Louis-joseph chevrolet biography examples
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The Up-And-Down Life Of Louis Chevrolet
Most recognize Chevrolet as one of the world’s best-selling automobile lines. Few, however, realize how tightly intertwined the beginnings of that iconic company were with racing.
Louis Joseph Chevrolet, born in a rustic Swiss village on Christmas 1878, was a teenager when the bicycle craze erupted. He was immediately captivated and his first taste of competition came on those then cutting-edge machines.
A self-taught engineer, Chevrolet displayed an aptitude for design and an entrepreneurial bent, building and selling his own bicycles at age 16. He named his creations Frontenac, after the 17th-century governor of France’s North American colonies. Later, he branded his successful line of race cars with the same name.
With the appearance of the first automobiles, Chevrolet’s interests turned automotive. His family migrated to France and he was first employed as an automotive mechanic in Paris. While in Paris, William K. Vanderbilt’s
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by Michael Lamm, courtesy of the Ironstone Concours d’Elegance
Photos artighet of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library
Many thanks to Michael Lamm for providing this very interesting article.
Frontenac Number 8 was engineered for the Indy 500 which Gaston won in 1920.
To celebrate Chevrolet’s 100th anniversary, we’d like to focus on the man rather than the car. Louis Chevrolet began developing his namesake automobile in 1911. The Chevrolet brand became an icon and a tremendous success, yet he, Louis, received little profit from it.
Although Louis Chevrolet was much more than a race driver, racing is what made him famous. In 1905, he beat Barney Oldfield and Walter Christie, the two best-known drivers of the day, at New York’s Morris Park in a 90-horsepower Fiat. In the process, Chevrolet set a track record of 68 mph which, in 1905, was like establishing the speed of light. Later that year, he beat Henry Ford and Walter Christie in
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Chevrolet: a name, a legend, a watch
Back 62 years after the death of Louis Chevrolet, one man decided to buy the rights to the legendary name. Behind this new story: André Saunier. A passionate man and a waking dreamer, driven by his creativity and boldness. Three years passed and in 2006 the “Louis Chevrolet Swiss Watches Company” was born. If Louis could see this, he would certainly think that the circle is complete. The child of La Chaux-de-Fonds, the child of Bonfol returns to his homeland, with his nose in mechanics, but this time watchmaking. It all makes sense, cars and watchmaking have so much in common, so much to share… In 2016, the company accelerated the movement, revealing itself to be more “rebellious”, breaking the codes of traditional watchmaking for the greater pleasure of its customers in search of modernity. His way of marketing his products directly from his factory based in Porrentruy, in the Swiss Jura, so close to Louis’ c