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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  Steering Shaft defect - 2009 Chevrolet Traverse
  By mngirl - March 28 - 10:53 am

  Currently there is 51K on my Traverse. I do like it, it fits our family of five perfectly with room to spare. I didnt give the review 5 stars simply because there is always room for improvement. That said, I had a major problem with my steering column recently. While driving the vehicle, I suddenly and with no warning had no control of my tires - zero steering! When the vehicle was hauled to the shop, I was told that the steering shaft was completely dismembered and fell "out of place". Hmm....has this happened to anyone before?

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  Liked it for 1st year - 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
  By mnflyer - March 19 - 3:42 pm

  I enjoyed my Cruze for the 1st year and a half, even though it had its fair share of issues covered by warranty. It handled well enough and I felt it was a good value. In 2 years I put on 43K miles mostly commuting on the highway. During the warranty period, I had 2 cases of "check engine" light on which were caused by faulty sensors. Also I had a steering issue whereby the steering would slightly stick at highway speeds. It often had a strange groaning sound from the engine. Biggest problem. "AC off due to engine overheat" It took 5 trips to the dealer to fix it. I wanted a car I could drive trouble free for many years and realized this wasnt it. I traded it in for a Hyundai.

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  If You Like Spending Money This Is The SUV For You!!!! - 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
  By marthe_rn23 - March 14 - 1:03 am

  I Purchased My 05 Equinox In May of 2012 With 90k "Fathers Day Gift" To Self, Some Gift!!! Since Ive Had It Nothing But Trouble, A Week After Purchase I Had Engine Misfire (Tune Up) Which Had Just Been Done At Purchase, Got It Repaired, The Dealer Said The Spark Plugs Had Melted HOW???? Since Ive Had To Replace Water Pump, Belt And Pully, Thermostat, Air Bag Sensor, CD Player, Both Front Entire Strut Sets, Muffler And Now At 105k The HEAD GASKETS, Not Just The Gaskets Tho, Both Entire Heads As Well Along With New Plugs And Wires And All New Filters... This Thing Is A Money Pit And Its Driving Me Right Into The Poor House... Its A Beautiful Car For Sure BUT STAY AWAY I Call Her EVE!!!

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  Stranded on I-20E in Carroll County, Ga ... - 1999 Chevrolet Malibu
  By rod1969 - March 1 - 10:38 am

  Im starting to hate my 1999 Malibu. Ive had it for approx. 5 years now. It has run hot numerous times. Ive changed the head gaskets in it twice (along with getting re-worked heads installed [due to them cracking]). Cracked heads happened in 2011, and again this year (2013). Both times an old friend of mine helped me out by getting the heads "milled" for me (approx $500 total), and putting them back in. Saved me tons of money btw. Now Im having problems with it running hot again. The "check engine" light stays on. My error codes were PO401, P1404, & PO306 four days ago. It went off when I cleaned the EGR valve and removed the carbon that had accumulated in the hoses, but its back on now.

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  Good but not great - 2006 Chevrolet Impala
  By jzinger34 - February 28 - 8:44 am

  I bought this car brand new in 2006 and have been pleased. I now have 125,000 miles on the car but not without complaints. I have had a check engine light for months because of valve on the top of the gas tank. $300 in labor to fix $10 part. I had to have gasket on oil filter mount replaced. $5 gasket, $140 labor! The electrical system is much to be desired. I got the premium BOSE system in the car but only certain speakers work at certain times. Mostly just rear speakers, sometimes just fronts, sometimes speakers on right side. As of this morning, the transmission started shifting hard. I am pretty worried after reading all the tranny reviews on here.

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  Defroster Issue - 2012 Chevrolet Equinox
  By heinemann - February 27 - 4:56 pm

  Defroster, heat blowing on the windshield on high heat (85 degrees), high fan, with the air conditioning button off, isnt sufficent to defrost windshield and melt freezing rain and snow on the upper half and the far left side of the windshield. Dealer says theres no problem. Been a GM buyer many times before but this is the last one even through Ill give up GM credit card $$.

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  Never again... - 2006 Chevrolet Impala
  By aorunes - February 22 - 3:36 pm

  I bought this car with 32k mi now at 65k: Came with a clean carfax/auto check (not 100% accurate I know). At first I loved this car it only needed the TPMS sensors replaced which I could live without. We here I am a year and a half later and wish I hadnt purchased this lemon... Lets see: So far I have had to replace: Rotors,Pads (normal), Front engine motor mount, power steering pump return line, HVAC blender solenoid (i think its going out again). It needs a fuel pump sending unit(got to buy the whole pump), now has a #1 Cylinder misfire (which is way to common to not recall), Shifts hard so transmission work is in my future. All with daily commuting.. no real rough driving

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  Terrible - 2006 Chevrolet Uplander
  By pittsburgh412 - February 19 - 10:30 am

  When it was first bought it was a good van, until a couple years later we started having problems. The tires would get worn out faster, the van performs horrible in snowy and rainy weather, traction control would come on for no reason during warm weather with nothing on the ground. When going up hill you basically have to floor it.

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  Overall - 2009 Chevrolet Malibu
  By malibu13 - February 12 - 6:17 pm

  I am very disappointed in the trunk opening and very, very disappointed in the gasmileage for a car rated at 48 mpg that gives something between 25 & 35 mpg depending on the length of drive and weather conditions. Why no driving lights on the LT2 model?

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  I got fooled - 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt
  By buttarz - February 11 - 1:40 pm

  After reading alal these reviews on here last February in 2012 i decided to go along with the flow and buy the cobalt. I bought it used at 50k for about $8500. Please, i beg of you, if you live anywhere where incement weather is an ongoing thing then DO NOT BUY A COBALT. i have the base ls model and i recently bought new all season tires for my front wheels and my back wheels are at about 80%. however, when it snow I have to drive at like 20 mph to avoid getting into an accident. couple weeks ago while driving, I hit a little patch of snow and my car did a 360 and hit a guard rail on the highway. Luckily there was so much snow on it the car recieved a minor scratch. the plus side is gas mile