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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  Plastic Toy Car!! DONT BUY!!! - 2012 Chevrolet Sonic
  By carman_ - April 1 - 8:13 pm

  Do not buy this car, I repeat do not buy this car!! This car is hunk of junk. The out side design and interior are unique and appealing, but dont let that suck you in. You feel every single bump no matter what, and the suspension is horrible. This Car Has Terrible heat, absolutely terrible. If you live in Canada like myself, stay clear. The gas mileage is good as its 90% hwy driven. The gears shifting are very noticeable, and acceleration is very slow (1.8 L). The sound system is terrible and most LS, and LTs dont even come with rear speakers. Besides the appealing look it, its horrible to drive, Its like driving a plastic toy car! Not worth the $, buy a cobalt, anything, but not this!!

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  2012 Traverse STAY AWAY - 2012 Chevrolet Traverse
  By chevy2ford - March 27 - 2:55 pm

  IÂ’ve had 4 Chevy vehicles. All good experiences, until I bought the 2012 traverse for my wife and kids. ItÂ’s been problematic since day one. Problems include vibration noises from the exhaust (it took 3 tries to fix that), front speaker works sometimes (not fixed yet), air bag light comes on often (6 attempts, still not fixed), itÂ’s had motor mounts replacedÂ… etc. Tried to get some help from GM to get trade-in assistance to by another new chevy traverse, they offered ZERO dollars. Asked for to extend the warenty as it will expire at 36000 miles and I have 30,000Â… they said no to that too. Asked for a loaner while it in the shopÂ… no to that too, only if it stays over night.

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  Stay away if you want to live. - 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt
  By addybabyface - March 25 - 8:48 pm

  I bought this car back in September w/ 40,000miles. Every month starting a week after I bought it, it flashed "low engine power," I went from going 70mph on the free way with my speed dropping dramatically when I was in front of a semi truck. Ive taken it in about 8x for this problem, 5 different part have been put in yet low engine power keeps coming up at the worst times. Im scared to even drive my car. My car keeps telling me to check my air bags yet when I take it in there fine. Three different shops and the chevy dealer to looked at my car. Its a money pit. Im now having to trade it in take a loss and buy a new car. But I feel karma will come back at me when someone else buys it.

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  Dont buy GM - 2010 Chevrolet Malibu
  By happygirl7h - March 21 - 10:24 am

  I was told I was buying it under bluebook its now worth less than 1/2 and its 4 years old. Began having problems with lights, engine speed lost on freeway and expensive repairs every year. Not worth it, I am told these are rental cars. I will stick with Honda or Subaru, something reliable. I will never buy a GM again.

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  Another lackluckster car from GM - 2012 Chevrolet Impala
  By sebringdriver - March 13 - 3:40 pm

  Pro: Its large. Cons: Everything else. Aside from its generic overall design, and terribly poor road handling, the Impala is very generic in both design and feel. Even with a fully loaded LTZ, I cant help but feel disappointed, and honestly a little embarrassed every time I drive this car. After all this IS used heavily as a fleet vehicle, and not only that, everyone seems to own one (why? Ill never know). Pulling this vehicle into a parking spot is near impossible on the first try- same with just about every oversized vehicle GM pumps out. Be prepared to feel every bump in the pavement too, as well as intense body lean in about every corner. Do yourself a favor dont buy this car

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  Big disappointment - 2002 Chevrolet Prizm
  By afp377 - March 12 - 11:19 pm

  Luckily I only paid $1350 for this thing. It had 107K miles when I got it and have noticed it to be burning a lot of oil. After further research it seems they burn oil after 100k miles. I guess thats why the previous owner got rid of it. I had Toyotas in the passed and though they were bullet proof. I guess I was wrong. I dont really know if I will junk this thing or tear into the engine and put a new set of ring in it. I am thinking I will keep it until next year when my sticker is due and then torch it and buy something else.

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  Stand By your car GM - 2013 Chevrolet Volt
  By ronmaf - March 9 - 2:09 pm

  I cannot believe I have had so many issues with my Volts. I bought two Volts in 2012, and both of them were bought back by GM due to major issues (One would die with no power at all, and another had a Regen Drivetrain Bearing failures) . One of the two I accepted a 2013 Volt thinking they worked out the Bugs...they did not! I could not recommend any GM product after the way that they have treated me. The director for Chevy after sales told me they would not fix my car. I have been in and out of the dealer way too much for a then $45k car! Buyer beware, read the Volt forums and look up Bearing issues in the drivetrain. You will be happy you did before pulling the trigger on this crap!

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  Nothing Exciting - 2012 Chevrolet Sonic
  By nick_scott - February 22 - 5:19 pm

  We bought this car because of the price and advertised MPG. Since owning it, we have noticed that the MPG is no where near what it claims to be, as much at 7 MPG less at times. The look of the car is interesting to be kind. The front end is UGLY and the rest is bland. The inside has some nice features such as leather, heated seats, bluetooth, and power everything. However the cabin is very cramped and the driver seat is painful at times. The arm rests are at different heights which can be awkward. Do not expect to be comfortable if you weigh more than 150lbs. Performance of this car is a joke. The non-turbo has no throttle response at all and struggles on even small hills.

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  subcompact assembled in USA - 2014 Chevrolet Sonic
  By billmo - February 22 - 10:15 am

  I have one whale of buyers remorse. Seems it wont go away. Maybe Sonic needs to go. Transmission works when it wants to, fails to downshift into lower gear when its needed. The automobile has the worse value for a car with 12 thousand miles on it and new Michelin Pilot tires The roof has been painted, suspension parts have been replaced. Car runs ruff in neautral as well in drive idling, have rectified some of ruff idle I use 93 octane seems to help somewhat also synthetic oil has helped to. Gas mileage is just a couple of MPG than my 2000 Nissan Truck, and the truck you couldnt tell it was running. The Sonic idles like the 4 cylinders of 20 years ago. GM should be shot. Selling such junk

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  Scared for my life at 10k miles - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
  By chevycruzeh8er - February 20 - 1:31 pm

  bought my car March 2012, been having hard shifting problems and just last month the transmission module failed completely and had to be replaced (9,500 miles). I was sitting in the car on idle and it felt like a brick was dropped into my engine with a thud, engine light came on and trying to drive it to the side was like driving a golf cart. Still having hard shifting problems, got it back from the dealership yesterday and apparently the hard shifting is a "feature" of the car, I dont even feel safe driving this car anymore because Im scared of getting rear ended when the car hard shifts on the freeway and pulls so hard back that if there was somebody tailing me they would crash into me.