To name a business after yourself might be considered arrogant by some, unwise by others, and, in the car business, even commonplace.  But when it's Jim Crivelli Chevrolet you're talking about, well that's a whole different story.  And it's a story that centers on family.

Although both Carmella (Mancini) and Nicola Crivelli were originally from Sante Eufemia Maiella in the Province of  Pescara, Italy, they and their eight children truly embody the entrepreneurial spirit that is the foundation of the American Dream.  In 1928, Nicola and Carmella purchased a confectionery-grocery store and a two-pump gasoline station on Island Avenue in Stowe Township, which they worked together, until their children were old enough to take over some of the business.

Born in 1916 in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, James P. Crivelli, Sr. was the second of Nicola and Carmella's eight children. After working the gas station and grocery store during his teenage years, Jim officially assumed his role in the family enterprises at the age of 23, when he became the youngest Nash automobile dealer in the country. 

Sixteen years later, in 1955, after having served his country during World War II, Jim was awarded a Chevrolet franchise.  This franchise coincided with an already-planned expansion of the automobile agency, which would grow to include a body shop, service and parts departments located on Chartiers Avenue in McKees Rocks.

In 1970, Crivelli expanded again, building a new facility that would house the service, parts, body shop, and a newer, larger indoor showroom at the end of the McKees Rocks shopping plaza.  As the business grew, so did the Crivelli family.  Some of Jim's brothers moved on to their own automobile dealerships, while Jim and his son, Jim Crivelli Jr., continued to grow their Chevrolet franchise.  In 1989 they doubled the parts department and in 1991, doubled the indoor showroom and added a NASCAR Proshop.

For Jim Crivelli, this business has always been about family and it still is.  Jim Jr. is now the dealer.  Jim Sr.'s nephew, Ron Crivelli is the used-car manager.  Another nephew, Jim Boburka Sr., a two-time Winston Cup world-champion, is the service director and his son is one of the new vehicle sales managers.  Jim Sr.'s son-in-law, Joe Horgan, is the controller and his son-in-law is the assistant controller. The controller's brother is the office manager and Proshop manager and the finance manager's sister is the accounts payable accountant.  Jim Sr.'s granddaughter is the marketing coordinator and his grandson works in the parts department.  Even the truck sales manager's son is a salesman, who works alongside another of Jim Sr.'s great-nephews. And as for those employees who aren't technically related?  Jim says that "in the Crivelli family there are two kinds of family - there's family by blood and marriage, and there's family of the heart."

Jim's beginnings in the family grocery and gas station truly shaped his family-oriented approach to business today.  Over the past sixty-six years, he has worked to extend that family into the community, and is consistently one of the strongest supporters of local area schools and community organizations.  Crivelli's McKees Rocks Super Car Cruise was an annual highlight of the summer in the 90s, and returning in 2006 - just in time for Jim Crivelli Chevrolet's 50 Years with Chevy Celebration.