About This Quiz
"See the USA in your Chevrolet!" This early advertising slogan captures what a piece of American history the Chevy brand is. Founded in the early 20th century alongside brands like Ford, Dodge, Nash and Studebaker, Chevrolet has survived to become one of America's best-known carmakers, and to have a presence around the world.Â
Chevrolet, like its longtime rival Ford, makes almost every kind of vehicle, from work trucks to sports cars, economy compacts to family cars. You'll see Silverados and Sierras on ranches and at construction sites, and Camaros and Corvettes on the Pacific Coast Highway or Miami's South Beach Drive. Chevrolet cars turn up in films regularly, including Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." (Who can forget Nick Fury's Chevy Tahoe getting shot to bits in the street, or Black Widow pulling up in a sleek new Corvette Stingray to pick up Steve, aka Cap, for his new assignment?)
How much do you know about this iconic American brand? Do you know which major US company one of its co-founders was ousted from -- twice? Or which legendary race another of its co-founders competed in four times? What about which Chevy model came under attack in Ralph Nader's muckraking book, "Unsafe At Any Speed"? (Note: Chevy wasn't the only carmaker that Nader took to task).Â
Relive the ups and downs of the Chevy brand with our quiz!
Don't laugh about "Crapo." That was Durant's mother's maiden name, and his middle name!
There's even a bumper sticker you'll see on Ford vehicles. It reads "Friends don't let friends drive Chevys."
The company was born in the early "teens." Ford and Dodge were already established.
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It's true! The co-founder of a classic "Americana" company was Swiss. Who knew?
Louis Chevrolet was also an automotive engineer. But it was while racing cars for Buick that he got to know his future business partner, William Durant.
The company was founded in 1911; Chevrolet sold his share in 1915. Apparently he did not get along with his partner, William Durant.
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Chevrolet is a GM brand. Once an independent company, it has a complicated history with GM (which you'll learn about elsewhere in this quiz).
Durant had founded General Motors. He used the Chevrolet company as a backdoor way of getting back on the board of GM, via a merger in 1918. Unfortunately, he was bounced from the board a second time the following year. (Some guys just can't take a hint!)
Chevrolet's emblem is a cross with its crossbar longer than its vertical bar. It's casually called the Chevy "bowtie."
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This is typical for a major car maker. Chevy got its start in Flint, Michigan, and is now headquartered in Detroit.
Chevrolet overtook classic American car brand Ford to do this. It was part of the rivalry between the companies that lasts to this day.
The Corvette rolled out in the early 1950s. A "corvette" is a light, quick warship.
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These names are often used synonmously. But a fan will tell you they're not the same. The "Sting Ray" name was first introduced in 1963.
Ford, at that time, used a four-cylinder engine. So when Chevy offered buyers a six-cylinder car "for the price of a four," it was a marketing coup.
"Unsafe at Any Speed" was a book that indicted America's car makers overall for a lack of concern about safety. However, its first chapter, "The Sporty Corvair: A One-Car Accident," was a public-relations problem for Chevrolet in particular.
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Chevrolet already made cars called the Corvette and the Bel Air. The Corvair name suggests it was a combination of both, but really, it was a break from tradition, with a rear engine and independent suspension for all four wheels. The Corvair was 1960's "Car of the Year," according to Motor Trend.
The Mustang was considered the first "pony car," and the Camaro was Chevy's answer to it. To this day, no one knows what the name means!
The first Mustangs were sold in mid-1964. Chevy was not quick, then, to respond with the Camaro.
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The Volt has been tremendously popular. It is the top-selling plug-in hybrid in US history.
Vintage Impalas and Novas are powerful cars that are now, sometimes, collector's items. Yaris is a Toyota product, and -- sorry Toyota! -- unlikely to ever be collectibles.
Like Ford, Chevy makes a lot of its income from its light- to medium-duty trucks. These include the Sierra and the Silverado.
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The "stovebolt" was Chevrolet's inline 6-cylinder engine. It was first produced in 1929.
This stands for "Super Sport." Some Chevelles and Novas had this designation, as well as other cars and even some Chevy trucks.
"No va" means "it doesn't go" in Spanish, so the story is that the Nova failed in Latin America. It's a fun anecdote, but just not true. The Nova sold fine.
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The Chevelle was sold from 1964 to 1978. They are still popular with car enthusiasts today.
The Chevelle was phased out in 1978. The Chevy Malibu took its niche in the market.
The memorial is in the racetrack's Hall of Fame Museum. Louis competed in the Indianapolis 500 several times; his best finish was 7th place.
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When we say "nearly," we mean it. The number on record is 2,999.
The America of the "teens" (1910 - 1919) was a growing nation, and that requires solid working vehicles. It's no surprise that Chevy moved into this space fairly quickly.
"Inspiration comes standard" was a Chrysler slogan. The other three mottoes have all been used by Chevrolet.
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Ed Cole is famous for developing the Chevy small-block V8 engine, among other advances. He died in a plane crash in 1977, and is now in the Automotive Hall of Fame.
Technically, Holden is GM's Australia division in place of Chevrolet. But many models are fundamentally the same, like the "Chevy Volt" and "Holden Volt."
What is it with carmakers and appliance companies? In 1937, the American automaker Nash. famous for the "Rambler," joined forces with appliance company Kelvinator to become Nash-Kelvinator. Perhaps it reflects early interest in cars having A/C systems.
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"Bumblebee" is a Camaro in the films, starting as a '60s version and later becoming a fifth-generation model. A Camaro also appears in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," for which Chevy had a product-placement deal.
There are more movies than this, frankly, and usually things don't end well for the Chevelle. As one writer for AutoTrader put it, "It's as if there's some sort of not-so-secret conspiracy to crash every late-'60s and early-'70s A-bodied SS Chevelle in existence."