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:

• 

  Another American Built Lemon - 2007 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx
  By Lee - June 28 - 5:53 pm

  After driving foreign built vehicles for the last 18 years, I came across this car at $3000 below blue book and bought it. Had I bothered to check that this garbage can had depreciated $15000 in 3 years, I would have passed. But alas, I didnt, and now I have the pleasure of fixing all the KNOWN GM design problems in the steering column, brake rotors, steering rack, and struts. I have had 1960 era cars with better steering and suspension systems. Of course because GMC is an American company, it is based on greed and not customer care; they refuse to fix/recall any of these problems because not enough people have died in the car. I look forward to the day when I can unload this lemon!

• 

  Hilarious Vehicle - 2017 Chevrolet Sonic
  By Archi Gaebel - June 8 - 10:42 am

  The Sonic Turbo Premier is hilarious to drive (for a day or two) while my ten year old BMW X3 is in the shop for age-related repairs and maintenance. "Hilarious" as in "Its a joke", not its actually fun to drive. First off, my 10 year old Bimmer, worth about half of what you can buy this Chevy Sonic for, still vastly outperforms it and is a ton more fun to drive and feels safer to boot. So much for "Would I ever consider owning this vehicle?". The answer is a resounding NO! Why not? I mean first impressions are of this car are not so bad. The exterior styling is not crazy or terrible. It is not good either. It just is. The Sonic sedan has a very basic, neutral car shape, the kind you get when you ask a toddler to draw a car. It is somewhat narrow and short but tall when compared to our BMW 328i, almost like Chevy took a Malibu and just trimmed off some excess fat on the sides, rear and front. The cabin is not a terrible place for an econo box. It appears roomy enough, has quite a few gadgets, buttons and a touch screen (in this trim level) and the plastics LOOK decent. All of these judgements, however, vanish when you start driving it. While there is plenty of headroom, even for tall people, legroom is cramped, not just in the back but also annoyingly in the driver seat. I am six foot tall and my legs are too long for a comfortable use of the left foot rest or the accelerator and brake pedals when I adjust the seat to allow a normal arm distance to the steering wheel. (Gorillas with really long arms might do better.) Visibility is not great either. Although the windshield is large, the short stubby hood just vanishes from view and it is very difficult to get a feel for where the front of the car starts. Rear visibility and right side visibility is severely compromised by the enormous headrests (which clearly come from a full size truck and take up most of the airspace of this small car). Once you start touching the visually decent plastic trim you realize that it is not the softer, richer material it masquerades as, but very cheap, basic hard plastic straight from a Yugo. But now to the truly hilarious part of driving this car, its performance. I drove it mostly in town with speed limits around 45 miles per hour. At first I thought I was going way too fast until a look at the speedometer informed me that I was actually chugging along about five miles below the speed limit! The car feels strained and bothered when driven at speeds greater than 35 - 40 mph. Still this is not yet the most fun you can have with the Sonic Turbo. Go find an empty stretch of road without speed bumps (like the access road to my works parking lot) and floor it. I did just that, going about 30 mph I floored the accelerator and ... absolutely NOTHING happened for at least a second, then the little beast huffed and puffed and lurched forward at the breakneck speed of 40 mph, I almost died laughing. This lack of performance is unfortunately less laughable when you have to pull out into heavy, fast-moving traffic, then just pray a Rosary (or two) while you wait for any acceleration to quick in ...

• 

  Expensive to drive! - 2000 Chevrolet Malibu
  By mpsrent - June 4 - 10:00 am

  In 18,000 miles (30,000 km) this car has had three front brake jobs. Rotors were turned at 7,000 miles, replaced at 11,000 miles and front brake bads entirely worn out at 18,000 miles. The car is not driven much, with many miles on the highway. The dealer claims the brake issue is a design flaw. The front strut bushings have been replaced. The JD Powers quality control rating is based on defects in the first 100 days. What about after that time? The long term quality is what youd expect of a 1970s car. Very disappointing, I wish I purchased an Impala.

• 

  Last GM - 2005 Chevrolet Colorado
  By Waterboy - May 26 - 10:00 am

  My truck also idles really rough. The sevice dept. keeps telling me the noise is unpreventalbe. Its designed that way.

• 

  this truck blows - 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD
  By Kennedy - May 26 - 10:00 am

  I Bought a 2004 and before i could even get 600 miles on it the transmission went out on me in the middle of a run hauling some freight so i called the GMC dealership and they sent me a F-150 that out hauled and rode alot better than the GMC 2500

• 

  Not all that it was hyped up to be. - 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  By Gregbear1 - May 22 - 2:00 am

  This car was a poor choice. It looked more exciting than it is.. Fit and finish are terrible and the non stop problems are becomming depressing. I knew I should have gone with the Altima instead. Live and learn!

• 

  Avoid this Vehicle and Chevrolet!! - 2003 Chevrolet TrailBlazer
  By chipwich - May 17 - 2:00 am

  Purchased this vehicle and have never achieved higher than 15MPG despite window sticker of 21MPG. Have been to the dealership twice for inspection and they claim nothing is wrong. Chevrolet refused to address my concern indicating that their engineers do not expect this engine to achieve better than 12-14MPG. So why do they advertise 21MPG?!?!? Will not stand behind their products or customers. Go buy a Toyota, at least you will know what you are buying.

• 

  Suburban - dont go there - 2003 Chevrolet Suburban
  By jwagnerfamliy - May 12 - 10:00 am

  Our Suburban has been a relibility nightmare. It ALWAYS breaks down on family vacations, most recently in the middle of the Mohave desert. For such an expensive vehicle Id expect better quality. My advice is never buy any GM product especially Suburban. Im dumping my Suburban and buying a Toyota Sequoia.

• 

  Never Again - 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer
  By Fed Up in GA - April 24 - 2:00 am

  Before 26,000 miles,weather stripping cming off,display not functioning bumper wrinkles(already wrinkled again),vibrations coming from heat shield on transmission. Then the major things:Transmission sun cluster completely shears in transmission. Dealer kept 4 weeks.Returned after one week did not make it home.Kept 3 more weeks drove two days then shifting problems check engine light on.One more week light back on.GM engineer says we have problem at about 30,000 miles and the power valve goes bad. Warranty will be out @60,000 when it goes again!!!NO SERVICE AFTER THE SALE!!!Still driving with light on. HOPE IT BLOWS UP.

• 

  Chev. Cavalier - 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By PhotoGal - April 19 - 10:00 am

  We have had to have it in the shop too many times already for little things. We have not been happy with the fuel usage, we thought it would be better. The front console and controls are too close together nearly causing wrecks trying to adjust the heat/air/defrost with drinks in the way.We paid way too much for what we got.