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:

• 

  Its cheap and it shows! - 1999 Chevrolet Venture
  By lesabre88 - January 21 - 7:42 pm

  I bought this van with only 40000 miles on it... Have had numerous things go wrong... power windows broke many times, lots of front brake wear, 3 front wheel bearings, 2 intake gaskets, exhaust, rear hatch lock, front struts and bearing plates, Abs light on half the time, check engine light on the other half, wiper motors works when it wants to, motor sounds like a sewing machine on cold start until it warms up,and much much more... funny thing is it only has 67874 miles on it now!What is going to go when it gets some real mileage on it.... I am stuck with it too because to sell it, i will loose my shirt as they hold absolutely no value ... other then that it is great

• 

  Think twice before you purchase this - 2008 Chevrolet TrailBlazer
  By stick w/honda - January 19 - 9:23 pm

  I had my truck for 3 months and steering was shaking violently and brakes were even worse. Took it into the dealership TWICE, but they could find the problem which is still going on! I had a Honda for the past 10 years without a single problem. I regret going with GM. I dont feel safe in it and very hesitant transporting my children in it. I hate this truck and how I fear for my safety in it. Traction light is always coming on and the traction warning light comes on too. I was told it is ok by the dealership and it would reset itself when I turned off the car. It does, only to turn right back on 5-10 minutes later.

• 

  Nice truck, but troublesome - 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By Tom - January 17 - 7:10 am

  I bought this fully loaded Z71 as a demonstrator in November, 2004. A local baseball celebrity had driven it 3,200 miles in six months. The truck is great to drive--quiet, lots of power, and acceptable fuel economy for the vehicle size. I occasionally tow a utility trailer with my dirt bikes (about 1,000 lbs) and you dont even realize it is behind the truck. Unfortunately, the truck only has 35k miles and it has been rather troublesome. The battery completely died several times during the first winter (computer software update fixed it), the steering intermediate shaft has failed twice (20 & 25k), the 4WD system failed (33k--encoder motor) and the water pump is now leaking (35k).

• 

  If auto shopping steer clear of this expensive car - 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Jeffrey Horstman - January 17 - 1:32 am

  Okay so I bought mine brand new back in July of 2011, literally the first 30,000 miles were okay. First 15,000 miles i had numerous recalls and recalls, about 8 total. At 16,000 miles the car died when backing up into the street? by The time my vehicle reached 35,000 miles , the " check traction control" & " engine power reduced " light illuminated on the dashboard and my vehicle stalled in the parking lot at work. The Throttle Body malfunctioned and failed. Towed to the dealer and a day later it was fixed under power train warranty. Cd player and Navigation screen went out at 47,000 due to some short, so another trip to the dealer Navigation system replaced and new cd player replaced as well as the negative battery cable terminal. At 49,500 miles on the vehicle had to have the coolant system serviced, awful coolant smell in the cabin numerous times, found the leak fixed under warranty. At 51,000 Coolant leak again near the Reservoir tank. Both the hose and tank replaced under power train warranty. At 53,000 miles again Coolant system need flushing because another leak. At 55,000 miles the Coolant system was leaking again near the radiator. At 57,800 miles the coolant Reservoir tank replaced again as well as Radiator cap. At 59,000 miles Coolant serviced again for mysterious vanishing coolant no leak apparant yet horrendous smell in the Cabin. At 65,755 miles the Defrost Actuators failed loud popping sound when changing modes from defrost to feet etc. About $875.00 later fixed. Oil leak at 69,000 miles in multiple places, the oil cooler lines replaced as well as the Valve cover gasket and some seals as well. At 72,000 Speedometer in cabin makes ticking noise and constantly stuck. At 72,800 miles the car mysteriously died at 1 am, no power and key was stuck in the ignition. Towed to the dealer and two days later confirmed no issues and vehicle started for them? Oil leak again at 81,000 miles. At 85,000 miles 90,000 oil leaking again as well as coolant. At 93,000 miles the "Theft alert system" went crazy, car alarm was going off for no reason at sporadic times throughout a couple of days, as well as hood latch broke and trunk latch. At 96,000 miles rear window defogger went out, At 97,500 miles the rear passanger power window broke. At 107,000 Miles the car had to be towed 45 miles to the dealership From Madison due to coolant completely leaked out and left my family and I stranded for two hours in the winter. At 115,000 another coolant leak. At 116,000 Oil leak again, dealer seems to think PCV valve is going bad. Unfortunately i have $5,000 in negative equity Thanks to general Motors or also known as Governement Motors. The value of Cruze is basically Worthless , a lot of Cruzes are sitting on used dealer lots going unsold for this reason. I know Im not alone , Ive heard lots of people have had more problems too! Please do your self a favor, steer clear and buy anything else other than the Cruze. I have always been a Chevrolet man, after my experience with this car, I cant wat until its paid off in two years and i can get out of it! Its a money hog and its pathetic as well as annoying having to be in the service shop what seems to be like every other month or so. I hope the next two years of ownership hurry up!

• 

  Bad Transmission - 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By T Swindell - January 15 - 3:33 pm

  Loved the truck when first bought, but noticed occasionally that the transmission shifted hard. With only 3400 miles, decided to take a trip to the keys from southeast ga. Before we reached Miami, the truck was jumping in and out of gear. We stopped at 8:30 pm to check fluid lever, there was no fluid. Called onstar, they sent a tow truck that never showed up. Had to rent a room, find a dealership to replace rear seal. Continued on trip, on return same thing happened, continued on refilling fluid. It is now in the shop getting rebuilt. So now I have a brand new truck with rebuilt transmission. Have only made 2 payments. Am I thrilled or what!

• 

  a little shimmy shimmy - 2000 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By andym - January 14 - 2:00 am

  Overall I have been happy with my Silverado, but I do have one complaint. I have only put 24,000 miles on this truck, and the steering wheel shimmys back and forth slightly like a vehicle with 100,000 miles might. Also, the suicide doors dont close correctly when below freezing.

• 

  Fuel Injector problems - 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD
  By Kurt & Cindy - January 12 - 8:40 pm

  Paid all cash and had hopes for many years of good use. At about 90K we had fuel injector problems which were repaired under warranty. 50K later at 140,000 we began to see smoke from the tail pipe. Took the car into Chevy service and was told that two or three injectors were beginning to fail, but that they still tested to be acceptable by GM standards. The car billowed smoke, a few weeks later we found fuel in our motor oil. Still no budge from GM to repair the injectors which were covered under a extended warranty but still tested within their standards. GM didnt care if we blew our motor as it wasnt covered. Were done with GM.

• 

  Waste of my money - 2004 Chevrolet Colorado
  By zmillg - January 10 - 3:26 pm

  I saved my money all through highschool and my dad through in half, I got a Colorado for 22k. A year and a half later, 3 power steering pumps, 2 motors, and one steer column. Its worth half what I bought it and the problems keep coming. I cant complain about the gas mileage and it gets going but the problems arent worth it. Im overly displeased with my truck

• 

  A Waste of Engineering - 2006 Chevrolet Equinox
  By ArcadeTom - January 8 - 4:21 pm

  We bought three identical ones for our company. So far two of the three have been very unreliable. One had the transmission completely rebuilt under warranty at 15000 and the second rebuilt at 26000. On all three the AWD is a complete joke. If you take off quickly on wet pavement you will spin the front tires for 1 or 2 seconds before the AWD engages. In snow and ice it is a complete joke. Leave it at home and drive something else. The center "console" is a joke as well as the location of the parking brake. It makes you wonder if a freshman design student came up with the plans. Really loud wind noise at speed on the highway that the dealers cannot remove.

• 

  Not Sure Yet - 2007 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Not Sure - January 7 - 9:33 pm

  Looked for a long time before settling on the Nox. Thought I wanted a car after driving a 2 WD pickup for 10 years. Took the Nox for a spin on a whim one day and was surprised by the ride and how quiet it was. Found this one at a rental outlet with 20K on it and Ive put on 2K. So far its been reliable and very comfortable on my 25 mile commute. There have been a couple of snowy, icy days here in CO that I have been very glad to have the AWD, it handles great in the snow. Not happy with the mileage, averaging 20 or so in mixed highway/city.