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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  Nice Truck - 2003 Chevrolet S-10
  By John Stewart - December 20 - 2:00 am

  I love my S10 crewcab. I pull a boat and carry four people in the truck. The truck has plent of power and is fun to drive. I love this truck.

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  solid family truck - 1997 Chevrolet Suburban
  By graniteman - December 20 - 2:00 am

  After owning two GM trucks since 1990, I talked my wife into buying a burb to haul around our four kids. We bought it used with 62k on it. After only a few thousand miles I noticed the auto trans was shifting rough. It turns out the valve body(inside trans)was the culprit. The repair was $700. This burb will flat out roll down the highway-keeping it under 70 IS a problem.We use the 4wd daily to get up our steeeep gravel driveway. It is time for new brake pads,(and rotors I would guess), due to a pulsing feeling during hard braking. Better fuel economy than either of 2500 model pickups 13-18mpg vs. 17-20mpg.

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  Z28 Guy - 1999 Chevrolet Camaro
  By Quicksilver - December 20 - 2:00 am

  At 5000+ feet above sea level completely stock Z28, my first G-Tech scored 5.42 seconds 0-60. This car is tough. The best styling is the rear quarters and tail pipe design. I grew to dislike the front head lights-- reminiscent of the new dodge sedans. This was the ultimate entry level sports car.

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  Sexy little car - 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By CarLA98 - December 20 - 2:00 am

  The problems I have had with this car are minor. I had a window rattle in the door which the dealership fixed, I had to replace the brakes after 30,000. The sound system is good, but dont try to crank it up too much. The one big problem I have had with this car is the cigarette lighter. For some reason, using it to charge my cell phone caused an electrical short which at various times caused the horn not to work or the roof not to go up or down. By and large I am very happy with this car. I like the way it looks, it can comfortably seat five "normal" sized people, and with the back seat folding down I have a lot of versatility in transporting things.

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  Super Sport - 2001 Chevrolet Camaro
  By Quicksilver - December 20 - 2:00 am

  Within the 4 months that I owned the vehicle, I fell in love with it. This was my dream car, and it proved to be worthy of that title. It worked for me because absolutely no modifications were needed! It scared away almost everything...stock!

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  Y2K Malibu LS - 2000 Chevrolet Malibu
  By JLT - December 20 - 2:00 am

  Bought this on Dec 31, 1999, to replace my 93 piece of junk Taurus. I was leery as well, heard mixed reviews on this. Three years and 45,000 miles later, I am quite pleased with this car, considering what you get for the money. Excellent V6 acceleration, good passenger room, large trunk, many features. Only problems, leaky intake manifold, affected the heater (fixed in a day), and slightly warped front brake rotors (again, fixed in a day, under warranty). I feel like I got a great value with this.

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  Camaro WAS a good value sporty car - 2002 Chevrolet Camaro
  By H Thomas - December 20 - 2:00 am

  It is obvious that the editors have too huge a bias against american Hobby cars. They should have recuesed themselves from rating cars they just dont like. These are not world class touring cars, but for the money they have provided tons of fun both in the driving and in the modifications.

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  Outstanding truck! - 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD
  By dsc362 - December 19 - 1:20 pm

  THis truck has been a great vehicle. I have the Duramax Diesel / Allison tran, 4x4, CC, LT package. I added a powerchip programmer to it and I get around 18.5mpg, not pulling a trailer, around 13mpg pulling a loaded 18, but the power remains the same either way. You can not go wrong if you need a truck for driving around town or pulling a trailer around.

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  Good Value - 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By OhioMike - December 19 - 10:53 am

  Upgraded to 4.8 V8, CD player, cloth seats. Fun to drive, but torque leaves something to be desired. Roomy extended cab in front and back. Engine components easily accessible for self- maintenance. 6.5 foot bed provides plenty of space. Smooth riding on the highway, especially with weight in the bed. Seats are comfortable. Decent gas mileage for a V8. ABS system has been refined over the past few years and seems to be more responsive.

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  Great MPG with PEP! - 2014 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Designergirl100 - December 19 - 10:27 am

  My overall experience with the diesel Cruze is exceptionally good. The car was purchased with about 5k miles on it and it now has 59k miles. I drive around 2 1/2 hours a day in my commute (about 150-170) miles per day. The Cadillac and Tahoe both had to go to upgrade to a newer car and get better gas mileage. Overall (city and highway) is around 40mpg, but the highway mileage alone is about 50mpg. Of course for comfort, this car is no comparison to my Cadillac. That is not really a fair call. However, the pep and handling in this Cruze is incredible, at least for a small car that isnt a sports car. For comfort, I added some fancy seat padding for the lumbar and butt (highly rated stuff from online) and got some nice tires designed for a quiet ride. It works fine for me now. It is a quiet-ish ride (nothing distracting), and the interior is nice (not fancy). My cover for the mirror on the visor broke off about 50k miles. That is the only thing, though. It is certainly an upgrade from something like a Yugo. The car has been in one accident hitting large dog/wolf/coyote (whatever it was) that wiped out the radiator and grill in front. Some bit of work later, all is well and no problems continuing from it. It took the dealership some repeated trips to fix the reason the check engine light kept coming on afterwards, since the problem was diagnosed too simply in the beginning. This occurred in an Infinity a few years ago and they just kept replacing the catalytic converter until I suggested that might not be the actual problem and I am not picking up the car until they figure it out. It took almost two days for them to find the real problem. My opinion on the problems of the check engine light that others have might be from the same problem of not tracing back far enough in the chain of events. Dealerships---dont just fix the symptom, FIND THE PROBLEM! As far as overall happiness with the car, it is a definite YES! I would buy this car again. It will be one that I drive until the wheels fall off, then look for a deal on another newer one. Maybe in the meantime, Chevy will figure out how to make the seats a bit more comfy. UPDATE 02/03/2017: still love the the car! No additional problems have cropped up. Very reliable car. Update—4 years of ownership and I’d buy it all over again. Great, reliable car. Probably will have 300k miles before I get a new car.