Today is Chevorlets 100th Birthday, and to commemorate Motor Trend posted up this article
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Originally Posted by Motor Trend
William Crapo Durant's greatest failure led to the creation of Chevrolet. A year after he incorporated General Motors, he went after Henry Ford's third, and most successful, car company. Ford, according to Lawrence R. Gustin's biography of Durant, was concerned about Selden's patent suit claiming invention of the automobile, and was amenable to selling to GM if he could retain the rights for motorized farm implements.
GM was to pay Ford $2 million cash, plus $4 million at 5 percent interest over three years. On October 26, 1909, GM's board "gave Durant authority to purchase Ford if financing could be arranged," Gustin writes in "Billy Durant, Creator of General Motors."
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Keep in mind that in 1909 $2 million would be equivalent to a bit less than $50 billion today
There is a lot more to the article following the link including a pretty interesting timeline and some staff discussion on the most important Chevies.