A Chevrolet Centennial

Competitive Chevrolet
One of the company's earliest successes was the Chevrolet 490 (seen here in a 1916 photo), introduced to compete directly with Ford's Model T (which originally sold for $490, as did Chevrolet's model). Though Ford responded quickly by slashing prices, the Chevy touring car sold well, receiving 4,661 orders in the first 17 days following its introduction and selling more than 18,000 vehicles in its first year. Durant leveraged Chevrolet's growing popularity to regain his stake in General Motors, incorporating the company into General Motors in 1918. The company would move on to become General Motors' largest producer in the 1920s, a title it would keep through the present day.

• Buying a Corvette? Now You Can Build The Engine Yourself