Overview & Reviews

Chevrolet sells an impressively wide range of vehicles, from subcompact hatchbacks to huge vans and SUVs. If you're looking for a reasonably priced vehicle, odds are that Chevy will have something to fit your needs.

Chevrolet got its start in 1911. After William C. Durant had been ousted from General Motors, he joined forces with Swiss-born racecar driver Louis Chevrolet to found the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. The company's first offering was the Classic Six. Introduced in 1912, this five-passenger touring sedan could top 65 mph, fast for the time. Chevrolet's storied bowtie logo -- reportedly inspired by the wallpaper of a Paris hotel room that Durant stayed at -- made its first appearance in 1914.

By 1918, Chevrolet's profitability allowed Durant to purchase enough shares in GM to regain control. Chevrolet became another division of GM, and was its largest volume division by the mid-1920s. By 1927, Chevrolet outsold rival Ford, with sales in excess of 1 million units.

In the mid-1930s Chevrolet introduced independent front suspension, which provided a smoother ride over the rough roads of the day. The 1940s saw continued success with affordable coupes, sedans and pickup trucks catering to American families, farmers and businessmen.

By the mid-1950s, Chevrolet, GM's entry-level division, had added a V8 engine, power steering and brakes, power windows and air-conditioning to its list of available features, allowing luxury for those on a tighter budget. Around this time the iconic Bel Air model -- available in coupe, sedan, convertible and wagon body styles -- proved very popular. The company introduced its alluring Corvette in 1953; the vehicle was the first mass-produced car with a fiberglass body.

The 1960s saw the unveiling of the popular, air-cooled Corvair compact, which held the distinction of being the first domestic production car with all-around independent suspension. That decade also witnessed the launch of the compact Nova, the midsize Chevelle and the sporty Camaro, the latter Chevrolet's answer to the wildly successful Ford Mustang. The Camaro proved an instant hit, comprising 10 percent of Chevrolet's total sales in 1967, its first year of production.

In the 1970s, Chevy responded to changing preferences by introducing small cars like the Vega and the Chevette, and by downsizing larger models such as the Caprice and Malibu. The company combated the market domination of foreign nameplates in the 1980s by rolling out the Cavalier. By the end of that decade, trucks and SUVs had started to become increasingly popular with the general consumer, and the brand's mid- and full-size models continue to this day to be some of the most popular on the road.

The '90s and the early 2000s saw the company raising the performance bar with its Corvette (notably the Z06 and, later, ZR1 variants) and reincarnated Impala SS. Chevrolet's Silverado pickup truck and Tahoe/Suburban SUVs continued to be hits as well. By 2010, the Camaro had returned to the lineup after a seven-year hiatus.

Modern times have seen Chevrolet make significant improvements in its small and midsize car models and introduce the Volt plug-in hybrid. The latter provides a nearly 40-mile range on electric power alone, and adds to the company's already well-rounded lineup of cars, trucks and SUVs. Though today's marketplace is very demanding, Chevrolet seems poised to remain a power player through its affordable and innovative vehicles.

User Reviews:

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  An excellent vehicle - 2013 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Don - November 23 - 5:52 pm

  A very nice, well made vehicle. With the V-6 engine it has lots of power. Computer shows a high of 36.4 MPG on recent trip. Mileage around town is between 18 and 22, depending on how must time is spent at traffic lights. I love everything about this vehicle. It has been trouble free and economical to own. The front seats are great for tall people and have great leg room. The only thing I would mark down slightly are the hardness of the front seats. They are not bad, but could be softer for a long trip. This is a well made and reliable car that is fun to drive.

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  HHR Beats Ford Freestar - 2007 Chevrolet HHR
  By oldindian - November 23 - 2:23 am

  2007 HHR sure beats the 2004 Freestar.The ride is at least as good, performance is about the same, MPG is about double, and its twice the fun to drive and most people love the looks. I sure do enjoy it

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  Z28 Awesome Fun to Drive! - 2001 Chevrolet Camaro
  By Jay O - November 23 - 2:00 am

  Awesome power and handling. Acceleration puts you back in the seats and it hugs curves and hills. T- tops are next best thing to motorcycle freedom. Very fun to drive! Only con for me is after two years, sitting so low is getting old (of course so am I). I get nearly 20 MPG city and nearly 30 on the highway with V-8 6- speed (premium fuel only, especially in city). In 2 years and 41K miles, my only maintenance other than oil has been a minor brake adjustment.

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  Americas Best! - 2003 Chevrolet Corvette
  By Sooo Bad - November 23 - 2:00 am

  Dont bother to look for a better sports car than the Chevrolet Corvette that sells for under $200,000! The General and USA have put it all together with this vehicle. The 50th Anniversary model will go down in history.

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  The hidden gem of the automotive industry - 2017 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Richard T - November 22 - 2:06 am

  I rented this car for two days and it was amazing! At 50mpg the cruise control indicated 60mpg and at 70mph it was 42mpg. The claimed 47mpg highway entirely believable if a bit conservative. The range with a full tank (13 gallons) was an indicated 538 miles. These are incredible numbers for a vehicle that is not a diesel and is of this size. The seats were very comfortable. I drove non-stop from Fort Lauderdale to Jacksonville without a single ache or pain. The cabin was very quiet. I carried on several conversations while on the move and not once did exterior noise interfere. Which gets me to the Bluetooth connectivity. The pairing to my LG Aristo was effortless and connections to it once I started the car were instant. The backup camera was clear with the display being large enough to be effective. The steering assist lines on the display curve as you turn the steering wheel and while I never really got accustomed to them enough to trust what they were telling me, they seemed to be accurate enough. The stereo had easy-to-use controls and had very good sound. The 1.4L turbocharged engine was smooth, quiet and eager to please. Flooring the pedal brought decent acceleration that surprised me every time I did it. The 6 speed automatic shifted crisply and smoothly and never hunted for gears. The brakes were firm, linear, and positive. I love them if only because they are discs front and rear, a feature thankfully becoming the norm, even on small, economy cars. What didnt I like? To be fair, the following will be mere quibbles and nothing in the list would prevent me from buying one or renting one again. My biggest problem with this car was the parking brake. Located as a pedal on the floor, that was at first a nice touch. I like pedal-operated parking brakes because they keep my hands free to grab my belongings in a hurry. But this one was a bit unpleasant. It was mounted fairly high, had very little travel and was stiff. My wife has a 2011 Camry and by comparison that pedal,-operated parking brake is effortless. It was also difficult to tell if it was disengaged fully, forcing me to check the dashboard to see if the indicator light was extinguished. I suspect most owners will opt to not use it and just use the transmission to keep the car from rolling away (a practice I do not subscribe to). The next item on my list is the stop-start feature. This was a welcome feature in and of itself. The engine shut down and restarted so quickly and smoothly that it took several miles before I realized that it was happening! The tachometer does display when it is active by dipping below zero to an area labelled as "AUTO STOP". The moment the car comes to a stop the engine shuts down. Release the foot brake and the engine comes to life before your foot gets back on the gas and off you go. Nice. But my problem is that if you take your foot off the brake to creep forward a bit, the feature is disabled entirely and the engine restarts and remains on. Putting the car in Park also causes the engine to restart. If the air con was of and it is turned on, the engine restarts. The engine doesnt remain off for long and restarts (even with your foot still on the brake) after a few minutes. This is understandable because the battery is being depleted with the accessories still running. The windows are all one-shot on the downward travel, but must be held in the up direction. My wifes Camry has one-shot on all windows in both directions. I am yet to understand why other manufacturers dont see this as viable. Who wants to sit there holding window buttons when there are things in the world to be done?!? That manumatic shift feature. I had to Google it to figure out how it worked. And as far as I am concerned it should be deleted entirely. A total waste of engineering, if you ask me. You have to move the shifter down into L range and then press the "+" or "-" button on top of the selector to get higher or lower gears, respectively. It would be better to have a gate to the left or right of the selector and allow the shifter itself to be toggled...preferably like Mazda correctly has it: pull back for upshifts, push forward for downshifts. The steering was nicely weighted and felt direct, but was a little too sensitive at centre. That made keeping straight in a lane, particularly with crosswinds, a bit tricky. The stereo. Why are the volume up and down controls hidden on the underside of the right hand spoke of the steering wheel?!? And there are two other buttons under the left spoke that I am yet to figure out. What I hate: The reverse lights come on when you exit the car...a stupid and dangerous feature that all GM cars unfortunately currently feature. It gives the impression that the car is backing up and cause a panic situation which may lead to an accident. STOP THIS FOOLISHNESS, GM! Otherwise, this is an amazing little car that deserves consideration.

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  New Equinox - 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Noreen Posa - November 22 - 1:23 am

  I was skeptical at first to purchase a new SUV on the market but this has to be one of the nicest rides Ive had in one of these cars. The gas is not as bad as larger SUVs and I havent found much difference in the speed in which I go through it as compared with my old car. I highly recommend this truck to anyone looking for the smaller SUV.

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  Perfect car for a grad student - 2004 Chevrolet Aveo
  By LotharBot - November 21 - 10:00 am

  I spent this summer visiting family all across the US, from Seattle to Chicago to Denver, so I needed a reliable car, but Im a grad student with very little money. Thats why I got a Chevy Aveo LS. I was often up around 40 mpg on the freeway, so travel costs were pretty low. This car has adequate power (even for crossing the continental divide), great responsiveness, and plenty of features to make the ride comfortable and enjoyable (especially the mp3 player). The interior is very roomy, though you wouldnt know it from looking. I put 5000 miles on it in 2 weeks and still wasnt sick of driving it.

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  Dougs Car - 2004 Chevrolet Aveo
  By alma school - November 21 - 10:00 am

  Great car, great gas mileage

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  Malibu Maxx - 2005 Chevrolet Malibu
  By speedracer24 - November 21 - 10:00 am

  Leased it a month ago. What a great car. High quality, lots of features, very affordable.

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  My exuinox - 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Marti2u - November 21 - 10:00 am

  Much better built than my rodeo!