Imagine Lifestyles is proud to offer luxury Chevrolet Car Rentals in Miami, FL, South Florida, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY and Chicago, IL.
Learn more about the history of these luxury cars below, or about our complete fleet of luxury car rentals.
Chevrolet Beginnings
Chevrolet, also known as Chevy, is a brand produced by General Motors. Chevrolet is the top selling GM marquee and, is even, at times synonymous with GM. Chevrolet was founded by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant. Louis Chevrolet was a race-car driver, and William Durant was the American founder of General Motors, who had been forced out of GM in 1910. Prior to founding GM and while at the Buick Motor Company, Durant had hired Chevrolet to drive Buicks in promotional races. Durant would then use Chevrolet’s designs to rebuild himself after GM. Chevrolet first used its “bowtie” symbol in 1913, rumored to be designed by Durant from wallpaper he once saw in a French hotel.
By 1915, William Durant was in the midst of putting together Chevrolet production facilities in Toronto, Canada. Later that year, Durant met Colonel Sam McLaughlin of the McLaughlin Motor Car Company, which produced McLaughlin-Buick cars. The two men came to the agreement that Chevrolets, having McLaughlin-designed bodies, would be added to the Canadian McLaughlin company’s product line. By 1916, Chevrolet profits enabled Durant to buy a majority of shares in General Motors. This led to Durant becoming president of General Motors in 1917, and Chevrolet being merged into GM as a separate division. In the 1918 model year, Chevrolet introduced the Model D, a V8-powered, three speed transmission model.
The Chevrolet Engine
Chevrolet had a great influence on the American automobile market during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1957, Chevrolet produced the first fuel injected engine. By 1963, one out of every ten cars sold in the United States was a Chevy.
The primary Chevy V8 design has remained in constant production since its launch in 1955. Making the Chevrolet engine one of the longest running ,mass-produced engines in the world. While the basic V8 engine platform has been upgraded and modified, remnants of the original design can still be seen in the 2008 Chevrolet Impala sedan and the Corvette sports car. Descendants of the first small-block V8 are built in displacements from 4.8 to 7 liters and have been used in other GM cars like the Pontiac. Oldsmobile and Buick.
Chevy Today
Today, a 6-litre, 400 horsepower version of the small-block V8 designed initially for the C-6 Corvette has been installed in a high performance version of the Cadillac CTS sedan, the CTS-V. Chevrolet produces 18 vehicles and various enhanced models in its North American, home market. The vehicles range from subcompact cars to commercial trucks. The most popular seller in the United States is the Silverado pickup truck. Chevrolet continues to be the performance, price, and value leader for General Motors North America and is offered around the world in the global market.
