Billy Durant And Chevy Pickups

William (Billy) Durant and Louis Chevrolet started selling Chevy automobiles in November 3rd, 1911.  He had originally founded GM but had been forced out by the companies bankers who deemed him unfit to run a corporation of that statute. His long term strategy became using Chevrolet Motors to regain a controlling share of GM. Durant explained he could easily accomplish his goal by building Chevorlet into a profitable automobile enterprise of its own. He used the revenues generated by Chevorlet Motors  throughout 1916, when he had purchased a controlling share (54.5%) in GM stock, walked into the GM headquarters and once again declared himself president. He was inspired by Henry Ford and had a strong belief in his abilities to adapt and overcome. His goal was to make Chevy pickups as affordable and reliable as possible up against the early model Ford pickups.

1918-1928 Four Cylinder Chevy Pickups

The very first Chevrolet pickups went on sale in 1918, the same year that the Chevrolet Motors became a subsidy of GM.  Chevy’s series 490 auto was new to the market in 1918 as well. The 490 model was created to compete head to head with the Model T Ford. The 490 designation was based on the price the car was to sell for which was also the amount a Model T had been selling for. The Model T instantly dropped in price as soon as the Series 490 was released.

The first Chevy pickup was the Model 490 Light Delivery. It was half-ton rated and chassis cowl based on the 490 auto. A chassis cowl included the chassis with engine, transmission and the front metal that made up the hoods, fenders, grilles & lights.  The interior were all exactly the same as the cars. The pickups came without a cab and a body. In those days, they were made out of wood and could be assembled on your own relatively inexpensively.  This also created a lot of new businesses in the automotive industry where auto body companies started pre-building cabs  and body’s. Most people purchasing a new Chevy pickup would just buy their cab and body kit from one of the third party vendors. The early model Chevrolet pickups remained in production throughout 1922, when they were renamed to the “Superior Series.”   The new name continued throughout 1927 when it once again changed to Capitol. Capital lasted throughout 1928, which was the last year for Four Cylinder Chevy pickups.

1929-1936 Early Six Cylinder Chevrolet Pickups

In 1929 Chevrolet released the first 6 Cylinder pickup. This created drive and motivation for Ford to release a flat head V-8 in 1932 followed shortly after by Dodge with a flat head V6 in 1933.  The motivation behind Chevy Pickups then became creating a pickup that could haul the largest load, quicker than any other pickup, for the most affordable price, comparatively speaking. Chevrolet’s marketing approach was promoting “6 Cylinders At The Cost Of 4.”  These early six cylinder inventions allowed Chevy to upgrade it’s 1 ton model to a 1.5 ton model and the max GVW got upgraded to 7k from 6k. The transmissions were also upgraded to a more efficient four speed. Through 1936 Chevy pickups continued improving in all areas.

1937-1940 Early Modern Chevy Pickups

Chevorlet produced a commercial 1/2 ton model as well as 1 1/2 ton heavy duty pickup truck in 1937. The cabs were still very much styled similar to the cars of that time period. The new 3/4 ton pickup truck had a 122 1/4″ wheelbase, total capacity of 1,500lbs and 5,800 GVW rating. The one ton had larger brakes, heavier springs and larger wheels and tires. You could order your Chevy in three body styles, pickup, stake and platform.  In 1939-1940 Chevy pickups received an overhaul on the body and cab styling. And boy did they look stunning!These new Chevy pickups were designed for ultimate comfort boasting features that pleased the every modern convenience. The 1940 model was pretty much the same but had an upgraded instrument model. From 1941-1945, Chevrolet went through the art deco pickup era. The goal of all truck manufactures was to make the trucks appear more powerful, bigger, better or more “massive. In 1941 the entire front end received an overhaul and improvements continued in 1942, 1945, and beyond. The next major milestone was in 1947, with the Advanced modern pickup designs.

Modern – Current Chevy Pickups

Post world war two, Chevy Pickups continued progressing to new heights year after year to what we have today, the latest version with the super sport package and beefy V8′s. Chevy Pickups are the ultimate combination of both family and heavy duty multi-use vehicles. The timeline after WWII is as follows:

•  In late 1947, Chevrolet Motors released the prewar style that carried an ultra sleek and dynamic appearance. More features were upgraded such as the headlamps on the fenders, larger more spacious and comfortable cabs and much more powerful motors.
• In 1960, the C/K truck series was released which featured the ultimate modern Chevy pickup engineering. C refers to two wheel pickup trucks while K refers to four wheel drive pickup trucks. Since that place in time, the Chevy C/K series pickup became the longest production pickup in the entire Chevrolet line.  In 1960 Chevrolet also expanded their pickup link by releasing the Viking and Apache models.

• In 1967, Chevrolet changed up their all their pickup body styles. The C/K pickups featured a more square and beefy look while also boasting three and four speed manual transmissions as optional upgrades.

• In 1998 Chevy introduced the Silverado.  After decades, the longest running production pickup from Chevrolet Motors was replaced by the Silverado.

Since 1998, Chevrolet has continued to make amazing improvements in both the design and performance of their pickups. Chevy pickups feature extreme performance, dependability, latest technology packages and upgrades, and one of the most competitive pickup truck lineups in the automotive industry. We LOVE our Chevy Pickups!