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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  Last GM Ever in my life - 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer
  By Baz - April 26 - 12:51 am

  I was forced to purchase this vehicle due to company policy. It is the poorest built vehicle I have every bought & The transfer case failed at 60700 km. (700 km past any warranty coverage) GM laughed at me when i suggested they should fix it for free. I would recommend buying anything but a Trailblazer. At 65000 km this thing is falling apart.

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  BAD - 2007 Chevrolet Uplander
  By Jen - April 22 - 11:19 am

  Out of the 6 months I have owned this van, it has been in the shop 5 times. Since I bought it certified used thinking I was getting a deal, the lemon law does not apply and I am stuck with it because of the low resale and trade in value. My advice, choose another van. The cheaper price is not worth it. I will never buy another Chevy.

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  How do I hate my venture... let me count - 2002 Chevrolet Venture
  By Disgruntled Owner - April 18 - 10:18 am

  My venture was purchased as a rebound in 2002 from an unhelpful Honda dealership (no negot. On an Odyssey). If only I had a time machine and could undo this horrendous mistake. Yes, it was loaded with stuff, yes, it was peppy, yes, my kids loved the dvd player. Heres what I didnt know. Less than a year after buying the van, the manifold gasket went. Then the ac went, after soaking the interior carpet with drips from the condenser. The power sliding door fell off in 2004. The windshield wipers failed after the circuit board got wet (built into the motor, Nice). I have been told by many mechanics that this was a big mistake to ever buy this van.

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  Can I Get It Paid Off Any Faster?! - 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Stephanie - April 10 - 3:13 am

  Owned chevys all my life... What a disappointment! The back doors get dirty, snow, mud, compacted.. The brakes wear very unevenly, and now theres a creaking with every turn... And fuel economy.. Whats that? I fill up about every other day, its disgusting! Theres no such thing as a quiet drive, this thing picks up every bit of noise! Bad, bad, bad idea... Never again.

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  not what I expected - 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By monay - March 21 - 3:11 pm

  The brand new Tahoe is not what I expected. I took my first trip in my Tahoe to Reno where I experienced the throttle sticking whenever I would press all the way down on the gas. I actually had to use my foot to push the pedal back up. Thats not safe at all. The interior cloth seats collects so much Lent. Now Im looking into replacing with leather which is costly. Another complaint is the plastic lighter covers are so cheap that two of mine have already fell off. I think for how much the Tahoe costs they have should of been built better. The older tahoes look a lot better than the 2007-2008. I take the blame. I should of did my homework before getting locked into a car that Im not happy with.

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  There should be a law... - 2005 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Chevy is crap - March 1 - 11:16 am

  What a piece of crap this Malibu is. Just under 40,000 miles and the rack & pinion has to be replaced...700 dollars. No wonder the foreign cars are getting a lot of business! I have owned Toyota....drove the hell out of it....no problems....sold it at 148,00 miles and it still had the original clutch and it worked very well. There should be a class action suit against Chevrolet for pushing this P.O.J. car! Even the first month of ownership...the key would come out of the ignition....JUNK JUNK JUNK!

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  DO NOT BUY THIS CAR!!! - 2016 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Patricia Armstrong - February 3 - 9:33 am

  Bought mine in February. It only has 12000 miles on it. THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILED stranding me and in the process totally destroyed a piston and some other things. The dealer has taken over a week to even come up with the part and actually since these are MAJOR components on a NEW, I would prefer for them just to replace the engine. THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER 2016 MALIBU in the dealership waiting on parts FOR THE SAME ISSUE. Car is a nice, fancy, UNRELIABLE POS.

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  Trailblazer Unreliable - 2003 Chevrolet TrailBlazer
  By Jon Illinois - January 2 - 2:05 pm

  Battery failed in 1st year. Buttons peeling on Premium Bose Stereo. Wind Noise is very bad. Had to install custom deflectors but still have noise. STARTING PROBLEMS**** - Multiple occurrences. Late 2005 and late 2007 - still continuing. Dealer replaced a bunch of stuff in 2005 which did not solve the problem. Finally replaced ignition switch which solved the problem. New ignition problem - not starting in late 2007. Replaced ignition switch but the problem is still occurring. VERY UNRELIABLE. Transmission shifts hard but has not failed yet.

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  Be Cautious!!! - 2013 Chevrolet Traverse
  By Jessica - December 28 - 2:45 am

  We purchased my 2013 Traverse pre-owned in January 2016. It was a GM Certified Pre-owned that did have warranty coverage. I will say that I LOVE how it drives for such a large SUV. I love the back up camera and sensors as well. We were generally comfortable, even on long road trips. My husband did complain of knee-room while driving, but he is 65" so he is taller than the norm. My problems began with the first oil change, they found an oil leak and had to remove the engine to find it. They also noticed that my timing chains were loose and went ahead and tightened those. A few months later, the blower for the rear A/C went out completely and had to be replaced (almost a week in the shop). That September we were returning from vacation and an A/C hose "popped" while we were driving down the interstate and we were stuck in Alabama an extra day. At the beginning of this year, as I was driving home from my moms, all the lights on my dash starting going off, I couldnt move my steering wheel, and my engine shut off ( I was in the middle of a curve on a backroad with my toddler in the car). I was able to coast to a safe spot and had the car towed to the dealership. This was caused by "catastrophic engine failure" and had to replace my engine. Everything up to this point has been covered under warranty (Thank goodness!) Two days ago, the same thing happened with the addition of a squealing noise. This time my A/C compressor locked up. So this twice that my car has completely shut off while driving down the road (with my son in it) and this repair is going to cost me almost $2200.00. If I had to pay for all of these repairs I would have spent $7-10,000.00! I have spent about a month and a half in demo cars total because of time that my car was being repaired. I will say that the dealership and service that I deal with is FANTASTIC and they are helping me find a comparable vehicle to do an even trade and are giving me a good value for my car, and I am so thankful for that. I may have bought the one truly defective Traverse, but it has been nothing but a headache from the get-go.

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  Not to pare - 2004 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT
  By JaniceBB - December 21 - 2:00 am

  I hate my 2004 EXT. It has a real cheap feeling to the interior. I dont feel safe when driving in it. The doors feel like they are going to fall off they are so light.