Chevrolet as a car company is born. Louis Chevrolet (in white coat), can be seen in this file photo from the GM Media History Center. Billy Durant is at the far right of the spectators behind the first Chevrolet produced, wearing the bowler hat.

Did you know that Chevrolet’s history dates back to 1910, when Billy Durant left General Motors and started another car company. This time, his partner was his most famous race car driver from when he was teamed with Buick. This famous driver’s name was Louis Chevrolet, a Swiss immigrant to the United States. Louis gave the brand his name, while Billy was the man in charge of product development and management. Their first car, the Chevrolet Classic Six, was priced at $2,500, but was unfortunately, a failure. Thankfully for legions of future Chevy lovers, Billy Durant remained hopeful that the brand could succeed.

The History Of Louis Chevrolet

Louis Chevrolet was born on Christmas day, 1878, in a small town in Switzerland. Sometime in the 1890’s, Louis began selling his own brand of bicycles, the Frontenac, a name that he would eventually use on the race cars he would later design and race.

Two pictures of Louis in racing garb. Images via GM Heritage Center.

Around the turn of the century, he migrated to Montreal, Canada, where he gained employment as a chauffeur. Not long after that, he moved to New York and started working for the De Dion-Bouton “Motorette” Company in Brooklyn.

Shortly after gaining employment, he heard about the passing of his father, and convinced his mother and siblings to join him in “The New World.”

Billy Durant at his desk as CEO of Chevrolet. In just a few short years he would regain control of GM and incorporate Chevrolet under the GM umbrella. GM Heritage Center image.

Louis held a number of positions, both as mechanic and racing driver during the early part of the 20th-Century. In fact, while driving a Fiat at the New York ACA speed trials, he beat Barney Oldfield’s record of 53 seconds, with a time of 52.4 seconds. Over the next couple of years, Louis competed against Oldfield 11 times, winning ten of these match ups, and in the process making a name for himself on the racing and time trial circuits.

Durant And Chevrolet Part Ways

It was during his time as a driver for the Buick Racing team that Louis Chevrolet met William C. (Billy) Durant. Billy had recently been forced out of the CEO chair at General Motors by the company’s bankers. Billy thought the Chevrolet name had a pleasing sound to it, and convinced Louis to join him at his new company where they designed an automobile with a fresh style, six-cylinder power, and luxury. Durant, capitalized on Louis’ racing fame, but he wanted to build cars that were low-priced, and Louis wanted no part of it. Louis sold his stock in Chevrolet, and went back to his real love, designing and racing cars. After leaving Chevrolet, legal issues surrounding the use of the Chevrolet name on Louis’ cars ensued, forcing him to no longer use “Chevrolet”, but to use the name he had given to his bicycles, Frontenac on the cars he built and drove.

The first Chevrolet cars were quite successful, and by 1915, Billy Durant had acquired enough money to regain controlling interest in GM. Billy was back, and Chevrolet, as a car company, had been born.