Louis Chevrolet

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Louis-Joseph Chevrolet (December 25, 1878, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchatel, Switzerland - June 6, 1941, Detroit, Michigan) was a racing driver and a co-founder (with William C. Durant) of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company, which was acquired by General Motors and is their best-known brand nationwide,[citation needed] and in many cases synonymous with General Motors itself.In 1886 his family left Switzerland to live in Beaune in the Côte-d'Or département of France. It was there as a young man Louis developed his mechanical skills and interest in auto racing. He worked for the Roblin mechanics shop from 1895 to 1899 at which time he went to Paris where he worked for a short time before migrating to Montreal, Quebec in Canada in 1900. The following year, he moved to New York City where he was hired by FIAT.In 1911 William Durant partnered with Louis Chevrolet to form the Chevrolet Motor Company. The two men had very different ideas on what kind of automobile they wanted to produce. Durant wanted to build a inexpensive car to compete with Henry Fords Model T. But Chevrolet wanted to build a more of a luxury car like that of a Cadillac. Durant conceded and the company produced the Chevrolet Classic Six. In 1915 while Louis Chevrolet was on holiday in Europe Billy Durant changed the Chevrolet to a smaller car to compete with Ford. When Chevrolet returned to Flint, MI. Durant and Chevrolet had a falling out over the new design and Louis Chevrolet sold his shares of his company to Durant and left the company.Working for Buick, this mechanical genius with little in the way of a formal education learned car design and started designing his own engine for a new car in 1909. This, an overhead valve six, he built in his own machine shop on Grand River Boulevard, Detroit.Shortly thereafter, he would partner with Durant to start the Chevrolet Motor Car Company there. Chevrolet had differences with Durant over the design and in 1915 sold Durant his share in the company. The next year, the company was folded into Durant's General Motors. Louis Chevrolet in a Buick racer in Crown Point, Indiana, during the Cobe Cup Race in 1909At that time, Chevrolet shifted into the racing car industry, partnering with Howard E. Blood of Allegan, Michigan to create the Cornelian, a state of the art racing car which he used to place 20th in the 1915 Indy 500. In 1916, he and his younger brother Gaston started Frontenac Motor Corporation, designing and producing another line of racing cars. They became well-known for, among other things, their Fronty-Ford racers.Louis also competed in the Indianapolis 500 four times, with a best finish of 7th in 1919. Younger brother Gaston won there in 1920 in a car Louis built, and brother Arthur also competed twice.Louis Chevrolet died nearly penniless, and is buried in the Holy Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana. His bust stands at the entrance to the museum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.