SOMEWHERE in the world, a Chevrolet is built every seven seconds - and that means every 16th car on the planet is now a Chevy.

We all know the name - it features in more rock and pop songs than any other marque - but few are aware of its origins..

Louis Chevrolet was nicknamed the daredevil Frenchman, even though he was a Swiss clockmaker's son who started work in a cycle repair shop aged 11.

He moved to the USA, where he displayed outstanding mechanical ability and later became arguably the first ever motor racing superstar, enjoying a 15-year spell as king of the American racetracks.

Joining forces with Buick boss William Crapo Durant, whose General Company of New Jersey was later to become General Motors, the pair formed Chevrolet - and a legend was born.

But Louis's determination to create luxury vehicles as opposed to the more commercially astute Durant's desire for a "people's car" saw the men go their separate ways - Chevrolet's name being incorporated into the GM empire.

The badge became synonymous with quality and value, something underlined by Chevrolet's toppling of Ford's Model T from its No 1 sales position and its domination of the US car sales charts for 40 years.

One area of the world's market barely touched by Chevy, until now, is Britain, though the company is expecting that to swiftly change.

Less than six months ago, the bankrupt Daewoo range and dealer network, which had been taken over by General Motors, was rebranded as Chevrolet.

Chevrolet UK public affairs manager Denis Chick says: "The Daewoo name was holding us back. It didn't have the street cred to appeal to younger buyers, but people have a warm feeling for Chevrolet; they know the name from films and music."

The Chevrolet line-up for 2005 ranges from city runabout the Matiz to small family hatch the Kalos, spacious five-door hatchback the Lacetti up to the Tacuma people carrier.

All are previously used by Daewoo, but that changes next year with fresh models badged and engineered by Chevrolet.

June will see the sports utility vehicle first shown as the S3X concept at the 2004 Paris Motor Show hit UK showrooms. It is a seven-seater claimed to be bigger than a Land Rover Freelander and will herald the introduction of diesel engines.

At present, all Chevrolet's UK cars are petrol-powered and this family of 120-150bhp units will fall back into the Lacetti range, opening another new market.

Mid to late summer will see a Ford Mondeo-size saloon, already named Evander in Europe, with the world's most compact in-line six cylinder engine.

The company is also considering other products, most likely pick-ups or twin cabs from places like South America, to supplement the UK range.

What's certain, though, is that big brutes like Trailblazers and Tahoes are completely off the agenda.