From Dinah Shore to Brooke Lee, Chevrolet Celebrates 250 Years of the USA
By Karl Chevrolet | New Canaan, Connecticut
If you watched the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics last week, you may have heard a familiar tune — with a brand new voice.
Chevrolet has just relaunched one of the most iconic advertising campaigns in American history: “See the USA in Your Chevrolet.” And the timing is no coincidence. As our nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, Chevrolet — a brand that has been woven into the fabric of American life for over a century — is honoring the milestone in a way that only Chevrolet can.
Watch the new commercial here.
From the Dinah Shore original to the all new version by Brooke Lee …. 
A Song That Defined a Generation
The original “See the USA in Your Chevrolet” was recorded by singer, actress, and television personality Dinah Shore. Beginning in 1951, Shore performed the jingle every Sunday night on her Chevy-sponsored variety show, The Dinah Shore Show. For millions of American families gathered around their television sets, it became the soundtrack of an era — a time when the open road represented possibility, freedom, and the promise of something new just over the horizon.
The tune wasn’t just a commercial. It was a cultural moment. It captured the optimism of postwar America and the idea that a Chevrolet could take you anywhere you wanted to go. And it stuck. Decades later, people who grew up hearing that jingle can still sing every word.
Castle Rock: Three Times, Three Eras, One Spirit
Chevrolet’s connection to bold, authentic storytelling didn’t stop with Dinah Shore. In 1964, the brand did something audacious: they airlifted a Chevy Impala to the top of Castleton Tower in Utah — a 1,400-foot desert rock formation known as Castle Rock — for a television and print ad campaign. They did it again in 1973 with another Impala. The images became some of the most memorable in automotive advertising history.
Now, in 2026, Chevrolet has returned to Castle Rock for the third time. In the new commercial, emerging country artist Brooke Lee performs a fresh, modern rendition of the classic song from the tailgate of a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2, perched on that same iconic summit. The wind was real. The truck was real. The helicopter that carried it up was real. In a world where almost anything can be faked digitally, Chevrolet insisted on doing it the authentic way.
As Chevy’s Chief Marketing Officer Steve Majoros explained: “We live in a world with incredible technology that could have done this stunt artificially, but it was really important to Chevy that everything was authentic. A real helicopter brought a real truck up on top of that magnificent rock.” Get a behind the scenes look with this video:
At Karl Chevrolet, that commitment to authenticity resonates deeply. It’s the same principle that has guided our business since 1927 — no gimmicks, no fine print, just honest dealings.
A New Voice for a Timeless Song
Brooke Lee, a 26-year-old country artist from Charlotte, North Carolina, brings a warm, modern country sound to the classic jingle. Her version is now available on all major streaming platforms.
Lee described the experience of recording the song with genuine emotion: “It’s surreal to put my own voice on an iconic song my grandparents know by heart. It’s a dream come true to collaborate with a brand I admire on a campaign celebrating our beautiful country.”
There’s something fitting about a rising young artist carrying forward a song that’s been passed down through generations — just as Karl Chevrolet has been passed down through three generations of the Karl family right here in New Canaan. Some things are worth preserving. The best of them get better with each generation.
Chevrolet’s Place in American Culture
It’s hard to overstate how deeply Chevrolet is embedded in the American experience. Consider this: Chevrolet has been referenced in more than 1,000 song lyrics across every genre — rock, country, hip-hop, blues, folk. From Don McLean’s “Drove my Chevy to the levee” to countless country road anthems, the brand isn’t just a car company. It’s a part of how Americans tell their own stories.
Chevrolet introduced one of the first car radios in the 1920s, connecting drivers to music and news. The Suburban, which Karl Chevrolet has sold more of than perhaps any model in our history, is the longest-running nameplate in automotive history. The Corvette has been America’s sports car since 1953. And today, with the all-electric Equinox EV and Silverado EV, Chevrolet is leading the way into the next chapter of American transportation.
As part of the 250th anniversary celebration, Chevrolet has also announced the Stars & Steel Collection — special edition packages available across five 2026 models, including the Corvette and Silverado EV. For every Stars & Steel vehicle sold, Chevrolet will donate $250 to veteran-focused nonprofits. It’s a meaningful gesture that honors the people who have sacrificed the most for this country.
Nearly 100 of Those 250 Years
When Leo Karl Sr. opened Karl Chevrolet in New Canaan in 1927, Chevrolet was already one of America’s most popular car brands. Nearly a century later, we’re still here — still carrying the Chevrolet banner, still serving our neighbors, and still believing in the values that both the Karl family and Chevrolet were built on.
We’ve seen Chevrolet evolve from the cars that rolled through our service bays every Saturday in the 1930s for their weekly fill-up and tire check, to the Suburbans that became the unofficial vehicle of Fairfield County families, to today’s electric vehicles that are redefining what it means to drive American.
Through it all, the core idea hasn’t changed — not for Chevrolet, and not for Karl Chevrolet: build something people can trust, stand behind it, and never stop moving forward.
So, the next time you hear Brooke Lee sing “See the USA in Your Chevrolet,” know that you’re hearing more than a jingle. You’re hearing an invitation — the same one Dinah Shore extended 75 years ago, and the same one we extend every day at 261 Elm Street.
Come see us. And let’s go for a drive.
Want to learn more about the Karl Chevrolet story? Read Since 1927: How Karl Chevrolet Earned Its Reputation for Fair Deals.
This post is part of our “Shop Smarter” series, helping consumers navigate today’s car market with confidence.