Automotive enthusiasts will agree that a vehicle is more than just a hunk of metal and plastic; it is something more personal to the driver who owns it. Anyone who has ever been to a classic car show understands how even vehicles that were once considered the hottest ride in town are now a marvelous piece of vintage automobile history, and this is something that didn’t happen overnight. This sort of fandom takes numerous decades of building up trust with the customers who made them what they are today, and generations later, this is still very much the case. When you’re visiting a pre-owned Chevy dealer, the vehicles you’re looking at may not yet be considered classics, but they’re a piece of history nonetheless and certainly deserve more time on the road.
Chevy vehicles aren’t built like your average automobile, and it’s nearly impossible to replicate the quality and mastery that goes into every vehicle that this cherished manufacturer produces. For over a century, America has been exploring the possibilities that the automotive industry has granted us, and it has essentially become a science to make the lightest and fastest vehicles available. Of course, this wasn’t always the case, and changes have been made at an incremental pace over the past century. But that whole time, Americans could look up to a brand that was there from nearly the start, and that’s Chevrolet. Located in the famous motor city of Detroit, Chevy is a staple of American automobile craftsmanship, and this can be seen in any vehicle that this manufacturer has made, whether it be a sedan, an SUV, a pickup truck, or more recently, electric vehicles. This legacy that’s over one hundred years old now is not slowing down, and with new generations of drivers making their way onto the road, they already know who they can trust.
American Made Excellence
Surely other manufacturers from multiple countries produce excellent automobiles, many of which are available in the American market and are highly popular among a multitude of drivers. This has always been the case as countries such as Japan and Germany have been producing their own automobiles for a long time. However, America is a country that was one of the trailblazers in the automotive industry where many of the greats were born and conducted their business. This includes Chevy’s founders, William C. Durant and Louis Chevrolet. Many manufacturers from different countries, including Japan, took notable inspiration from early automotive companies such as Chevy and would launch the uprising in automobile production that lasted throughout the 20th century.
Classics From the Past
Every vehicle tells a story, and it all starts with the factory in which they’re produced. For a manufacturer with as long a history as Chevy, there are bound to be vehicles that were manufactured at a factory that hasn’t seen operations for several decades. Chevy factories are located all around the globe, but America is home to a handful of factories that still develop these vehicles to this day. It’s not an uncommon occurrence for manufacturers to shut down various factories, especially ones that had been in use for over a century, but purchasing a vehicle that was made in one of these factories is undoubtedly an excellent way to retain a piece of history.
Some of the factories that have shut down did so rather recently, so this means that you don’t need to invest in a vintage automobile to get a historical automobile. One of these factories is the Lordstown Assembly Plant, which opened back in 1966 but was shut down in 2019 with the discontinuation of the Chevy Cruze in the United States market. Although there were reports that GM planned on renovating the location, it was subsequently sold to the EV startup, Lordstown Motors. If you purchase a Chevy Cruze, you can expect it to be from this legendary plant in Ohio. Who knew that this modest compact sedan was actually a piece of history?
Another plant that had a somewhat recent demise was the Janesville Assembly Plant located in Wisconsin. This factory was fully operational for ninety years as it opened in 1919 and closed its doors in 2009. The models that were produced at this factory include the Chevy Suburban and Tahoe, both highly popular full-size SUVs. As you may already know, these two models are still in production today, but this job has been transferred over to the Arlington Assembly Plant in Texas, which is still open to this day. Should you purchase a Suburban or Tahoe model before 2009, however, it’ll have been made in this legendary but seemingly forgotten manufacturing plant.
Going more towards a vintage era, the Norwood Assembly Plant in Ohio conducted business for over 60 years, opening in 1923 and closing in 1987. The most notable vehicle that came out of this factory was the Chevy Camaro, a sports car that has garnered a considerable amount of popularity over the years. In the current day, the Camaro is a product of the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan, but models that precede the 1987 model year come from the Norwood Assembly Plant in Ohio. These vehicles were popular for their distinctive styling and their powerful V8 engines.
Even more vintage than the Camaro models made in the 1980s, the Leeds Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Missouri, closed down in 1988, leaving behind a legacy of some of the most famous Chevy models to ever exist. In this assembly plant, Chevy would produce various Cavalier models, but the most noteworthy of the bunch is the Chevy Chevelle, a line of muscle cars that are now highly collectible. Once the Chevelle was discontinued, this same production plant would then produce the El Camino until shutting down. The El Camino is a well-known vehicle that you may have heard about from classic vehicle enthusiasts. It combined a sedan body with a pickup bed for a surprisingly practical and completely unforgettable vehicle.
Enjoying The Ride
Used vehicles are what you make of them, and there is certainly a category of drivers who don’t value their automobiles more than what they could get for it on the marketplace. You can’t expect everybody to be a car aficionado, but you can easily get an idea of a driver’s personality from the vehicle that they drive. Sure, there are a countless number of old automobiles that have been decommissioned, and fewer vintage automobiles appear on the road seemingly every year. But Chevy vehicles of any age tend to stick around longer, and that’s because each vehicle is built to last, and it all comes from Chevy’s ability to produce each automobile with underlying quality.
American manufacturers such as Chevy deserve your attention if not only for the reason that a manufacturer with over one hundred years of history has to be doing at least something right. You owe it to yourself to visit your local pre-owned Chevy dealer and take a look around. Even if you’re not interested in an older model that was produced at a now-shuttered factory, newer Chevy models continue to impress as the brand continues to innovate and push the boundaries of technology.
