Chevrolet was created due to the greatest failure of William Crapo Durant. He went after the most successful car company by Henry Ford, one year after he incorporated General Motors. But, the $2 million loan, required for the down payment for FORD was refused by the bank. Durant was kicked out of GM by the board during a financial panic and the company was taken over by the bankers (Lassa 2011).
In early 1911, Durant worked on his comeback and joined with a retired Buick race driver Louis Chevrolet. He bought the assets of the Flint Wagon Works in Michigan. It was on November 3, 1911 that Durant and Chevrolet incorporated the new ‘Chevrolet Motor Company’. Louis wasn’t an officer, rather he experimented with large luxury cars; while, Durant had a reputation in developing cars that earned quick reputations for performance, durability and value. Chevrolet is now the fourth largest brand and still the core competencies of Chevrolet remain the same. The first car, Series C Classic Six was sold for $2150 which equals $50,000 today. Chevrolet was well regarded for its style, comfort and precision.
The partnership with Louis did not go long as they disagreed on the direction of the company. Louis wanted to build fast luxurious cars whereas; Durant wanted cars that were ‘for the people’. In 1915, Louis sold his share to Durant. In 1916, Durant bought major share of General Motors and by 1917, he became the president of the company.
The first big car produced the by Chevrolet was Baby Grand, worth $875. Until 1917, electrics were optional. The sales increased from 13,600 to 70,701. General Motors was acquired by Chevrolet in 1915 as the shareholders of Chevrolet increased capitalization from $20 million to $80 million. The 1925 superior was the automobile that allowed for Chevrolet to outsell Ford for the first time. Till the 1940s, Chevrolet ranked against Ford and Plymouth, where all these were known for the sale of low price vehicles.
Chevrolet brought technology and typical features that were reserved for the expensive cars from the very beginning. The Series C Classic Six—first Chevrolet had an electric starter and electric headlamps, which were not even offered by the lurxury cars at that time. Other features like fuel injection, safety glass, anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control systems were also used by Chevrolet on their models. By the technology adoption of Chevrolet, the trend of the technology was changed as they were applied to new vehicles.
The best thing of these cars was that with Chevrolet cars, high-peformance became affordable. Its four and six cylinder engines were famous for their high performance and durability. But in actual, the small-block V-8 that was introduced in 1955, opened the era in attainable high performance. Chevrolet designed racing cars through which it became the winningest brand in NASCAR and it has more NHRA Pro Stock Manufacturers Cups than any other comparable brand
The other main cornerstone after the performance is the design of the Chevrolet models, which are known as the icons of the American culture. The sleek 1963 Corvette Stingray is regarded as the best looking car ever designed by the historians in automation. There are other designs having cultural impacts like the Camaro, in 1967 that attracted younger customers through its great design and affordable performance. The fifth generation model introduced for 2010, which had the design inspired by the heritage, became the best seller among its competitors. Even in the truck world, Chevrolet bought many changes and gave it a flowing, upscale appearance which differed from the contemporary look of the trucks. In 1935, the Suburban was introduced and still the concept of delivering greater passengers and cargo capacity is running after 76 years.
Durant could not manage the company well and in 1920, he was ousted by Pierre Du Pont, Durant’s main financer. The Chevrolet cars have been talked about in songs like the “Little Red Corvette” by the American Pie. The movie ‘Transformers’ also featured the Yellow Chevrolet Camaro. The success of this company did not come alone. The problems have also grown in size with the growth of the company.
Electronics in cars have increased due to the higher demand of fuel-efficient, better driving dynamics, fun, comfortable and luxurious cars. Although the introduction of electronics fulfills all these features, but it also exposes the consumers to higher level of risk to accidents and Vehicle Manufacturers to recalls of millions of dollars. The National Highway Traffic safety Administration investigated that during 2005-2009, many Chevrolet Cobalt were registered for unintended veering or sudden loss of control.
The Chevrolet Corvair ’73 is considered a very simple yet complicated car. The common ten problems occurring to this car are: oil leaks, carburetion (which needs proper maintenance and cleaning; further it needs to be adjusted back properly), fuel tanks, overheating of the engine (it may be due to debris because normally the engine of the Corvair never overheats), brakes, power glide, shocks, windshields, speed transmissions and the removing of the top for the convertibles. As this car is quiet old, one may seem to have problems with these features.
There are other common problems that have come to light faced by the Chevrolet engines. The problems are almost the same mentioned for the Corvair ’73. * Oil problems are the most common of the problems in most engine brands, where oil escapes in two ways: oil seepage and oil leakages. Oil seepage is when it escapes from the gasket cover not producing a puddle, but the leakage is when it seeps and forms a puddle. * Radiator develops a fault and the engine overheats. If the radiator fan fails, the temperature rises and it can even cause cylinder head to break. Overheating can even lead to a loss of life. * Sometime the water gets pass the oil separator and the air, oil and water mix. * Worn out pistons and bad valve seals; this could be due to the combustion process being stalled due to lack of compressors. * Spark plugs may worn out and become weak * The timing of the valves may have a problem which may trap the exhaust and not let in the air; this would prevent the engine from running (blucasiliar).
Last month, one of the drivers of Chevrolet Cruze compact car reported an incident where the steering wheel of the car fell off at a gentle tug (Welsh 2011). Through March, 50,205 Cruzes had been sold, which replaced the uninspiring model of Cobalt. The problem occurred when the wheel was replaced in the assembly process due to the wrong wheel put in place earlier. But, after replacement, the wheel wasn’t attached properly. General Motor believes it was a single incident but still it recalled 2100 of the cars that were built before this particular wheel change. Further, according to just-auto.com, (2011) the GM spokesman, Chris Lee, told the Bloomberg News that in order to avoid the oversupply, the Ohio plant would stop the production of the Chevrolet Cruze models for the week of 28 November. The New GM does not encourage oversupply and over-productivity (Roberts).
From the 2007-2008 models, the Chevrolet Impala reports a suspension problem on more than 40,000 cars. A law suit was filed on June 29 by Donna Trusky of Pennsylvania, saying that her Impala had faulty spindle rods which caused the rear tires to wear out after just 6000 miles. The lawsuit demands the fixing of the rods by GM. But, a recent filing by GM noted that these cars were made by the ‘Old GM’ before its 2009 bankruptcy. Therefore, it wasn’t the duty of the current company to fix the Impala problems, but they are only responsible to make the repairs as written in the warranties.
Another very hot issue for the Chevrolet has been the battery fires of Chevrolet Volt. Earlier this year, General Motors underestimated the demand for Volt facing a production shortage. In November 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that it was formally opening an investigation into the company’s Chevrolet Volt. A question was raised to the safety of the lithium-ion battery packs. NHTSA did a crash test where a side pole impact test was done followed by a post-impact rollover test. After three weeks the Volt caught fire. Then more of these issues arose in further tests. Nothing has been reported by the consumers yet and the spokesperson of GM Greg Martin said that the Volt is safe to drive, as it does not present undue risk when normally operated. GM did not have any protocol for dealing with the battery after crash earlier, but now it has included the procedure of depowering of the battery after any sever crash (Webste).
According to the Automotive News, General Motors Co. is exploring the battery of Chevrolet Volt in order to find any issue as pointed by the safety officials. The global Product development chief, Marry Barra said that the company was looking for any design changes that could be made and would definitely do if something was required. The company is even going to offer loaner vehicles to 6000 Volt owners to reduce any risks of fire breaking due to an after crash. Although she assured that the car was safe, but in case the customer wasn’t satisfied, the company is willing to buy back the car. Even the CEO Dan Akerson told Reuters that the battery might be redesigned.
The introduction of the Chevrolet Volt was also full of challenges that the Volt Communication team had to face. The biggest challenge was the marketing this all-new technology to the American public. The specialty is that without using gasoline, Volt can drive up to 40 miles on electricity. The productivity was limited and therefore the supply was limited. The marketing people had to tell the Volt story without the vehicle. Another issue was that the car-buying public viewed negatively, the substantial aid that the company got from the U.S. and the Canadian government due to the filed bankruptcy in 2009. Earlier in 2002, the company’s previous electric vehicle program was cancelled and this also caused problems for the communication people (Shepardson 2011).
According to the just-auto.com (2011), the all-new sonic which was supposed to be launched this year had to be stopped. The productivity of the car in Michigan had to be stopped due to a shortage in the supply of the parts.
According to the Detroit News (2011), the Chevrolet Centennial Edition Corvette Z06 is a temptation on wheels. There is a small graphic on the B-pillar of Louis Chevrolet. Even the traditional flag adds the number 100 for the occasion of its completion of century (Chang 2011). The performance of the car is phenomenal. The steering is precise yet firm and the feeling of over-aggressiveness emerges from within the car. The body is very stiff and suspension is very tight to handle the hard cornering which makes the ride a bit bumpy. One of the things is outdated which is the touch screen on the center stack. The infotainment system is not attractive at all. Another problem with the car is the height which is very low. This causes problems in getting in and out of the car. You almost fall into the seat and to get out, you need to roll across the Centennial-marked door sill pushing up (Burgess 2011).
The Chevrolet and General Motors seem a lot better at 100 as compare to when they were 98. This year, the Chevrolet has produced new models that featured cutting-edge technology, fuel-efficiency, and features that were aesthetically pleasing. The company is targeting almost all the consumers at the moment; people wanting larger vehicles have Chevrolet Equinox; Malibu is a fuel efficient car, whereas, Camaro gives consumers a feeling of yesteryear. Although the Chevrolet Volt has had certain issues but still it won a number of awards in 2011. Each and every new product is designed keeping in view the core competencies of the company, the high performance, and bringing more technology to more people rather focusing on all types of consumers.

Works Cited
Roberts, Greeme. "US: GM Suspends CHevrolet Cruze production for a week." Automotive News. N.p., 16 November 2011. Web. 3 Dec 2011. <http://www.just-auto.com/news/gm-suspends-chevrolet-cruze-production-for-a-week_id116968.asp&xgt;.
Burgess, Scott. "Once-in-a-lifetime Centennial Corvette Z06 too powerful to tame From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20111126/AUTO03/111260318/Once-in-a-lifetime-Centennial-Corvette-Z06-too-powerful-to-tame
Lassa, Todd. "The Secret History of Chevrolet." (2011): n. page. Web. 3 Dec. 2011. <http://www.motortrend.com/features/consumer/1111_the_secret_history_of_chevrolet/viewall.html>.
Welsh, Jonathan. "Chevy Recalls Cruze After A Steering Wheel Falls Off.." (2011): n. page. Web. 3 Dec. 2011. <http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2011/04/10/chevy-recalls-cruze-after-a-steering-wheel-falls-off/>.
Webste, Larry. "GM in Crises- 5 Reasons why America's Largest Company Teeters on the Edge." (2008): n. page. Web. 3 Dec. 2011. <http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/industry/4292379>.
Shepardson, David. "U.S. opens formal probe into Chevrolet Volt for battery fires From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20111126/AUTO01/111260329/U.S.-opens-formal-probe-into-Chevrolet-Volt-for-battery-fires blucasiliar, . "the common problems that chevrolet engines meet." (2011): n. page. Web. 3 Dec. 2011.