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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  Vibrate, Shake & Shudder - 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By bugsy4 - November 26 - 2:51 pm

  Hi, Took delivery at the end of Feb.2014 and has spent 19 days back at the dealer for a vibrating problem that comes and goes while on the highway. Every time that I brought the problem up to the service manager he would first say that it was fine but then would work on it. After trying to fix it themselves the dealership called in an engineer from Chevy that just keep throwing parts at it. In the end they placed a new rear axel in the truck and admitted that they have had to replace a lot of them. Well I must have gotten another bad one because the more I drive it the worst that it is getting. At this point The district Manager of Chevy refuses to work on her any more and I am Not Happy!

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  Rust Bucket - 2002 Chevrolet Venture
  By slim - November 22 - 11:10 am

  We really liked this van until the quarters started to rust through. The area where it all comes together under the doors(looks like 3 layers spot welded) started to rust 2 years into it. Very hard area to touch up and dealer would not attemp to repair it. Only option was to drill a few small holes and spray oil into it. This retards the rust put looks like crap. Hearing horror stories from others about the head gasket. With 80k on it now I kinda cringe every time I drive it. Tried to sell it, nobody wants it so I guess I will beat it into the ground.

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  A piece of a clunker - 2001 Chevrolet Impala
  By steve may - November 22 - 3:03 am

  This vehicle is a piece of junk. Had a $3200 transmission and manifold gasket repair, had to replace two sensors for the idle for $180 and also had to have this vehicle completely grounded again to fix the temp gauge/ac not working issue...$160 Rattles like crazy, handling stinks!

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  Maybe I had a Lemon - 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Price0909 - November 17 - 10:39 am

  The car itself is sporty and the funtionability of the seating and space is great. The quality of material is not good, seat fabric stains when it rains, steering wheel material is ruff, radio back plate or whatever you want to call it is all warn off making the car look very very used. My car broke down since the first 500 miles I pick it up, and still is broken ever since then. Get stuck a lot. One more payment. Cant wait to give it back!

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  Never again - 2003 Chevrolet Suburban
  By Terry - November 13 - 11:10 pm

  Sorry. My family dream car has been a nightmare. We have drove this vehicle to the dealership so many times to be repaired that they are even sorry they sold it to us. We have drove this car for over half of its miles with the amber engine light on. (bought it new ) wire harness, gas tank, struts, radio, fuel pump, mass air flow sensor, trailer tow short in steering wheel, steering collum, front wheel seals, ghost signals to amber light, wheel bearings, and now the transmission just went out at 115k, we kept thinking nothing else could go wrong, now we know we were wrong. GM says they are sorry for our troubles, and they have assigned me a case number that no doubt will be lost in cyberspace.

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  Lemon? - 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By Renestel - November 13 - 2:07 pm

  Ive been reading through these in hopes that Id get some ideas for what all is going on with mine right now. I bought mine used in 2000-48,000 miles. Granted, Ive had the car for almost 8 years. It has been with me for a while. BUT, Ive gone through an air conditioning system, 3 fuel pumps, an alternator, ball joints, pigtails, and countless times of not starting, or dying at stop lights. Its at 110,000 right now and Ive had it in the shop three times in the last two months. No one can figure out whats going on. Every time I drive it Im glad I get to my destination if I actually get there. Very unpredicatble vehicle. In cold weather, it totally has a mind of its own.

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  Electrical Gremlins! - 2004 Chevrolet Colorado
  By Rick - November 13 - 8:56 am

  I purchased the 04 model in 05. Nice looking truck but here is the issues I have had. ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS!!! Brake lights just stop working intermittently. (Rear ended twice but cant prove the lights were not working at time) I had the driver side door locks replaced twice! Drv side windows "sometimes" dont work. Now psngr side windows dont work. "sometimes" AC fan is noisy. (Very annoying!) Fuel rating is wrong. I only get about 17 mpg if I am lucky and have the wind blowing behind me. It already burned up the cat conv in only 40k miles!

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  LS NOT RELIABE - 2001 Chevrolet Impala
  By FRANK DAVIS - November 12 - 2:00 am

  I really wish US auto makers would get it together. I spend too much time dropping this car off at the dealership. Transmission problems,AC problems and noises under the dash. Im going back to buying NISSANs. The car looks and handles great, but its not reliable.

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  No more GM - 1996 Chevrolet Blazer
  By Run while you can - November 11 - 11:45 pm

  I bought my Blazer with 32000 miles on it and have had to repair it constantly. Alternator twice, water pump 3 times, intake gaskets, axle bearings, transmission, cooling system rusted up and no amount of flushing will stop it. I have an open ground in the wiring harness and had to ground the blower motor directly to chassis ground. Vacuum lines have become brittle and shut down the windshield washers, 4wd and ac. When I tried to splice them, they crumbled in my hands. The tensioner fell off the engine and the transmission went out despite frequent fluid and filter changes. I have been loyal to GM through their diesel days and bad overdrive transmissions but I am done with them. No more GM.

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  Vibrations - 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By silvabrations - November 10 - 6:57 pm

  Overall I like the truck, but it certainly is not that much better than the 09, or 11 I had. Oddly enough this truck has an awful vibration at 55mph plus or sometimes 45mph if going into the wind. Oddly enough, I believe the vibration is due to the hood flexing. When driving you can see a slight flex in the hood that as best as I can tell corresponds to the vibration throughout the truck. I am curious if others have had the same issue.