Bowtie History

Bowtie History

The Chevrolet Bowtie has been one of the World’s most recognized trademarks since 1913, when William C. Durant first introduced the symbol that represents Chevrolet’s winning success!

According to the automaker, the Chevy bowtie was introduced in 1913 by co-founder William C. Durant on the 1914 Chevrolet H-2 Royal Mail and the H-4 Baby Grand. The logo was placed at the front and center of both models. Since then it has adorned 215 million Chevrolet vehicles.

We have all heard the legend how Durant copied the bowtie  design from the wallpaper in a Paris hotel.

Then there’s the explanation offered by Durant’s daughter Margery in her 1929 book My Father.

She wrote that the design was an original design of her father’s, explaining that he would doodle nameplate designs on pieces of paper at the dinner table.

“I think it was between the soup and the fried chicken one night that he sketched out the design that is used on the Chevrolet car to this day,” she wrote.

However, Durant’s widow Catherine disagrees, saying that the logo was inspired by a design from a newspaper ad in Hot Springs, Virginia.

According to Catherine, William Durant exclaimed, “I think this would be a very good emblem for the Chevrolet.” Regardless of where the emblem came from, it has graced over a billion vehicles through the years.
Chevrolet-branded vehicles are sold in most automotive markets worldwide, with the notable exception of Oceania, where GM is represented by its Australian subsidiary, Holden.
In 2005, Chevrolet was relaunched in Europe, primarily selling vehicles built by GM Daewoo of South Korea with the tagline “Daewoo has grown up enough to become Chevrolet”, a move rooted in General Motors’ attempt to build a global brand around Chevrolet.

With the reintroduction of Chevrolet to Europe, GM intended Chevrolet to be a mainstream value brand, while GM’s traditional European standard-bearers, Opel of Germany, and Vauxhall of United Kingdom would be moved upmarket.

However, GM reversed this move in late 2013, announcing that the brand would be withdrawn from Europe, with the exception of the Camaro and Corvette in 2016.

Chevrolet vehicles will continue to be marketed in the CIS states, including Russia.

After General Motors fully acquired GM Daewoo in 2011 to create GM Korea, the last usage of the Daewoo automotive brand was discontinued in its native South Korea and succeeded by Chevrolet. More on the History.