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00:01The Bel Air.
00:02The Camaro.
00:04The Corvette.
00:05What would our roads be without these icons?
00:08Boring, that's what.
00:10When you have a car rolling out of lava,
00:13you want that muscle car.
00:14And it's all thanks to one $11 billion company
00:18synonymous with America.
00:20Chevrolet.
00:22Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet.
00:25Is there anything else?
00:26But Chevy's road to success wasn't always smooth.
00:29You're going to regret this.
00:31The story is full of victories.
00:34Chevy just seemed to have a dominance in NASCAR.
00:37And defeat.
00:38It was an absolute disaster.
00:41Ride along with Chevy and discover all the surprising ways
00:45they redefined the way America drives.
00:49Not too fast.
00:50Buckle up.
00:51This is the Fast and Furious History of Chevy.
01:01In 1950, the fiercest rivalry in America isn't Yankees versus Dodgers.
01:08Two titans of American industry are locked in a years-long back and forth.
01:14Ford versus Chevy.
01:16Chevy takes the crown by offering more color, style, and variety than their competitors.
01:22Now, they're taking it to the next level with a new kind of car that's never been mass-produced in
01:29America before.
01:30The sports car.
01:32Chevy debuts their new sports car at the 1953 Motorama show.
01:38They name it after a compact warship touted for its speed and maneuverability, the Corvette.
01:46But in its first year, Chevy only sells 183 Corvettes.
01:53GM is ready to trash the Corvette and pull it off the market.
01:57So, why don't they?
01:59How does the Corvette go from a dismal failure to making sports cars an American obsession
02:05for everyone from Vin Diesel to Prince to...
02:10This is it, Barbie.
02:12Barbie.
02:13To find out, we need to go back.
02:15Because to tell the story of the Corvette, you need to know the story of Chevy.
02:20And for that, you need to know the story of General Motors.
02:23Which all begins with...
02:25The Durant-Dort Carriage Company.
02:29That's right.
02:30Before people got around using this kind of horsepower.
02:35They got around using this kind of horsepower.
02:39One of the biggest carriage companies in Flint, Michigan, is run by William Durant.
02:44But something is driving sales down.
02:49Motor cars have arrived.
02:51And Durant's faced with the choice to beat them or join them.
02:55Stay the course of pivot is hard for any entrepreneur.
02:58There is a big aspect of risk-taking involved to do something new.
03:02He makes the bold decision to buy out
03:05Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Oakland.
03:09Which becomes Pontiac.
03:11If you're wondering why we left a certain brand out...
03:14It doesn't exist yet.
03:16But we're getting there.
03:19Durant calls his company General Motors, hoping to create a monopoly.
03:23But when it comes to scooping up the brand he wants most...
03:28He's already overspent on the other companies.
03:31Durant found himself over-leveraged and lost control of the deal.
03:36Well then, Mr. Ford.
03:38I wish you luck.
03:39So why is Ford so willing to walk away?
03:42Because he's got a car that will forever change history.
03:46The Model T.
03:48It's a car for the everyman.
03:50And every Tom, Dick, and Harry, plus their wives, are buying it.
03:55Because of the assembly line that Henry Ford created.
03:59Ford was rolling Model Ts out by the thousands.
04:04He could build cars cheaper than General Motors.
04:08Which doesn't bode well for GM's leader.
04:11You're fired.
04:14Now Durant is more motivated than ever to create a new car brand that will outsell everything.
04:22But without enough capital to do it alone, Durant brings on a partner.
04:27Someone with flash, cash, and a big mustache.
04:31A Swiss race car driver named Louis Chevrolet.
04:36This new company, Mr. Durant, does it have a name?
04:40Not yet. But I was thinking something...
04:42May I suggest calling it Chevrolet?
04:47It does have a nice ring to it.
04:50In 1911, they debut the Series C.
04:54It was expensive.
04:55It sold for $2,150 compared to the cost of a Model T, which was $490.
05:03It's roomier, more powerful, and more stylish than the Model T.
05:08But due to the hefty cost, its sales don't compete.
05:11So Durant proposes a cheaper car.
05:13But Louis Chevrolet would rather quit than compromise on quality.
05:17If you want to make crap, find someone else to do it with.
05:20Durant buys Chevrolet out, taking the name with him.
05:23You're gonna regret this.
05:28Determined to get back on top of the industry, Durant buys enough shares of GM to put him back in
05:34power.
05:38But within four years...
05:41The board has voted to retire you.
05:44He's back out.
05:46And Chevy is now the property of General Motors.
05:53With Durant out of the picture, GM approaches William Knudsen to run Chevrolet, one of the best ex-Ford employees
06:00in the industry.
06:02Knudsen went to Henry Ford and he said, hey, hey, I think we should tweak the Model T, I think
06:06we can make some improvements.
06:08Well, Henry Ford didn't like this, kicked him to the curb.
06:11All I want to do is crush Henry Ford.
06:16And to do that, Knudsen has an idea for Chevy that will crack the industry wide open.
06:24So which of these actors went from the Millennium Falcon to a Corvette?
06:29B. Mark Hamill.
06:31In Mark Hamill's Star Wars follow-up, he plays a kid who's got to find his stolen Corvette by the
06:37end of the summer.
06:40The Roaring Twenties marks a time of prosperity and excess in America.
06:45People had money in their pockets and they wanted to be able to do something that was associated with their
06:51own pleasure, their own desire.
06:53And Chevy's new leader, William Knudsen, knows he can offer the consumer something Ford never has.
07:00Choice.
07:02Ford's cars were all black, but Chevrolet came up with a way to create desire for an automobile by introducing
07:10color, choice, option.
07:13Yellow, blue, green, burgundy and white adorned shiny new Chevys.
07:18With the element of choice, Chevy creates a notion that your car is part of your identity.
07:28In 1927, GM overtakes Ford as the number one car company in the U.S. thanks to Chevy.
07:36A status they maintain through the next decade.
07:38But World War II brings all car production to a screeching halt.
07:45And when the war ends, American GIs return home with a new pastime.
07:52Europe's favorite sport.
07:53Car racing.
07:56Guys are coming back from World War II and the adrenaline is still high.
08:01They're looking for these thrills.
08:02And they've also become really familiar with all these ways of making vehicles faster.
08:07Drag racing becomes a national pastime.
08:10And people customize their cars, called hot rods, to look and feel like race cars.
08:15The hot rodders' engine of choice, the Ford V8.
08:20Which leaves Chevy's engines in the dust.
08:26In the early 50s, no American company is making a car built specifically for racing.
08:33Chevy sees an opportunity to bring the world the first American sports car.
08:38Which brings us to where our story began.
08:41The Corvette is the most hyped American car debut in decades.
08:46It takes center stage at the 1953 Motorama show.
08:51While the average car costs $2,000,
08:55Chevy banks on the idea that people will see the Corvette as a splurge-worthy luxury.
09:01But in its first year, the Corvette only sells 183 models.
09:06And in 1955, Ford releases their answer.
09:11The Thunderbird.
09:13With Ford's V8 engine, it's faster than the Corvette.
09:16And with a price tag under $3,000, the T-Bird crushes the Corvette.
09:21Even the Beach Boys are singing about it.
09:28It seems everyone is having fun, fun, fun.
09:31Except for Chevy.
09:33Chevy is ready to scrap the Corvette.
09:36But one exec, Ed Cole, has an idea to save it.
09:39So you want to build an engine to compete with Fords?
09:43Exactly.
09:45In 1955, Chevy debuts the small block engine, a.k.a. the Mighty Mouse.
09:52The small block Chevy is one of the most influential engines in hot rodding.
09:59They're really transformable.
10:02They're like Lego kits for horsepower.
10:05It's lighter, faster, and louder than Ford V8s.
10:09Chevrolet puts their new engine in the Corvette.
10:13Now, to sell it.
10:14As televisions enter more and more homes, Chevy sees an opportunity in the latest sports craze.
10:21NASCAR.
10:22If Chevy can get their engines into race cars on TV, a new idea at the time, it could be
10:28invaluable advertising.
10:30Or it could blow up in their faces.
10:34But when Chevy's cars hit the track, no one can touch them.
10:38You know, the old saying is, win on Sunday, sell on Monday.
10:42In 1956, the Corvette becomes the number one car in America.
10:48When I see a brand new Chevy Corvette, I want it.
10:52I want it.
10:55Into the 1960s, Chevy continues their run of youthful cars as the baby boomers come of driving age.
11:01There's one standout.
11:03The Corvair.
11:05It's cool.
11:06It's under $2,000.
11:08And with over 200,000 first-generation models sold, the Corvair becomes a smash hit.
11:16Keyword, smash.
11:18Unfortunately, it had this fatal flaw.
11:20And that is, it had a swing axle rear suspension that was prone to rolling over.
11:26The Corvair is about to take its biggest hit yet.
11:29From the last place Chevy would ever suspect.
11:36So, which Chevy was inspired by the Space Race of 1965?
11:42C, the Turbo Titan II.
11:44The massive truck was a concept vehicle that blasts off in 1965, the same year as the first American spacewalk.
11:52The Titan featured what were called astronaut seats and a futuristic dial steering wheel.
11:58In 1965, GM is the most profitable private entity in the United States, raking in upwards of $2 billion.
12:07But Chevy's ultra-popular Corvair is about to become a lightning rod for a national scandal.
12:14Led by a young activist, Ralph Nader.
12:18Ralph Nader is a Harvard-educated lawyer.
12:21He has spent his life as a consumer advocate.
12:24In 1965, Nader takes aim at the auto industry and releases a best-selling book, Unsafe at Any Speed.
12:33Nader looked at the management of the big three as the enemy of the American people.
12:38The book changes cars forever.
12:42Because of it, 49 states passed seat belt laws.
12:45They created new agencies at the federal level to look at the auto industry.
12:49So it did have a real impact.
12:51Nader is especially tough on the Corvair, devoting an entire chapter to it being prone to rollovers and loss of
12:58control.
12:59Sales plummet, and Chevy discontinues the Corvair in 1969.
13:04Meanwhile, Ford has something coming down the track that'll give Chevy a run for their money.
13:13I mean, the Ford Mustang simply, it's sex on wheels.
13:18It appealed to men, it appealed to women, it had everything.
13:26Chevy scrambles to design a car to compete.
13:29The result? The Camaro.
13:32It comes with a roaring V8 engine, and is marketed as strong, powerful, and hot.
13:39Fire a new creation from Chevrolet.
13:42The Camaro is an explosive hit.
13:44When I think of iconic commercials, I think of the Camaro coming out of the volcano.
13:48When you have actual footage of the car rolling out of lava, you want that muscle car.
13:54In a few short years, Chevy sells more than a million Camaros.
13:59Making it one of the most iconic cars of all time.
14:04As Chevy enters the 70s, they're still the number one car company in America.
14:09But now their lead is threatened by a new rival.
14:13Foreign Imports.
14:15Cars like the Volkswagen Beetle and Toyota Corolla are taking over the streets.
14:20These imports were exotic. I think people liked that.
14:23You could have your big gas-guzzling muscle car that was, you know, getting you seven, eight, nine miles to
14:29the gallon.
14:30Or you could buy one of these imports that was getting you, you know, two, three times that.
14:36But Chevy realizes that they can sell cars with something that foreign imports can't.
14:42Americana.
14:43They go together in the good old USA.
14:47Baseball and hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.
14:51Literally, right?
14:52I mean, I sang that song as a kid.
14:53I mean, the greatest jingle ever.
14:56And Chevy hangs on to the number one spot throughout the decade.
15:00In the mid-70s, Chevys are still America's definitive cool car.
15:05Anyone who's hip drives a Chevy, including an unknown musician named Bruce Springsteen.
15:11Before he was the boss, Springsteen spends two grand on a beat-up 57 Bel Air.
15:16He paints it flaming yellow and is said to have written some of his biggest hits in the car.
15:21Like Born to Run, Backstreets and Thunder Road.
15:24The car becomes part of rock and roll history and later sells at auction for $350,000.
15:33But in 1980, GM instates a new CEO who's about to ruin all the fun, Roger Smith.
15:40Smith operates only on efficiency.
15:43He takes the human element out of Chevy. Literally.
15:46He automates many of GM's factories, designs cars based on market data, and cuts over 30,000 jobs.
15:55Without the human creativity the brand was built on,
15:58Chevy's cars look anonymous, drab, and, well, boring.
16:05CNBC and Fortune call Smith one of the worst CEOs of all time.
16:10The company loses billions.
16:13By the end of the 80s, the unthinkable happens.
16:16For the first time in over 30 years, Ford overtakes Chevy as number one.
16:22But Chevy's got something very big up its sleeve.
16:32So why was the Nova pulled?
16:36It couldn't compete with other Chevys.
16:38It's a pervasive myth that the Nova's Spanish translation led to its demise.
16:43But the real reason the Nova didn't last was that between the Corvette, Camaro, El Camino, and more,
16:50there were just too many good Chevys to choose from.
16:52It had nothing to do with the car's quality or materials.
16:56In 1991, GM finally forces CEO Roger Smith to resign and hopes to return to their roots of innovation.
17:05To distance themselves from Smith's lookalike sedans,
17:09Chevy revamps their image around the strength of their trucks.
17:13They tell America the most dependable car you can buy isn't a car.
17:17It's a Chevy truck.
17:19And who better to deliver the message than Bob Seger?
17:23I could ride.
17:25I was strong as I could be.
17:28Chevy becomes the number one truck in America.
17:31And the ad campaign enjoys a 13-year run until 2004.
17:37The other arena where Chevy trucks dominate?
17:40Country music.
17:42There are over 100 country songs that mention Chevys by stars from Taylor Swift to Garth Brooks.
17:49As the new millennium dawns, Chevy's newest sensation is actually its oldest running model.
17:56The Chevy Suburban has been around since 1935.
18:00But in the 2000s, it's as if it's reborn.
18:04They became all the rage.
18:06The status symbol for rappers.
18:09They became really part of the culture.
18:12The hit show, The Sopranos, opens with Tony Soprano's commute from New York to New Jersey.
18:18Driving through the Lincoln Tunnel in what else?
18:22His red Chevy Suburban.
18:25Driving into New Jersey, smoking his cigar.
18:27Probably one of the most iconic drives, right?
18:30Chevy's coveted SUVs put them back on top.
18:33In April 2000, GM's stock price hits an all-time high of over $90 a share.
18:39But nothing gold can stay.
18:41The economy takes a turn in 2008.
18:44This is what financial Armageddon looks like.
18:47Suddenly, flashy, gas-guzzling cars aren't so appealing.
18:51And Chevy can't sell a growing surplus of SUVs.
18:54The 2008 financial crisis was a crushing blow.
18:58General Motors and Chrysler both filed for bankruptcy.
19:02It's in question whether America's big three automakers are even going to be able to stay in business.
19:09So GM turns to the U.S. government for help.
19:12And in 2009, they're granted the biggest bailout in U.S. history, amounting to over $50 billion.
19:19But now the U.S. Treasury is the largest shareholder in GM, and they start killing off their money-losing
19:25brands.
19:26To survive, Chevy has to step up their game.
19:29And in 2011, the 100th anniversary of Chevrolet, they release a hybrid, the Volt.
19:36Featuring a combined fuel efficiency rating of 93 miles per gallon, the car becomes the best-selling plug-in hybrid
19:44in America.
19:45And GM finally makes a profit of over $7 billion.
19:49GM and Chevy commit to making only electric vehicles by the year 2035.
19:55Today, Chevy is worth over $11 billion.
20:00Chevrolet is ever-present, and it's deeply part of the American culture.
20:06And GM is the biggest car company in the world.
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