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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  This vehicle is dangerous - 2013 Chevrolet Equinox
  By mark330 - December 5 - 9:13 am

  This is a 4-cyl, 6-spd, front wheel drive. Owned for 8 months, have put 15,500 miles on it. Ive been stranded twice due to break-downs, both times requiring a tow back to the dealer. The transmission has major problems, leads to the starter shorted and burned off, and fit and finish is so poor that road dust gathers in the cabin. The front wheel drive is fine on dry roads as long as you keep the traction control on. On wet or icy roads, the vehicle is down right dangerous. Without the traction control you slide all over the place, with the traction control the anti-spin engages and the vehicle will not move. All-wheel drive is obviously a most with this SUV.

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  Great Car - 2010 Chevrolet Malibu
  By intoz24s - December 4 - 10:44 pm

  My wife wanted the Buick Enclave but thats quite a bit more so we agreed on the Malibu. Its a nice car that rides well and is quiet on the road. Ours is the LTZ with the V6 and the engine is something beautiful to listen to when accelerating. The car on the highway truely does get 30-32 MPG.

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  Not enought love - 1992 Chevrolet Camaro
  By dylsmi12 - December 4 - 10:24 pm

  Only time i would drive my 92 RS 25th ANV is during the summer, Hot, CLEAR, ttops out blasting doing down the road days. If it rains, windy, or just a bad road your just all over. i have orginally 168,005 miles as of today 12/4/12 I drive avr 3 thousand miles a month for my car i got it with 99k miles 8 years ago, it did not run uptil two years ago after putting 9 grand into it, and going to 6 different dealers. Now having electrical problems causing smoke to come threw my vents where NEITHER heat nor air work after fixing in the summer i get 10 in down, and about 18 on hyw. My mothers 2005 Ford Excursion Limited with a V10 4X4 gets the same amount in town and hyw if that tells you anything.

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  Emmission problemm not reported by cheve to customer - 2006 Chevrolet Colorado
  By nabid - December 4 - 11:43 am

  I have 2006 cheve colorado pick up,it failed several time smog test,i spent a lot of money to the local mechanics for diagnose,it came as internal leak,missfiring.it was a major manufacture deffect but Cheve never send me any letter to infor for any recall,finally when i took to dealer they told me there is a memo that this model has a deffect,they have to open all engine to fix the problem..i was shocked WHY CHEVE DID NOT INFORMED ME AND OTHERS CUSTMERS AND WERE CHEATING.ITS SHAME FOR CHEVE AND THEIR MANAGEMANT..WILL NEVER TRUST CHEVE AGAIN.

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  Hits the mark - 2012 Chevrolet Sonic
  By knobbytire - December 2 - 2:55 pm

  I replaced a very troublesome Mazda 5 with a Sonic LTZ hatchback. Im averaging right around 40 MPG, and once was getting 52 MPG and my worst fuel economy on a tank was 33 MPG. It handles nicely, is efficient on interior space and fits really well into a small garage. its comfy enough that we packed the entire family in the car and made a 13 hour road trip. With 5000 miles on it, Ive had no problems, and it doesnt even have any rattles. The Bluetooth and hands free is great, though I wish you could control an iPhone from the steering wheel.

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  May be last Chevy.. - 2012 Chevrolet Malibu
  By bigbearrc - December 1 - 10:24 am

  Downsized form a 2002 Impala to this for gas mileage. Big mistake. Impala averaged 28mpg. I am lucky to hit that using cruse control full time. Car is very underpowered. Almost dangerous to pass anyone. Car has great looks , but appears to be all flash and lost its basics. Stering while stopped acts like it lacks the power to steer car. Had for three months and want to replace. Will after getting some of the deprciation. Looking at 2013, it would appear GM knew this car was very deficient.

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  This vehicle has no power - 2011 Chevrolet Equinox
  By angrychevy - November 30 - 8:57 pm

  Been in the shop 2 times and is not recommended. It has no power and now the worst part is that the dealer cannot fix my issue. Day 5 and Im still waiting. They are not even sure how to fix it. It is a 2011 so how can they not know how to fix and program a BCM???? WOW GM! GOOD JOB, I WILL NOT BE RECOMMENDING YOU TO OTHERS!

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  bad experience - 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
  By the_master1 - November 27 - 9:59 am

  I traded my Honda Accord for 2011 Chevy Cruze 1LT with 17000 Mileage, convising my self that buying American brand would be the best decision! but i guess i was wrong. the problems with this care started 2nd week: noise in dash board, transmission shift very hard, I took the car to 4 GM dealer they all said it s normal " the transmission learning how you drive" really? I Drove to Detroit twice i meet with the head of customer service, and complain Dep but they did not do anything! this car is a trash and the new transmission that GM Praise is a joke! when the temperature drop below 30 you are screwed. after owning the car for 8 months (waisting money, time..) i traded to better quality.

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  Great Car! - 2012 Chevrolet Impala
  By cj7123 - November 26 - 1:31 pm

  If you need something to change in every year of a car, then this isnt the car for you. If however, you want a safe, comfortable and reliable car, this is it. It has many creature comforts from heated seats to satellite radio and sync. We are getting 30 mpg with the new engine and transmission! So, if you need "bling" you might want to look elsewhere, but if you want a strong, reliable car with descent gas mileage for thousands of dollars less that the other cars they compare the Impala to, look no further!

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  Great truck....almost too good - 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By blakeg - November 25 - 10:00 pm

  I have almost 90,000 miles on my 4x4 T-hoe. I have driven her up and down the California coast off roads and camping, snowboarding in the mountains, weekly daily driver So cal traffic, towed small boat/jetskies/dirt bikes at times, and it sits outside on a peninsula at the beach (damp saline weather) for over 6 years. Its been a great truck. Obviously after 6 years things are going to wear and turning over the big V8 burns fuel, tires, brakes, batteries, assorted plastic buttons....if you cant run with the big dogs get off the porch. Its comfy and has great road presence. Im stoked so far - hope to have the same review in 100,000 more miles