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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  Pep and Fuel Economy - 2015 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Joe - October 14 - 1:52 pm

  This car was for my son. Fuel economy and comfort were his main must haves. Through college he was driving a Jeep Wrangler. Very fun but loud, uncomfortable and terrible fuel mileage. Lesson learned. The most important thing I would say is to ignore the exterior noise. From the outside, the diesel is louder than the gas engine but driving down the road, there is no difference. The extra insulation absorbs any diesel noise.

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  Love my 2007 impala - 2007 Chevrolet Impala
  By impala - October 14 - 12:50 am

  Bought my 07 impala last year in 2014 with 99,000 now im at 150,000 gotta say its great still shifting smooth engine runs great the LT model in which I have will not last long with aggressive driving. Drives nicely change your fluids frequently and this car will run for a long time!

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  c4 Love!!! - 1994 Chevrolet Corvette
  By rolland1994vette - October 13 - 11:59 am

  Big difference in what was considered TOP state of the art back then and now. But all that considered, its a very nice toy. When its bad, its bad and cost a lot to fix. But, when shes good, shes excellent. You can pull up at ANY event and NEVER be out classed. Gets lots of attention. People always commenting on how "nice" it is, even younger people. Very fast. It can keep up with the horses for sure. I was once told that once you own one, you WILL want another. Thats true!!!

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  Love my car impala 2014 ltz/ 2lz - 2014 Chevrolet Impala
  By n/a - October 12 - 5:41 am

  I have 8 months with my 2014 Impala LTZ / 2LZm super happy though with 3 children and they will all use carseat very comfortable this car is the best Ive had is very comfortable and very economical on gas and what I like This style is beautiful!

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  The combination of a Volt and a Bolt will rock - 2015 Chevrolet Volt
  By Rennie Allen - October 11 - 8:25 pm

  I have had this car for 5 months (purchased new in May 15) and now and have 8000+ miles on it. So far the car has been mechanically flawless (software issues noted below). Only after owning a car like this, do you begin to understand all of the considerations that need to be taken into account when purchasing an EV. One of the most amazing things about the Volt that is overlooked, but is incredibly significant is the selection for the range of the battery. It isnt that more is better when it comes to battery range in fact, what GM engineers nailed is the realization that a ~50 mile range battery hits a significant sweet spot, in that it can be fully charged overnight on 120V. This has the significant advantages that the battery life is maximized (by a slow charge rate) and that no special charging equipment is required to be installed into the home. If you are going to have only one EV, currently the Chevy Volt is it, there is nothing that comes close. As mentioned above, if you have only one EV the Chevy Volt should be it (unlimited range with gas, no special charger required, maximal battery life) but the other interesting point is that if you have two EVs one of them should be a Chevy Volt (the Volt becomes the long distance vehicle, freeing you to select a second battery only EV that matches your situation exactly). Clearly Chevy is intending to be the premium choice for the second EV as well, with the forthcoming Bolt EV. The combination of an unlimited range Volt, with a significant (~200 mile) range Bolt means that for 90% of the travel of a typical family can be electric only, with the Volt easily handling the typical cross country trips. Of course, at that point a Level 2 charger must be employed to charge the Bolt (but importantly, I would still charge the Volt on 120V in order to maximize battery life). When you consider that you can purchase a Volt + Bolt for less than the price of a Tesla Model S, it is clearly the way to get the majority of people doing the majority of their mileage with electric drive. OK, so thats the good news. As mentioned above there are a couple of software issues, one that will affect everyone and one that will only affect a very small number of people (probably in San Francisco only). The first issue is that when charging on 120V, you will almost certainly want to select 12amps rather than the default 8amps, otherwise a full charge cannot be achieved overnight. The problem is that you will need to select 12amps every time you charge, as there is no way to configure the software to default to 12amps. I charge 12amps every night and I have never had a circuit breaker trip, so I should be able to configure the default to 12amps as I know exactly what circuit I am on and that 12amps is fine for that circuit. This will affect pretty much everyone who charges at 120V (and everyone should even if a Level 2 charger is available). The second issue is an odd bug in the software that causes the Volt to underreport zero emission miles, for people who live right at the top of steep hills. I live at the top of a 1 mile long 16% grade hill and in the morning when the car is fully charged, when I go down the hill in L (always, always drive in L by the way) the software will incorrectly report gas operation, since the battery can not accept any more regen charge and will engage the ICE (internal combustion engine) without starting it, as a braking element. The engine is not burning fuel but only acting as a braking element, yet the software will count it as ICE mode operation since the clutch to the ICE is engaged. This is a silly bug that wont affect 99.9% of the people, unfortunately it affects me.

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  Never again - 2008 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Jr. - October 11 - 4:26 pm

  What a piece of manufacturing ! 09 equinox was purchased after the 2010s came out. After approximately 30,000miles developed a misfire took it to a shop,replaced 1 sparkplug still misfired 50-60 mph. Replaced all spark plugs & wires. Was somewhat better. Ignition key fails to release key most of the time. Auto door locks have failed one at a time, continues to misfire code reeder said to replace erg valve.did replace it. Still misfires head lights collect moisture inside. Car has about 78,000 now but has never ran correctly After reading other post of other owners this is not a uncommon problem. 09 was after the Gov.bailout of GM. So I M P OD! Will think better not to buy GM.

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  King of the Hill - 1990 Chevrolet Corvette
  By The HeadMaster - October 10 - 6:45 pm

  BUY ONE.......Yeah, its a mid-life crisis joke of a car at surface level. But for the money, nothing can compare. A real DOHC V-8, hand built and almost unbreakable. The C4 Vette body and interior are a love-it, or hate-it thing, but the performance is worth it. Unlike most older Vettes, this one still keeps up with current performance cars, and without all those pesky driver aides. Useless car in the rain, the glass top is not pleasant at temps above 95degrees, but otherwise these are wonderful cars. The ride is firm, very firm, so dont expect to drive it daily on potholed roads. HVAC is OK, radio is OK if working (separate amps on each speaker can be a problem). Cargo area is decent sized. I would NOT use this as a daily driver or even long distance cruiser, but for a fun blast through a twisty road, or an occasional track-day, you cant go wrong. They are dirt cheap right now, and its the ONLY Corvette to date with 4-valve per cylinder technology........Best advice I can give, buy a mid-mileage one, something in the 30-60,000 mile range. Too low and nothing will work, too high and it might be worn out........

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  08 Tahoe LT - 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By Bryce Holloway - October 8 - 7:18 pm

  Starting with the cons, the front end clearance is similar to a car, I recommend a leveling kit, the locks are garbage. However it is a very smooth ride even with the 20" wheels. The fuel economy has not gotten worse or improved, still sitting at 15mpg city/hey combined. Towing is acceptable, strong power while towing and transmission stays cool during long hill pulls. I recently camped in the back of it for a weekend for a race event and was impressed with the cargo room (me being 6 tall) I slept comfortably. My only recommendation is to life the front end and beef up the brakes if youll be towing quite a bit. Also, expect to replace faulty locks. Overall, Im impressed with this purchase.

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  no acceleration/ headlights a pain to change - 2010 Chevrolet Malibu
  By janel alderman - October 8 - 7:17 pm

  you have to take off the whole bumper to change out the headlights. normally costs $5.00 to change normal headlights, this one over a hundred dollars. chevy must be supporting body shops and giving them more business with no regards to the owner.

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  no vacation - 2010 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Jennifer - October 8 - 1:14 pm

  Only had it two months on 09/28/15 when it stranded me on my way home after working overnight, 13 hour shift, the bolt that holds the guide plate for the timing chain had been loose for a long period of time and created a hole inside the block to big to repair, causing the chain to break and other damage to the engine. Have to buy new engine with vacation money. Not happy at all since its only the second vacation that I would of had in 33 years. I will never buy another Chevy vehicle.