For many Chevrolet fans, their affinity for the Bowtie Brand was passed down to them from a parent or grandparent, and this is a fact that’s not lost on General Motors. The American automaker knows all too well that the most passionate and dedicated Chevy fans were essentially born into the brand and that for these folks, the Bow Tie stands for a lot more than just a car brand.
Chevrolet recently decided to pay some attention to its dedicated fan base in a recent video release as part of its ‘Cruisin the USA in Your Chevrolet’ online promotional event. The video, entitled ‘Chevy’s Heritage: A Fan Celebration’ features commentary from several different Chevy employees as they tell their personal story of how they came to be a fan of the Chevrolet brand.
For Russ O’Blenes, director of Chevy’s performance and racing propulsion team, his passion for the brand all started with his dad and his 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS.
“We had a ’64 Chevelle Malibu SS,” O’Blenes says in the video. “In all of our spare time that’s what we worked on.”
It’s a similar story for Christine Bagne, a software engineer for automated driving systems at Chevrolet. Her passion for the brand all started with her mom’s Camaro – a car that she’s now the very proud owner of.
“So this car, the 1979 Camaro, was originally my mom’s car. Some of my earliest memories are piling in for the [Woodward Dream Cruise] and sitting in the back seat with my brother.”
Unfortunately, some budding Chevrolet fans will miss out on the opportunity to make some very special automotive-related memories this year, with the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit having been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The cancellation of Woodward is exactly what made GM go ahead with its ‘Cruisin the USA in Your Chevrolet’ online event, though, which has allowed it to stay engaged with Chevy enthusiasts even amid this rather unorthodox driving season.
Check out the video embedded below to hear how different Chevrolet enthusiasts came to appreciate the Bow Tie Brand.
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Comments
I have been a product of a GM family. It started with my great uncle who was a long time GM engineer, This converted my father and set my path.
Of course I have deviated from the GM path a couple times but came back after finding disappointment in the other brands,
Today I am a dying breed as many people no longer are brand centered. Many buy due to price as they get what they feel is the best value or what they can afford. Others features and some perceived quality,
Brand loyalty is at an all time low and may never recover in many cases, GM’s new path with the EV products if done right could create new loyal customers if they can get the quality and price down. Time will tell.
Trucks and Corvette are the two areas of loyalty anymore, the rest are just becoming cars,
I whole hardely agree. I’ve been a Chevy owner since my first car. A ’61 Chevy Bel air two door sedan. My Dad was a Buick man most of his early life. Then I bought my first Chevy pick up. A ’76 Chevy Stepside with the 400 engine. From that day forward, my da was a Chevy man. One Suburban after another. Now my son has become a Chevy man too. Always has been, but a quick turn to a Ford F350 4×4 took him away. Now he’s back with a 2020 Silverado. He’s happier than ever. Yes GM loyalty is still alive, but not so much in cars. It’s now rooted in trucks and SUV’s. Maybe it will stay that way.
Fully agree with you on your last paragraph.
Yes indeed until they started making crap in early 2000 still tainted there name till this day!
I too am a product of this.
My grandpa was All GM, 50’s grain trucks, business trucks, 1/2 ton pickups, and Cadillacs.
For my grandpa, it was VALUE !!! The VALUE of the product !!
For my grandpa it was SERVICE !!! The VALUE to be able to talk to the service person, AND BE TAKEN CARE OF !!
He told me this very thing over and over as I was 12-14 years old and starting to drive, and throughout his life !
——– VALUE ——-
My first car, a 1962 Corvair, then a 1962 Chevrolet truck ( 283 two speed Powerglide ), And just to many to mention !
1968 Camaro, 1958 Corvette, many 1968 trucks, 5 Cadillacs, etc ! Most good products, and I felt they added value to my life !
Over the years of GM ownership ( 37 to 40 years ) I have taken the good with the not so good, as with life.
Yet the loyalty and cense of value has ended with me now. And I have pushed this as my grandpa pushed it upon me !
I am also teaching my children the meaning of LOYALTY and VALUE, and !!!!!! this NO LONGER includes GM !!!!!!
GM over the years has turned into a greedy, bloated, disgrace, as many US corporations have !
There is just no way I would recommend a GM product to ANYONE, and for sure my own children ! I want my children to succeed, as my grandpa did me.
Owning a GM product lately is BLAH at best, and HORRIBLE at worst !
There is simply ZERO value anymore !
There is ABSOUTLEY NO customer support !
So as my uncle and his children have moved to Ram, Mercedes, Toyota, and Audi, my family is moving also !
If ALL GM customers were treated like say C8.R, or my grandpa( in the 50’s – 70’s ) GM would be on top of the market, as they were back then !
Yet today, GM is plagued with the same old ” Good Enough ” quality in many of their mainstream products, and have released NOTHING new to aspire to except the C8 Vette, and even that has not drawn to many outside of the GM Vette realm.
And the service ——– WOW ——– The GM customer support structure is simply HORRIBLE !!
And I feel my grandpa who started all of this, would have moved long before myself, like his son, to a more loyal, valued company, other than GM !!!!!
“Loyal” customers aren’t born.
They’re earned.
I’ll always be a Chevrolet guy going back to when it was an actual real division. I can’t say I’ve ever been a ‘GM’ guy though. I didn’t really care for the the GM holding entity nor did I ever care about any of it’s other companies/divisions or now brands. Still, Chevy will always be in my soul.. If it were it’s own company I really think it would be better off. Chevrolet loyalists aren’t necessarily loyal to GM.
Not just Chevrolet but Pontiac, Holden, Oldsmobile, Vauxhall cars were all part of the GM group that delivered and are now no longer with us. I have two Pontiac Trans Am’s, a 57 Chevy Bel Air and some old Holden’s and I’m very happy to have these cars in my collection. I’m a Chevrolet loyalist but I’m more a GM loyalist.