Every car name on the road today—barring newly-born EVs—has a story to tell. Ferrari has one, as do Ford, Chrysler, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lamborghini, and the list goes on. But unlike Enzo Ferrari or Henry Ford, Louis Chevrolet’s story is a bit of a tragedy. A passionate petrolhead, his journey—although filled with ups and downs—was nothing short of impressive.

Chevrolet is one of the top brands in the motoring industry. In fact, it’s been a household name way before you and I were born. The story of Chevrolet, however, starts with an immigrant mechanic who fancied speed. Mr. Chevrolet proved his might on the track and was starting to become famous. His fortunes turned when suddenly, he decided to quit the company he co-founded. Since then, it was a life of failed attempts and despair for the Swiss racer, who eventually ended up working in one of Chevy’s Detroit factories as a simple mechanic.

Imagine a life when the company with your name is minting millions while you are left struggling to make ends meet. But how did a Swiss bicycle mechanic with no motoring background build one of the world’s largest automotive companies? What forced Louis Chevrolet to exit his own company? Let’s find out.

The Early Life Of Louis Chevrolet

Chevrolet’s Co-founder, Louis Chevrolet
Via: Media.GM

Louis Chevrolet was born on December 25, 1878, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The second child in a family of nine, Louis Chevrolet was part of a modest household and often helped his father, who worked in the watchmaking industry. Economic problems soon started to plague the family, and Louis Chevrolet, along with his parents and six siblings decided to move to France.

Things did not seem to improve, and Louis was forced to drop out of school and work in a bicycle shop. He quickly learned the basics of mending bicycles and small carriages and eventually designed his own bicycle, which he entered in local races. He was so good at the exercise that he would often finish in first place. Sometime later, he designed another bicycle dubbed the Gladiator. It was so impressive that it caught the eye of one of the managers at the Darracq automaking plant, encouraging Louis to join the company. During his time in Darracq, Louis mastered the basics of internal combustion and four-stroke engines. With the money he saved, Louis Chevrolet was finally able to fulfill his dream of going to America.

In 1901, he worked at an engineering workshop in New York before moving to the Brooklyn operations of the French car manufacturer de Dion-Bouton. But his big break would arrive in 1905 when he started working for Fiat. Part of the company’s racing team, Louis Chevrolet’s time in Fiat helped him better understand engines and establish himself as a racer. His first stint was a timed event at Morris Park, and to everyone’s surprise, Louis broke the one-mile world record. His next big event involved some of the country’s best racers. Louis Chevrolet soldiered on, bagging first place and a front-page feature in New York Times. His racing career continued as he drove for Buick, becoming a friend and associate of Buick owner William C. Durant, founder of General Motors.

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Chevrolet Motor Car Company

Chevrolet’s Co-founder, Louis Chevrolet
Via: Media.GM

With his learnings from Fiat and Buick, Louis Chevrolet built an overhead valve six-cylinder engine in his own machine shop, paving the way for something even bigger. By now, Louis Chevrolet is already a famous motoring figure in the United States, with several victories and multiple record-breaking runs. William Durant sought to market Louis Chevrolet’s image as a daring racer and use his engineering expertise to build a car company. In 1911, William Durant, along with Louis, his brother Arthur Chevrolet, and two investment partners, started the Chevrolet Motor Car Company.

The strategy was simple. While the Chevrolet brothers designed the vehicles, Durant would focus on marketing them. After several months, the Classic Six (also called Type C) was born. The car featured a 4.8L straight-six and could reach a top speed of 65 mph. But its $2,250 price tag ($65,000 in today's money) meant very few of them sold. While Chevrolet wanted to keep building fast cars, Durant disagreed and wanted the company to focus on high volume low priced cars rivaling Ford’s Model T.

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The Downfall Of Louis Chevrolet

Chevrolet’s Co-founder, Louis Chevrolet
Via: Media.GM

After the informal disagreement, Durant restructured the company without Louis’ consent. This, along with a few comments on Louis’ personality, made him furious. He then proceeded to commit perhaps the biggest mistake of his life. Louis Chevrolet sold his stake in the company to William Durant.

Louis found racing success after starting the Frontenac Motor Company and was slated to launch his first passenger car. But his brother’s demise, a Wall Street scandal followed by the Great Depression led to serious financial troubles. Louis Chevrolet was found poor and jobless during the worst economic crisis in America. Meanwhile, Chevrolet became a fast-growing brand, outselling Ford. Aged and left with no options, Louis returned to Chevrolet, started working on the assembly line as a mechanic before succumbing to his health issues and eventually dying in 1941.

Sources: Chevrolet Media