1914 Chevrolet Series H Touring

Swiss-born Louis-Joseph Chevrolet gained fame racing Buicks before becoming the co-founder of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company on November 8th of 1911 with William C. Durant. Durant had been ousted from General Motors and would later regain control of GM and incorporate the Chevrolet nameplate into the GM fold. This left Louis Chevrolet unable to use his name on any future car he wished to sell. Also lost was the stylized Swiss cross Chevrolet logo, in honor of Louis' home country, which became the Chevrolet 'bowtie' trademark.

The first Chevrolets to wear the 'bowtie' were the H-series cars introduced during January 1914 at the New York Auto Show. One model, the 'Baby Grand' 5-passenger H-4, was priced at $875. Louis and his younger brothers, Arthur and Gaston, went on to further racing fame, modifying Ford engines with speed equipment, then produced their own racing cars and engines, the Frontenac, in which Gaston won the 1920 Indy 500. Production of 5,005 units is credited to Chevrolet in 1914, some models including the $125 optional electric starter and lighting system, and others with later style de-mountable rears.

This first-year H-4 shows the initial black outline of the Chevrolet 'bowtie' nameplate, the only year of that design. Louis, whom Durant never made an official of his namesake company, left the firm during October 1913, and Durant went on to build Chevrolets in increasing numbers, reaching 63,000 units in 1916 to enter the big league of automobile manufacturing.