United States in the majority of those years. Herewith, a look at the 100 cars, people, technologies, events, and milestones that have marked Chevrolet's 100 years.
1. Billy Durant
Chevrolet was the creation of William C. Durant, who founded General Motors but by 1911 had been tossed out. Looking to get back into the car business, he incorporated the Chevrolet Motor Car Company on November 3, 1911. (2) He started two other car companies that year and two more the next. Those other makers were soon subsumed by Chevrolet, which Durant envisioned as a low-priced brand that would take on Ford. By 1915, Durant and his proxies had succeeded in acquiring enough General Motors stock that Durant regained (tenuous) control of GM. He then engineered a stock swap which meant, in effect, that the Chevrolet company acquired General Motors (3). Back in the saddle at GM, he went on a buying spree (Fisher Body, Dayton Engineering, and Frigidaire, among others) but was caught out by the 1920 recession. He left GM and Chevrolet forever in December of that year.
4. Louis Chevrolet
Born in Switzerland, Louis Chevrolet spent his boyhood in France before emigrating to North America at age twenty-one. Chevrolet earned a name for himself working on the Buick racing team, and he drove Buicks to victory at the nascent Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909 and 1910. Billy Durant wanted to tap Chevrolet's racing notoriety for his start-up car company. In addition to lending his name to the enterprise, Chevrolet would design the new car. He finished the design and demonstrated the car for the press in late 1912, after which he departed for France and an extended vacation. When he returned, he was upset with the cheaper models that Durant had added, but the breaking point was his smoking. Durant hated Chevrolet's habit of smoking a cigarette and letting it hang on his lip. He thought Chevrolet, as an executive, should take up cigars. Enraged at being told how to live, the hot-tempered Chevrolet quit the company. He later designed a couple of Indy-winning racing cars and started the short-lived Frontenac Motor Company.
5. 1912 Chevrolet Six Type C Classic
The first-ever Chevrolet was the only one designed by its namesake. Riding on a 120-inch wheelbase and powered by a 299-cubic-inch six-cylinder engine, it was a premium vehicle (costing more than $2000) and not at all what Billy Durant had envisioned for Chevrolet.
6. The Bow-Tie emblem
The now-familiar logo was first applied to a Chevrolet in 1914. As Durant told it, he'd seen the design on the wallpaper of a hotel room in Paris.
7. The Chevrolet Four-Ninety
In 1915, Chevrolet at last had a direct competitor to the Model T: the Four-Ninety. It cost $490, which also happened to be the price of a Model T. (Henry Ford retaliated by dropping the T's price by $50.)
8. The first Chevrolet truck appeared in 1918. Trucks slowly became an important, if not highly visible, aspect of Chevrolet's business. It wasn't until decades later -- 1989, to be exact -- that Chevy trucks began outselling Chevy cars and accounting for an outsize majority of the brand's profits.
9. Formed in 1919, GMAC greased the financial wheels of the auto industry. Financing allowed dealers to have more cars on hand, and it freed buyers from having to save up the purchase price of a car -- a significant sum even for buyers of low-priced cars. Chevrolet's ability to let customers buy a car "on time" gave it an important advantage over Ford, where the very idea was anathema to Henry Ford.
10. The Detroit-based Campbell-Ewald advertising agency placed its first ad for Chevrolet in 1919 and became the brand's agency of record in 1922, beginning an agency/client relationship that would continue until 2010.

 
You may think that southeast Michigan, home to General Motors’ proving ground in Milford, gets plenty cold enough in winter. Yet for true cold-weather testing, GM engineers subjected the next-generation C7 Corvette to the extreme chill of northern Canada. That gave our spy photographers a chance to snap photos of this prototype version of the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette as it is readied for production.
It’s no secret that the C7 will be a 2014 model launching in fall 2013 -- Chevrolet recently launched special-edition anniversary packages and a 427 convertible model for the 2013 Corvette to serve as a sort of swan song for the C6-generation car. In addition, GM last spring announced $131 million of upgrades to its plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to prepare for assembly of the new Corvette. Almost every other detail on the new car, however, has so far been shrouded in rumor and obfuscation.
Two things are certain with the C7 Corvette. For one, it won’t resurrect the split rear window design cue of the 1963 Corvette, as had been suggested by earlier concept cars and rumor mongering. The mule spotted here continues to use one solid rear window that slopes sharply into the decklid.
Second, even though the promise of a mid-engine layout is the most enduring Corvette myth of all time, it seems clear that Chevrolet will stick to a front-engine design for the C7. Multiple executives have denied that the Corvette would reposition its engine, and the proportions of this mule suggest the engine will indeed stay under the car’s long hood.
Familiar Coupe Body
Our spy pictures reveal that the C7 Corvette won’t look drastically different from the current model. As on the current car, the new Corvette will feature a wide rectangular grille opening, a long and low hood, center-mounted quad exhaust tips, and generous rear haunches able to fit wide on the drive axle. A traditional coupe will likely go on sale first, probably joined by a convertible at a later date.
It is clear that the new Corvette is slightly longer, in part because the wheelbase seems stretched a few inches. That move would probably improve the car’s ride-and-handling mix; recall that the new, 991-generation Porsche 911 also received a longer wheelbase, in order to improve comfort and high-speed stability. In the Corvette, increasing the wheelbase might also marginally improve interior and trunk room.
Reports suggest the Corvette may use an aluminum spaceframe, with the body composed of a mix of carbon fiber and fiberglass. That would be expensive, but it would cut weight -- possibly below 3000 pounds in some models. Like all automakers, GM will try to cut weight from new cars, in part because that improves fuel economy, and also because trimming mass will improve the Corvette’s dynamic performance.
Two Powertrain Options?
The Corvette will certainly retain its signature V-8 engine, though it remains uncertain as to whether a V-6 engine also will join the roster. The V-8 mill will be an evolution of GM’s small block design, with the fifth generation of the V-8 family adopting direct fuel injection for the first time. GM has already promised that the fifth-gen small block engines will produce more power and torque, while using less fuel than current engines; the company has invested about $1 billion in preparation for building the new V-8s.
The new Corvette V-8 will almost certainly continue to use pushrods, and may feature some sort of cylinder deactivation. There are indications it will be downsized to as little as 5.5 liters, compared to the 6.2-liter LS3 in the current base Corvette. Those moves would further cut fuel consumption, while retaining the car’s signature torquey nature and eight-cylinder heritage.
Although many executives have denied it, there are hints that the C7 Corvette will also receive a single- or twin-turbocharged V-6 engine. That might strike the Chevrolet faithful as heresy, but doing so would help bump the Corvette’s economy ratings so that GM could better meet stricter CAFE and emissions regulations. If such an engine is offered, it could be a version of GM’s popular 3.6-liter direct-injected V-6. But don’t place bets on a Corvette V-6 just yet -- such a model would be a hard sell to Corvette purists. Perhaps this engine will have to wait for the C8.
As to transmission choices, we’re told the Corvette will score a new seven-speed manual transmission, again keeping up with the 2012 Porsche 911, which offers a new seven-speed stick. Despite rumors of an optional dual-clutch automated transmission, it seems more likely Chevrolet will stick with a regular automatic for the clutch pedal averse. GM is currently developing its next generation of full-size trucks, so it’s possible that automatic transmissions could be shared between the pickups and the Corvette. Expect seven or eight forward speeds, up from six in current Corvette automatics.
Few Chassis Changes
Few details on the C7’s suspension setup have leaked so far, leading us to believe there are no drastic changes. Chevrolet will probably endeavor to make the new Corvette somewhat easier for novices to drive quickly, while retaining the car’s world-class grip and overall driving dynamics. Reduced overall weight and the aforementioned wheelbase stretch should help with this.
In the face of increasing oil prices and tightening government regulations, it’s no secret that Chevrolet must make the C7 Corvette even more fuel efficient. At the same time, executives have made clear that they don’t want the car to neglect the huge levels of performance and fun on which the Corvette has built its name. When the 2014 Corvette goes on sale in fall 2013, we firmly believe it will continue to be one of the best -- or perhaps the best -- best American-made sports cars available.

   The number of battery-electric small cars on sale in the U.S. is about to grow yet again. Chevrolet announced today that it will sell an electric-powered version of the upcoming 2013 Spark hatchback around the world, including in North America.The Spark, which is already on sale in global markets, will come to the United States for the 2013 model year, which will render it the smallest car sold by General Motors in North America. Just how small is it? About four inches longer than a Fiat 500, though it has five doors.U.S-spec Spark models will differ slightly from those offered around the globe. Chevy plans on adding a little more aggressive front fascia, along with larger headlamp assemblies. North American Spark models will utilize a 83-hp, 1.2-liter I-4, and will send that power to the front wheels through either a five-speed manual transmission or likely a four-speed automatic transmissionFor those Spark drivers who need fewer miles between refills and want to go greener, however, Chevrolet will offer a Spark EV. The car will be sold in limited quantities and only in select states, but it'll mark the first true battery-electric GM vehicle offered to the public since the EV1.This also isn't the first time GM has shoehorned an electric powertrain under the hood of a Spark: the production Spark EV will likely be based on the Beat EV (Beat and Spark are two different names for the same model), which GM tested extensively in India. This time, however, the Spark EV will use nanophosphate lithium-ion battery packs, which were designed and will be supplied by A123 Systems. A123 signed a deal with GM back in August to engineer and supply these batteries.GM says that pricing for both models - along with the estimated range for the EV -- will be announced at next month's Los Angeles International Auto Show. View the original article here

A stiff clutch pedal and a manual shifter that doesn't move through the gears with much fluidity make the Camaro SS a chore to drive around town. The tall cowl, small windows, huge A-pillars, and tall, broad hood are also bummers, because you can easily feel claustrophobic in this car. If you're a Camaro person, you might not much care, but I find the Ford Mustang to be easier to drive and to have a more livable cabin than the Camaro. I suppose I would have liked our test Camaro better had it been equipped with the Hurst short-throw shifter, which seems like it would be $380 well-spent.

A 45th anniversary package is a stretch, in my opinion. 25, 40, 50, those are anniversaries worth noting, but 45? Not so much.

I really love driving muscle cars because they are loud, powerful, and look menacing. The Camaro SS does not disappoint. Even though cold and rainy weather precluded any aggressive driving, I had a ton of fun behind the wheel of the Camaro. I love the lumpy idle, the hearty growl of the V-8, and the way the exhaust pops and crackles on engine overrun. No downsized turbocharged engine can provide that much aural and visceral excitement.


Less exciting is the special 45th Anniversary treatment applied to this Camaro. It includes different paint, a new stripe, some interior trim, a smattering of new badges, and dark-silver wheels. Yawn. It doesn't look much more special than a regular Camaro SS, and I'm not convinced most people would notice the heritage-inspired trim. Is the 45th Anniversary package worth an extra $1375? I think not.

Despite its age, the Chevrolet Corvette is one of the greatest sports cars in the world. There's a wide range of models that can fit a variety of budgets from the entry-level Corvette coupe up to the monstrous ZR1. I prefer the Grand Sport because it offers the right mix of performance and cost and it feels a little more special than a regular Corvette coupe. The super-high-performance ZR1 is reserved for those with deep pockets and, hopefully, plenty of experience with high-performance sports cars.
It's a little known fact that Chevrolet has a full range of distinctly different sports cars all masquerading under the Corvette name. The base car and the Grand Sport are akin to a Porsche 911. They are livable, straightforward sports cars. The $110,000 Corvette ZR1 has the demeanor of the Ferrari 458 Italia. It possesses finesse and fluidity in the context of obscene power. This fiery Z06, then, is the ZR1's antithesis. It is a Lamborghini to the ZR1's Ferrari. It is unruly, brutish -- and awesome.

With 470 lb-ft of torque on tap, the Z06 nonchalantly lopes through the city at 600 rpm. Pressed into duty, it squirms and squeals and screams to a 505-hp peak at 6300 rpm. The Z06's prevailing character is brash and aggressive, but it also packs some slick, sophisticated technology. Sport mode for the magnetically controlled adjustable dampers is so stiff that it's best left for track time, which is fine since the tour mode keeps body control intact while removing the punishing edge over rough roads.
As imposing and impressive as the Z06 is, it isn't without fault. The clutch is fickle creeping and creeping in and out of parking spots often brings the scent of burnt friction surface. The fuel-saving skip-shift feature that forces you from first gear to fourth gear during slow acceleration is more obtrusive than what you get in the Camaro. The steering could be tighter and more responsive on center and the optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup ZP tires fitted to our tester have no business being on a street-driven car. The new sport seats and steering wheel are welcome improvements, leaving the cheap center stack as the only sore thumb that stands out inside this Corvette. Then again, Lamborghinis aren't exactly compromise-free, which makes all of these imperfections seem so right.
Thank you, Eric Tingwall, for saying it: these tires are pretty ridiculous for a street car! When they're cold, you can barely turn the front wheels to pull out of a parking space or out of your driveway. The first time I drove the car, I thought there was something wrong at the front axle. These Pilots may be absolutely spectacular on the track, but if you've got $100K for a high-performance Corvette and you intend to drive it on the road much at all, you might prefer to have a separate set of track tires and something more compliant for street use.

Tires aside, this is a phenomenal performance machine, offering extraordinary acceleration, superb body control, smooth power delivery, and a great engine/exhaust soundtrack, with great burble on the overrun. The Z06 corners like crazy. Because the Z06 is a more pure Corvette model without a lot of sound insulation, you can hear every expansion joint on the freeway, but in tour mode they are not at all harsh.
I thought about the Z06 on November 3, when I attended a screening of the GM-commissioned documentary "Chevy 100," marking the centennial of the Chevrolet brand. Given that Louis Chevrolet was himself a balls-out racer guy in his day, it seems entirely appropriate that the Corvette Z06 is the recipient of some 100th-anniversary love. I suspect this particular model might have a bit of future collector value.
This is a brutish sports car, and is definitely not something you would want to drive every day. The tires are far too aggressive for street use, and because they're so wide, they tend to follow every groove in the road, meaning it can be a bit of a chore to keep this Corvette from wandering around in its lane. The suspension is super stiff, especially when set to sport. Changing to the touring setting helps slightly, but "touring" is really not part of this car's lexicon.

I have to disagree somewhat with Eric on the center stack. For the most part, the control buttons on the center stack are well laid out and labeled, and they don't look too cheap to me. However, they are let down by a navigation system that is not at all up to date compared with what you find in several other competitors. The most egregious flaw of the interior is the very large "Corvette" stitched across the dash in front of the passenger. GM should know by now that the Corvette is a good enough car that it can stand on its own without having to advertise itself every time you enter the cockpit.