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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  a car - 2004 Chevrolet Impala
  By big moma - June 10 - 2:00 am

  the leg room sucks in the front of the car, rides comfortable, fair on gas.......

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  Avoid this year and model at all costs! - 1998 Chevrolet Blazer
  By carols - June 5 - 12:43 am

  Despite low annual mileage, it has been a repair disaster. Ive repladed lower intake manifold gaskets, ruise control cable (2005), multi-function switch replace (controls signalling) (2005), replaced heater core, rear window wiper control, and leaking power steering pump (2005). The shop owners said this year was very well known for a design problem that leads heater core to fill with engine junk, eventually leading to failure of heating system it was redesigned later models. Replace front/rear differntials in transfer case (2006), replaced valve cover gaskets, failed a/c compressor (2006) and replaced leaking water pump (2007) and now a failed ball joint (2008).

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  Not For Keeps - 2004 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT
  By skidadil - June 4 - 10:00 am

  Hauling cargo with the third row folded down gets difficult sometimes. The third row does not fold flush with the trunk space and they sit at a slight angle. This makes stacking a big load of things tricky sometimes. There seem to be little things that go wrong with this car from time to time which makes me nervous about what lies ahead once the warranty runs out. For example, off the showroom floor the alignment was off so bad we gained 150 miles out of a tank of gas once it was fixed. Right now our blinkers stay on solid instead of blinking and the rear heat doesnt work. Theres also a strange rattle under the hood. Im selling and going foreign!

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  Traded in at 118,400mi, bought at 12mi - 2001 Chevrolet Camaro
  By Amanda - June 4 - 6:14 am

  Car was great in the beginning, grad present from parents. Drove fine, had problems from 3k miles on, replaced almost everything in the car at least 2x from the CD player that got too hot to play CDs to the entire rear axle that 2 bearings went bad in and wore the axle shafts out. Coil pack replaced 2x, ignition replaced, fuel pump replaced, clutch master cylinder replaced. Lots more done to the car, but all in all it was a decent ride.

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  Not great, not bad - 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By jhunter - May 30 - 9:23 pm

  Ive had this truck for 6 years now - 122,000 miles. Not a horrible truck but had problems right from the beginning. Interior air flow "gate" made noises when set to 100% dash flow. Clunking noises developed in steering/front suspension when turning sharp corners. Then the instrument panel gages started failing (water temp and oil pressure). Had it checked out - it was the gauges. Now getting the "wipers wont turn off" problem that GM trucks have had since 1994. Poor elec design with no desire from GM to fix. Funny that GM issued a recall for the tailgate cable but wont fix or do a recall for problems that cost real money such as these. This is probably my LAST GM product.

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  A Truck Built With Problems - 2001 Chevrolet S-10
  By Bill - May 27 - 3:08 pm

  Ive owned this truck for a little over six years now and I have been very disappointed with the quality of construction on this vehicle. There have been constant brake issues, the ABS system went out prematurely, the third door latch broke, the front bearings wore ouot, the idler arm went bad- all in under seventy thousand miles. Not what I would call a well built vehicle and it makes me sure that I will never buy a GM product again.

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  End of an Era - 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By Marc - May 26 - 7:27 am

  Bought for its ability to go off-road, have only done that a handful of times. Lots of electrical gremlins, have had it in and out of the shop for repairs.

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  Wasnt what I thought it would be. - 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid
  By Carlos - May 22 - 5:31 am

  There are a bunch of other problems that you get with this purchase. First, you lose a lot of standard features that come on cheaper models of this vehicle. Convenience features like automatic lift gate and luggage rack, and safety features like a spare tire and jack. Also, if you get a bad hybrid generator (battery pack) like I did youre screwed. I tried several times to have it replaced while it was under warranty and GM came up with all types of excuses why it wasnt the battery pack. But once the warranty went out they said that the new battery pack would be about $5k. The battery pack controls EVERYTHING.. When it goes everything will run intermittently. And they will gradually die off at a very high expense to safety. For example: The computer that controls the interchange between gas and electric motors will cut the car off when you try to go after stops for lifts or signs. So you will cut off intersections and sometimes in slow or stop-no-go traffic. Mine has cut off thing to cross intersections with vehicles coming. I have to hold down the brake and rev the gas (Almost like in a manual transmission) to keep it from going to electric to avoid this. Which defeats the purpose of the hybrid because you still burn the extra fuel. Its just not worth it.

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  Unhappy - 2006 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Pat Zink - May 21 - 9:09 pm

  Drivers seat hard uncomfortable. Turning radius no good. Cup holders in front in the wrong place along with the cell phone plug. Knocking noices sometimes in the front end & sometimes in the rear end. Had to dealer 3 times for poor AC. They stated that the way it should be. Not good in deep snow. Snow gets packed under the car which makes loud noises. Seats stain very easy & hard to keep clean. The dash is poorly made. I love the exterior looks.

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  Too few mpg and too much sunshine I shout - 2014 Chevrolet Cruze
  By James - May 21 - 2:15 pm

  Chevy electronics. Easy to pair phone to car. Infuriating trip computer that has never been close on mpg, distance to empty, gallons used. On star is good but I feel too expensive so I dropped it. Interior nice but leather seats are FIRM. Average around 32 mpg day to day use, have never come near 38 mpg rating. At 42000 miles transmission is getting dimwitted on shifts ( just want a slight speed increase, push on throttle, nothing, push, nothing, push then its a 2 gear kickdown). Dealer says car showing no codes when I had checked. Rear seat room is good for small kids or SMALL adults. Real nightmare is sunroof failed in tilt open position. Will update when I find out what is wrong and how much financial pain it will cost. I dont think I will consider another GM vehicle if this sunroof problem turns into a financial black hole. Plus side tire wear is great, still have near 50% of original tread, premium Pioneer sound system is great. Update..cost 116.00 but dealer found crud jamming sunroof motor and cleaned it out. No longer park near trees with roof tilt open. This is NOT a performance car. RS package is dress up and nothing more. Trade value plummeted with new style release.