McGee Chevrolet

   1911          2011

Louis-Joseph Chevrolet was born on Christmas Day, 1878, in a small town in Switzerland. In 1886, his family left Switzerland and moved to France. It was here that a young Louis developed his mechanical skills and interest in auto racing. In 1905, after moving to America, Louis was hired by Fiat Motors as a race car driver.  A year later, he became employed by a Philadelphia company that was developing a then-revolutionary front-wheel drive race car.

Chevrolet's racing career continued when he drove for Buick at the request of its owner, William Durant, the founder of General Motors. With little in the way of formal education, Louis learned car design while working for Buick. In 1909, in his own machine shop, he designed an overhead valve six-cylinder model for a new car.

On November 8, 1911, the Chevrolet Motor Car Company was co-founded by Louis, William Durant, and two other investors.  While deciding upon a logo for the new company, Louis wanted to use a stylized Swiss cross to honor his country of birth. That logo, now called the "Chevy Bow Tie," is one of the most recognized corporate identities in the world.

By the mid-1910s, Louis returned to the race car industry and helped create a state-of-the-art car which he then drove to a 20^th place finish in the 1915 Indianapolis 500. Chevrolet would race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway four times in his life; his best finish was 7^th place in 1919, two years after the Chevrolet Motor Car Company ceased to exist as a stand-alone company and had, instead, become part of the General Motors Corporation, now owned by Chevrolet's original partner, William Durant.

The Louis Chevrolet legacy for innovation and excellence is alive an well today, 100 years later. McGee Chevrolet is proud to be part of the Chevrolet family of dealerships and we look forward to the next 100 years of dedicated service to our customers.

Chad DaSilva, Director of Business Development

508-821-7810 
chadchevy1@McgeeCars.com