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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  FRUSTRATED - 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By David Szymanski - September 22 - 9:33 pm

  In one year this vehicle has been to three different dealers,a total of eight times for repair. The breaking is terrible, drastick loss of power at times, clunking and grinding in drive train,leather seat seams split. This from what is supposedly a 37,000.00 sticker price... somebody had a bad day!!

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  After One Year of Leasing - 2016 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Collin - September 21 - 4:03 am

  After leasing this car for a year now, I cant wait until the lease is up. I have actually considering trading it in, however the value on the car is severely low, and I dont want to lose $6k+!! The Pros: 1) I love the look of the car, its much sharper than the previous model year. 2) ability to remote start from phone. 3) quality feel of the dash and surroundings (however, seats need extra padding). The Cons: 1) the Start/Stop feature is horrible, after sitting at a stop light for longer than a minute or two, the car starts back up and when it does, it loves to jolt the car. 2) I dont get the gas mileage that the car claims to have. 3) Within the first week of having the car, I noticed a rattle noise coming from the engine that sounded like tin vibrating whenever you would accelerate. Im extremely OCD when it comes to noises from my cars, so I took it into the dealership 3 separate times to have them take a look, had multiple things replaced on it, including a muffler, none of things they did fixed the issue. Then they tell me that somewhere in the engine there is a design flaw that causes the noise, but they cant do anything else for me, and they cant spend anymore time on it. So for the past year, I have just tried my best to ignore the noise as best as I can. 4) the resale value is HORRIBLE. 5) Wish the car had more HP, as the car is sluggish. For such a sporty looking car, I would expect it to have some more WOW. Conclusion: I REALLY dont care for this car and I dont think Ill ever buy a Chevy again after this car.

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  Too many corners cut! - 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
  By dswiss - September 19 - 1:39 pm

  I bought my 2010 Traverse brand new and it now has about 65,000 miles on it. Thats averaging less than 12,000 miles per year. I have had quite a few nagging (and recurring) problems with this automobile, but it has served me relatively well as a commuting and family vehicle. First, the pros: - Good size with plenty of seating and storage options. I have 4 kids and we can all ride in the vehicle comfortably without too much trouble getting in and out. - General ride and handling are pretty good, but not great. Now, the cons: - The original dealer I bought the vehicle from was awful to deal with for service. They were a complete nightmare. They couldnt evaluate even simple problems. There were always new Service Reps when I went in (that type of turnover should be a clue). At one point they had my car for 4 days to evaluate a problem before they finally hooked it up to the "computer" to retrieve the error codes. Im no auto mechanic, but with todays technology shouldnt that be step number 1? - After one particularly terrible experience with the service department at this dealer, GM sent me a link to an online survey via email. I went out and took the survey and explained the horrible experience. The survey asked if I would like someone from GM/Chevrolet to contact me and I selected YES. I never heard back from anyone from GM/Chevrolet. - Eventually I switched dealerships for service and the new dealer has been significantly better. - I have had to replace a gear for one of the Heating/AC system actuator doors 4 times already. The same part failed over and over in a 3.5 year period. The last time they fixed it they must have used a higher quality part or done some other repair as this time that gear has lasted for almost 2.5 years... fingers crossed. - I had to replace the "throttle body" at about 42,000 miles. Ive never had to replace a throttle body on any car I have ever owned previously. Thankfully GM agreed that the throttle body shouldnt have gone bad that quickly and, since I was only a few thousand miles out of warranty, they agreed to cover the repair. - Recently I was informed that I need to replace the timing chains at only 62,000 miles. The estimated cost was almost $3,000. Once again, GM agreed that the timing chains should not need to be replaced at only 62k miles, but they only offered to cover $1,000 of the cost for this. - Other general design and aggravation issues exist with this vehicle as well. The rear windshield wiper can not be replaced DIY. In fact, last time I checked, car parts stores do not even stock the wiper blades and will tell you to go to the dealership to have it replaced. What a major pain in the neck. I also recently had a headlamp bulb that needed to be replaced. The manual states that you need to go to your dealership to have it replaced and after finding some instructional videos on YouTube I understand why. In order to simply change a headlamp build you have to jack up the car, remove the front tire on the side to be replaced and then remove a protective panel inside the wheel well just to get to the back of the headlamp assembly to change the bulb. Who in the heck designed this thing? Did someone win an 8th grade engineering design contest? - Most recently, the front windshield wiper motor failed and needs to be replaced. In summary, I have purchased new cars 6 times in my life and I have never had a vehicle that had this many issues where parts simply failed in such a short life span. It leads me to believe that lots of shortcuts were taken in the design and manufacturing of this car. I dont know if this is still an issue on newer model Traverses but my 2010 LS is simply not a very high quality automobile.

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  Overall quality is lacking - 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By Dave - September 6 - 4:26 am

  This was my second Chevy pickup, my first being a 57 stepside. Since that old Chevy, I had evidently been spoiled by a few Fords, two Nissans and a Dodge. No complaints on any of those other pickups, but this Chevy mustve been a lemon. Everything from the battery to the temperature control to the transmission gave me trouble in the 9 months that Ive had it.

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  Equinox Shock - 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Tina - August 22 - 2:43 am

  Hard to get used to driving the Equinox. Large blind spot on drivers side, and gauging rear distances is hard. Lots of mechanical problems in the short period of time Ive owned it.

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  Bust or superb - 2005 Chevrolet Colorado
  By juju - August 15 - 11:43 am

  I have the 4 cylinder with 4.10 rear and 4x4, with automatic transmission. It lacks power like no tomorrow. Seats dont recline, and I cant unlock the door from passenger side. Its a nice looking truck on outside, but a reclining seat ought to be standard. A mite more power from this big 2.8 4 cylinder engine would be nice.

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  Forget the 2003 Tahoe - 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By Falige - August 11 - 2:00 am

  We purchased the 2003 Tahoe LT in October of 2002. It is now March 2003 and the truck has had to be repaired TWICE!!!!!!!!!! AND to top it off we have to take it back to have a part put in it that had to be ordered. I am totally disgusted after spending that much money for something that is UNRELIABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  Not any more. - 2015 Chevrolet Camaro
  By Matthew McGinley - July 15 - 11:13 pm

  The 2015 Camaro is really a nice-looking car, something out of a cartoon come to life. Very adequate 6-cylinder 323 horsepower, this car has no trouble passing on dry roads. The interior was meant for bachelors and empty nesters, not families. The bucket seats are perfect for two; the cockpit is well laid out and all the instruments and controls are easy to reach. The power and agility is there on demand. The front goes out a bit, and converting from a front-wheel drive takes some getting used to. This car has too much power for city driving. It does not handle well on wet corners, and after only 300 miles I had to have the car repaired because the back end slipped out on me during a light rain negotiating a traffic circle and slammed into a curb, ruining my passenger rear wheel assembly. My whole attitude about muscle cars has changed, and this will be the last one for me, especially the last rear wheel drive car. I do not recommend this car except for dry roads only, summertime, and highway driving, otherwise, it is too intrusive and likely to cause an accident from too much acceleration. In the city, the car basically drives itself with no additional throttle, and too much foot-down is an accident waiting to happen, so after having the car for a short time I will be trading out of it at the earliest opportunity into something more capable in city driving and in the rain and light snow. I regret my purchase now, as this was something I could not discover on just the test drive going very slowly on dry roads. The stock P-Zero Nero tires are only good on straight and dry roads in warm weather, otherwise the 2015 Camaro is a liability and very dangerous. My only wish is that the dealer provided a 30-day trade in guarantee, but now that Ive signed the contract I have to live with this beast until I can get back to a front-wheel drive car that handles much better than this. ------ UPDATE: I took the car back to Bill Pierre Chevrolet in Seattle, and they were gracious enough to trade me out of it. Whew! What a relief! Now Im into a much better car, much safer, and front wheel drive and BACK SEATS! I must have been in some kind of trance, but now that Im out of the dangerous and ego-centered Camaro, I can get on with my life and not have to look back and see if anyone is watching. No more ego trips, no more sliding around corners. Just look at the face of this car, esp. the 2017 Camaro. Its too aggressive, mean--like an animal. The new Camaros are just too fat in the rear and too unstable with the default tires, unless you are on a closed track. But for commuting to work--uh uh, forget it!

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  WHAT A JOKE - 2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx
  By tloe - July 3 - 1:06 pm

  When I purchased this vehicle I had to take it back in for problems..I heard a noise in the engine. Then I had to take it back again because when i drive in the rain it blows under the glass and leaks on my feet...and still have the same problem...Then i took it back for front end work..Then i took it for the sensors on the wheels had to be replaced. It has been to the shop 6 times and still have the same problems and now it has a knock in the engine at 49,000 it shouldnt do that..I keep the maintenance up, however it doesnt help..I just put new rotors and brakes on it and the front end shakes...this is a lemon of a car and I hate it...the dealers dont care to fix the problems correctly.

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  Problems - 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer
  By rh. - July 2 - 6:13 pm

  I bought the on November 3, 2001, but did not take delivery until November 15, 2001. Today is February 12, 2002. The car has been in the dealer 5 times already. 1. wind noise it sounded like the windows were down at 45 mph. 2. vibrating of the once the car hits 75 mph. 3. and last the transmition is giving prolems already. the car only has 5900 miles and it has spent more time in the dealer than on the street.