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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  Piece of Junk - 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt
  By Dissatisfied in AZ - February 17 - 7:39 pm

  This car is a piece of junk! Chevy knows absolutely nothing about design and style. It is way over priced. This is like a 10k econo car and they have nerve to sell for way over that. If you live in AZ, this car is definitely junk. It was 75 degrees out today and had to use the AC and it totally dogged out not to mention the ac is cool at best. It will never make it thru the summer. hopefully it will be a lemon so i can get something else that Im not embarrassed to be seen in and is comfortable and affordable. This car should not be allowed on the market. Oh yeah, lets not forget the totally cheesy interior. I think the 1972 Ford Pinto did better than this one! Or the AMC Gremlin.

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  2000 Chevy Malibu - 2000 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Michael in Atlanta - February 5 - 10:26 pm

  We bought this car in October 2000 and now at 107k, it has finally died. So many problems every 10,000 miles. Will not miss this vehicle. Wasted so much time and money on the vehicle. Not only will we NEVER purchase any GM product again, if we ever won one on a game show, we would sell it immediately or drive off a cliff. Good riddance to this piece of junk vehicle

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  Pleasant surprise - 2003 Chevrolet Tracker
  By SJ - December 29 - 3:27 pm

  I looked at the chassis on a RAV4 and knew it wasnt what I wanted so I opted for the Tracker, which is more truck for the buck. It runs and rides like one (as would be expected), which is fine with me. Not fond of the plastic trim, radio or fan, but the overall package works- people like it, the engines a breeze to work on if you need to, and the P (power) switch works, adjusting the shift pattern to provide more power. It gets surprisingly good mileage- up to 25 mpg on the freeway at legal speeds. Too bad Suzuki gave up on the design, it was a classic.

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  HORRIBLE!!! STAY AWAY!!! - 2006 Chevrolet Malibu
  By chevy55tool - December 18 - 2:37 pm

  I bought this car for my wife with 25,000 miles on it. Within the first 3-6 months, the car began falling apart. We noticed that the entire front steering/suspension would dangerously shake when braking The electric power steering now locks/unlocks at its own behest(EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!!!) which is a lawsuit waiting to happen the front tires wear down at a ridiculous rate the windshield/dashboard make a very annoying rattle when going b/w 45-65 mph, the CD player overheats the sun visor wont stay upright the dome light switch is very difficult to deal with I love old classic chevys, but what a pile of dung for this day and age. Extremely disappointed.

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  Awful! - 2005 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By jessicaw1 - November 27 - 10:29 am

  Ours has been nothing but a problem! They dent VERY easily. The engine light comes on for no reason that the dealer can find. The cd player broke at about 30,000 miles. The console broke at 40,000. All the gauges stopped working at 45,000. When we are in neutral, it read 50 mph, when driving at normal speeds it maxes out. The glove box fell out. The 4 wheel drive got stuck on. It was stuck on for 3 days and was making an awful noise. We finally got it back in 2 wheel drive and the noise is still there. For its age, it has low miles and is not used for anything out of the ordinary. Not even driven everyday. Horrible truck, WOULD NOT RECOMMEND!

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  Stuck With A Lemon - 2017 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Oliver - November 18 - 11:43 pm

  I bought a 2017 Chevy Cruze for my daughter who will be graduating from college soon. I took money out of my retirement fund because I wanted her to have a good, reliable car. The problems began almost immediately. There is a system that is supposed to save on gas use called auto-stop. It does one of 4 things when you apply the brake to stop the car. 1. The car stops and the engine idles like a normal car, when you put your foot on the gas pedal, the car starts moving forward. 2. The car stops and the engine turns off, when you put your foot on the gas pedal, the engine starts up and the car goes forward. 3. The car stops and the engine turns off, when you put your foot on the gas pedal, the car seems to pause for a moment, then the engine rattles a little and the engine comes back on and the car goes forward. 4. The car stops and the engine turns off, when you put your foot on the gas pedal, nothing happens and you have to shift the car in to park and manually restart the engine because it has completely turned off. I took the car in to the service manager and he test drove it and saw what it is doing. However, he told me that there is nothing that can be done to fix the problem because it is controlled by a computer component that can not be fixed or even accessed by any Chevy service department. The following day I called a different Chevy dealer service department and I was told the same thing. The problem can not be fixed. I can not afford to buy my daughter another car so she is stuck with a LEMON that can’t be fixed. I am considering talking to a lawyer to find out if I have any legal options at this point.

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  Another failure - 2009 Chevrolet Malibu
  By JakeW - November 9 - 8:26 am

  I expected much more for this epsilon ii designed architecture. What is noticeable is the implementation of foreign and outside influence into this car. Besides all of the effort gm put into this car, it still is a badly designed car that does not come close to the competition it inspired to reach to. Lack of engine efficiency, power. The dashboard is just hideous. The use of cheap plastics still makes me sick. Lack of features, unless you pay serious money to get it.

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  good chevy name gone bad - 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Ted King - November 1 - 1:36 pm

  Do not buy one.We did and regret it! 2011 chevy cruze. we shop around and being a chevy family. My son has an 2015 impala my wife has 2000 ext cab truck and i have 2006 z71. We bought this from new smyrna beach used with 80k on it. By the 1st oil change, new starter $500 with tow! Now over 4k new tranny and has only 5000 mile more than when we purchased it. The car costed when we bought it 4800,6500 with tax tag title.I am bad dad now for spending all my daughters money on this now it sits just like yours will if you buy one.run away from this car. read the reviews on them we did not until now! Its horrible.

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  cant wait to trade in - 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
  By scott - October 28 - 1:50 am

  At first it was a nice car until the problems started. I had the brakes redone at 14000 miles. The a/c doesnt work on the drivers side. I already have rust starting on the back end. Warranty takes care of these. But I have to put my second windshield in because it cracks in the same spot starting below the rubber near the passenger door. Niether of them are from cracks The most annoying part is that I cant clean snow off of the windshield because of the design. The snow gets stuck and builds up because the "wings" that stick further out than the windshield. I am currently looking for a new car.

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  Worst car I have ever owned - 2008 Chevrolet Aveo
  By Ane - October 23 - 7:50 pm

  This car reminds me of a slow horse. I probably would have been better off buying a horse! It has very poor pick up. It is very uncomfortable. Cant drive more than 30 miles without a backache or knees killing you. I put more gas in this car than I did in my van and NO I DONT DRIVE MORE! I have to stop for gas alot more though. I hate this car. DO NOT BUY ONE unless you are looking for a car for the new driver in your house for school and a part time job. Overpriced for the quality. Oh and did I say how much I hate this car? The intermittent wipers are too fast! Good God