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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  test before you buy - 2004 Chevrolet Impala
  By driveallday - January 21 - 10:00 am

  The Impala is my company care, and I drive alot of miles. The 180hp motor is OK off the line, but far to weak at hiway speed. Just not enough gutts or should I say tourqe to drive with real command. The real dissapointment is the interior. the seat is uncommfortable and none of the arm rests steering wheel or pedals line up right. The interior alignment in not as well thought out as with other cars I have driven. The Impala is not all bad but the important things are off the mark.

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  Doomed from the factory - 1996 Chevrolet Blazer
  By bf23 - January 20 - 10:35 pm

  These Blazers have problems. Cooling problems, engine problems, 4wd problems. They are expensive to fix. Spent over 2000 dollars in 2 months on the cooling system. Almost all Blazers build up coolant sludge, and the cooling system immediatly starts to break down. Not worth it. Do yourself a favor and buy another car. The used sale price may be enticing, but the repairs are ridiculous. Its impossible to work on this car! Almost impossible to change the spark plug wires, and impossible to change the spark plugs. The drivers side has a steering rack running right by the plug, thus you cant get in there with a wrench.

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  Uplander - a design defect - 2005 Chevrolet Uplander
  By Shelby Anderson - January 19 - 7:43 pm

  This car has many serious design defects. The cup holder in the dashboard comes off track easily (with or without a drink in it). The sliding door motors run after the doors are closed. The sliding doors have had times when they do not open at all. This vehicle has serious wind noise (in particular around the windshield). On particularly windy days, the noise can be very loud and distracting. The interior has issues. The compartments on the back of the seats do not close easily. The latches to adjust the seatbacks do not work properly. This car drives very good but with all the other issues this car has big disappointment!!

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  Its just okay. - 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  By KevinJ - January 16 - 5:46 pm

  When I purchased the vehicle, I was relatively impressed. As much as i would love to say that I am still impressed to this day, I simply cannot. I have had to drop the car off to my local Chevy dealer multiple times for reasons like the car stalling randomly, running on 4cyl, broken rear defroster, a shot transmission, speakers not working, seat heater not working, sunroof broken, condensation in the tail lights, etc. To put it quite frankly, it has been a lemon. I do thoroughly enjoy driving it when it works (a rarity), but it needs more power for such a large displacing V6. I also enjoy the strength of the seat heaters(when they work.) I only have one more gripe. THE UGLIEST WHEELS EVER.

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  Constantly in the shop - 1996 Chevrolet S-10
  By Marshall Green - January 15 - 6:08 am

  This was the worst vehicle I ever owned. A year after having it I got rear ended and my oil filter fell off. Not knowing it, I started to leave, naturally with no oil in the engine. The new engine cost me $6000. The heater core broke and fluid poured into my cab. The wheels were constanly out of alignment. The water pump went out, exploding coolant all out of the bottom. This happened of course while I was 1500 miles from home so that cost me a pretty penny at a dealer. The ignition swith along with spark plug wires went out at the same time. There were more things but I dont have all day. Terrible, terrible vehicle. I would not recommend it to anybody, unless you want to get stranded

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  Venture impressions - 2000 Chevrolet Venture
  By Jim S. - January 14 - 5:30 pm

  An OK vehicle except for the intake gasket failures that they refused to warranty and the horrible resale value. Good for transporting kids and their assorted stuff. Electrical problems are showing up with regularity. Am experiencing some transmission trouble - its starting to shift hard into overdrive. Due to price and mechanical issues i will not buy another one.

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  Awful gas mileage - 2006 Chevrolet Aveo
  By gangrel101 - January 14 - 1:15 pm

  I had just bought my Aveo broke it in and took it to Chicago, While on the highway my mileage averaged 25, this is going at a constant speed. Now that I am back home I filled up last night and I am getting 22 miles per gallon. This car does not get anywhere close to the mileage they say and I took it in and they claimed nothing is wrong with it. So dont buy this car for the mileage!

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  Mechanical Integrity /Reliability POOR - 2004 Chevrolet Suburban
  By Dale - January 13 - 11:42 am

  Now I know why GM is about to go bankrupt. This is the second Z71 Suburban that I have owned since 2002 and have had nothing but problems with both. This will be last one that I will buy.

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  Honeymoon Over, Divorce Final - 2005 Chevrolet Uplander
  By Mike - January 12 - 1:41 pm

  I first reviewed the van on 06/17/2005. Everything went fine until early October. Banging sound in the rear-end got it in the shop twice for a total of 10 days. Turned out to be a bushing on the torsion bar. Exactly two weeks after getting it out of the shop the engine croaked as I was driving at highway speed, I was stranded about 100 miles from home (OnStar did come through). The fix this time was an engine replacement, in the shop for 13 days. My confidence at this point was very shaken. Eleven days after coming out of the shop, the ABS brake light came on, later that night it would not start. It spent the next 12 days in the shop. Traded in on day 13 for a GMC Yukon XL.

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  Oil consumption problems, resolve early! - 2004 Chevrolet Suburban
  By rich - January 7 - 11:32 pm

  I have a 2004 Suburban which suffered from an oil consumption problem. The dealer tossed it off as standard operation/consumption. The motor failed completely at 38,000 miles. Luckily I had it fully documented and they were forced to replace the entire engine due to cylinder wall scoring. My recommendation is to hold your ground on any problem, as they will try to hold you off until the warranty has expired. It is one of the most disappointing experiences I have had. It astounded me as to how brazen they could be.