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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  Another Typical GM product - 2000 Chevrolet Blazer
  By Capt. Jack - March 1 - 2:00 am

  I purchased this with 26,000 miles on it and 100,000 miles later... A transmission both wheel bearings Drivers Seat Adj Handle Power Window - Drivers side And now a constant check engine Light Its shot, GM / Chevy makes a cheap vehicle and like anything in life you get what you pay for. My next vehicle will be a foreign built, non union, quality built vehicle.

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  recalls - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
  By sabrina - February 29 - 8:05 am

  first of all i loved the color and the car dynamics but the car had 3-4 recalls, a peace off the motor that hose runs to the radiator was broke and over heated 2 times. i was also told that the reason my fans keep running even in winter i needed a water inlay Almost $170, My back up sinners messed up with in the first year $200 to fix. the car had a small pop every time i would first take off in the car. After a long hour drive i would pull in to a gas station or my destination the car would just die. just before i traded it the car have of the time would not start on the first try. I paid a good penny for the car and i traded it in Oct. 2014 and couldnt even get $4500 for it I still owed #8500 for the car. This is such Crap It was a 2012 Chevy Cruze with fog lights Update my review!? I traided that car in for a 2015 Nissan Sentra 2 years ago

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  Honest Review, 2008 Tahoe Hybrid, Owned 5 yrs - 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid
  By Thomas - February 28 - 7:56 pm

  2008 Tahoe Hybrid, birch metallic. Just sold it after 5 yrs ownership, bitter sweet ... Honestly, I bought this big truck for its looks. And because I have 3 kids so I needed something bigger. Im also a car guy so I just cant spend $30 or $40 k and have to look at a minivan in my driveway. Im a man, so I do like to mow the lawn, wash the truck, and have a beer in the yard and admire both. This truck allowed me to check that box. The magnesium alloy 18" wheels are beautiful and the box shape was so anti-minivan I just had to have it. The Tahoe had a legendary reputation. I also found my Hybrid model at a dealer off trade in for $35K with only 12K miles on it. Made the decision easy. Good : The looks. If you dont like the boxy GMT900 style, dont get it. Its the single most appealing feature. Its exterior far outshines the bland, big Pilot looking Expedition. The Durango in that time frame looked like it was built in the early 1900s. Nothing from the Germans came anywhere close for the price (or features). The looks of this vehicle sells it (and all those cheesy Hybrid decals come off easily using a hair dryer). The ride was also great, I was dumbfounded as to how a body on frame vehicle could cruise at 85 mpg as if it were an Audi. Very impressive body dampening. Engine reliability was perfect for 90k miles. And the 6L V8 with electric motors assisting would really rocket this vehicle to dangerous speeds. Good thing it was limited to 96 mph, I often found myself hitting that limiter as the truck felt like it was good for much much more. Now with the good comes the bad. This is a heavy, dumb, clumsy, body on frame truck. Make no mistake about that. You are sacrificing vastly superior minivan and unibody drivability and mall parking lot maneuverability in big sums to own this truck. Its 39 turning radius is abysmal. Ingress/egress is also more difficult because it rides higher up. The 2wd model I owned was LESS capable off road than a Yugo GVX. It seemed like 90% of the weight rode on the front axle, and they drive the rear wheels. Dont take the 2wd version even into a dry lawn. OK what else ... the transmission had a "clunkiness" that just got to my nerves eventually. It would sometimes get confused between hybrid mode, 4 cylinder, and 8 cylinder modes. This would result in driveline shutters and clunks that just should not of been there in a vehicle costing $55k new. The rear diff was replaced under extended warranty at 80K miles. The entire rear diff, all the gears, bearings, bushings, everything. I never towed anything. You have of course read about the infamous cracked dash issues. I wont go into that, but mine was nearly cracked in 2. All the door locks failed repeatedly. Thankfully we found GruvenParts.com making the reliable replacements, never had a problem since. The Nav and OnStar, while it all functioned fine, was far behind the times (and still is). I miss the truck, mainly for its stunner looks. Sadly its reliablity and driveability left so much to be desired. I wonder if the 2015 model is better, I still see they use a live rear axle. I hope they didnt just reshape the sheet metal and slap a $70K sticker price on it. If they did, GM has no merit to receive another bail out. Cmon guys you can do far better... I would not buy another GM, ever. Mainly due to the repeated interactions with GM customer service on the dash and door locks. They have hired off shore contractors to hire customer service who know nothing and care nothing about the US owners. With the dash, they directed me to a local dealer, then told me it was entirely up to them. I sat down with the service manager and he said why the heck is it my problem ? I agreed. The dash is flawed, GM should cover it, not give owners of $55K trucks a circle jerk. I will not buy another because of this. Sorry.

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  Buyer Beware - 2000 Chevrolet Impala
  By silverlemon - February 26 - 2:00 am

  Loved the style and comfort. Had Tranny problems and seals blew at 26,000 miles constant problems with electrical (windows, blower motor, wiper arms) Manifold gasket leaks- finally traded in at 45,000 for a Ford Explorer-No more GM for me!

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  MY Review - 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Max - February 24 - 10:50 pm

  Transmission has unusual shifts when compromising steep graded hills. Horsepower lacks muscle. Nice car for a Sunday drive on a flat road. Good looking exterior and comfort inside is also good.

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  First & Last Chevy Ill buy, EVER - 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By k2dunk - February 24 - 2:00 am

  great driving truck, BUT GM engineers oughta have theirs put in a vise for these V8 engines Cold start Knock at 12K miles Dealer TSB says its carbon Right Seems to me they just cant get those pistons right Every AM that rattling noise in garage so so discouraging And me Born and raised in a Chevy house I cant wait to get the wife in an Armada 3 more months,gonna trade that sucker.Me I wanted a Vette, forget that 350Z or G35 here I come. Shame on you GM. Google for cold start knock do your own homework youll see.45K and climbing.Ive now heard the Trans isnt so great either.Hopefully shell stay together a little while longer.700 not enough...

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  Beware of the flaws - 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer
  By medsy - February 23 - 10:00 am

  I bought my ext trailblazer 3 months ago and I have numerous problems with it: - Very annoying Squeaking that the dealer say they could not prove it, well I hear it every day. - The rear climate controls just do not work, well Im taking it to the dealer for that. - Foul mildew odor comes out of the ventialation system after I shut off the air conditioning. For god sake, it is a brand new car. - The underhood light work sometimes! - I was driving one day, the front dash just went dead, no dials or lights were working. Stopped and restarted the car and the front dash went live again. The dealer says this can never happen.

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  A bit disappointed - 1997 Chevrolet S-10
  By oxguru - February 23 - 2:00 am

  I have been rather disappointed in this vehicle, considering my fathers 1993 Chevy Silverado is still going strong at over 100K miles. I only have about 66K miles, and have had, in the past three months, to put almost $1500 into this for things that should still be working fine. I have been pretty good about regular maintenance, so Ive been pretty annoyed of late. Time to trade in for a (gasp) foreign car make.

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  no more venturing for us - 1999 Chevrolet Venture
  By twk - February 20 - 2:00 am

  1st 2 years were fine with this vehicle, soon as the 36,000 warr. wore off problems started on regular basis. have had electrical issues with the wiring, problem with the power windows and the gasket problem everyone else has mentioned..& little things like the rear hatch handle breaking off GM should stand behind its product. it is very poor quality. i can not believe how many people i know that have had the same problems! the gasket should have been a recall..and many people have had the wiring problem too. i can not afford a hefty car payment, coupled with repair bill after repair bill. no more chevy for me. traded in venture today, at a loss.

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  Unsafe - 2000 Chevrolet Tracker
  By AgMan - February 19 - 2:00 am

  This vehicle is not safe. Rolled it when I hit a slick place in the road. Speed was only 35 MPH. Didnt get hurt, but could have.