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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  It has got to go. - 2015 Chevrolet Camaro
  By Richard OConnor - November 29 - 5:52 pm

  Bulky on the outside and cramped on the inside. It is a shame GM bothers with the back seat. GM should offer a rear seat delete kit. I would rather have a carpeted shelf to put a bag of groceries on than the joke of a back seat thats in it. If you need a back seat it doesnt fill the bill. If you dont need a back seat then buy a real sports car. I could not recommend this car to anyone. I have had mine a week and I am going to see what the dealer will offer with a buy back.

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  Engine is dying - 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt
  By Greg - November 28 - 9:29 pm

  Bought this car almost new. Now were up to over 150K miles. Check engine light came on a couple of years ago. When I took it in, my repair shop said that one of the cylinders was misfiring. Apparently it was a flaw in the engine. (I think they said the cylinder was warped which caused it to lose compression which caused the misfire. I may be wrong. Im not a car guy so please dont laugh if that doesnt actually make sense.) Anyways, about 9 months ago, my car started to stall out when idling at traffic lights. I took it back to the shop and they said that another cylinder had gone. There is nothing they can do to fix it apart from putting in a whole new engine. Now Im driving around on 2 cylinders praying that someone rear ends me so I can collect the insurance money.

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  Government Motors FAIL - 2015 Chevrolet Colorado
  By Bobo - November 27 - 8:59 pm

  Engine misfired at idle and occasionally stalled. Driver power window repeatedly failed despite being reprogrammed by dealer. Multiple cosmetic problems - gas door always slightly ajar, hood not even, etc. 4WD would "stick" and required turning car off and restarting to shift back to 2WD. Three recalls requiring service - seats not attached properly, hood fluttered at highway speed, and power steering required reprogramming. All of this occurred before 15,000 miles. Mediocre performance. I traded for a more reliable truck made by a company that did not accept government bail out money.

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  Not so much - 2008 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Robert Haist - November 16 - 10:25 am

  Its resale value is poor and this car had reliability issues. After 93,000 miles it overheated and blew a head gasket. Had issues with it running rough from a cold start for first few seconds and had problems with spark plugs and spark plug wires. Left rear taillight kept burning out. Would blow white smoke out tailpipe once in a while. I would not recommend buying this car.

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  serious safety issue - 2015 Chevrolet Impala
  By Frustrated Driver - November 12 - 2:47 pm

  I bought this beautiful vehicle in March with only 14 miles. Approximately 5 months after purchase, I began having trouble with the engine and Stabilitrak® system.  While traveling on the highway my check engine and traction light illuminated simultaneously.  I was also alerted that "engine power was reduced" and my vehicle would not accelerate when pressing the gas pedal.  I took my vehicle to the dealership for repairs and was informed that one of my fuel pumps had stopped working and the problem was corrected.  In September while traveling on the highway my check engine and traction light again illuminated simultaneously.  I was alerted that "engine power was reduced" and my vehicle would not accelerate when pressing the gas pedal.  I took my vehicle back and wiring in the fuel pump area was repaired. In October the same issue! Fuel pump was replaced AGAIN. GM refused to buy back stating this isnt causing safety issues despite being in a compromising position 3 times with an infant in the car. They offered an accessory certificate. This has been a nightmare.

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  A piece! - 2010 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Brandon - November 11 - 4:28 pm

  Under 55000 miles. New transmission and engine! Piece of crap! Never again Chevy!

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  dont but this car, good gift for a young driver - 2013 Chevrolet Spark
  By chris - November 6 - 7:56 pm

  very small gas tank, not a lot of room behind a tall driver, hard to drive when windy out, poor acceleration but once up to speed goes good, going up hills is tough on the car, had to have a new engine at 21000 miles on it, but very easy to drive in citiy type settings, easy to park, definetly made for city driving avoid the freeway if possible, i usually take the backroads when i can, oh yeah no trunk space and if you want to fold the back seats down you better be a short person cause if you are not you wont be able to put the seat down behind the driverseat, wish i thought about it before i bought it, stay clear of this car if possible

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  Initially good, eventually very bad - must read! - 2011 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Chris Warren - November 6 - 1:33 am

  I had my Malibu 2LT w/ a V6 engine for 9 months. I had it in the shop FIVE times in that period. Once for a piston replacement, once for replacing spark plugs/cylinder coils, once for replacing wiring to cylinders, once for replacing water hose... the list of problems with this car are incredible! On one hand, the V6 has a nice smooth get-up-and-go feel to it. The engine sounds great but never forces the car to lose its composure on the road. The look of the Malibu is sharp - nothing over the top, but enough smooth but pronounced edges to make you have a quick glance. I couldnt believe this was a Chevy at first. But then I spent a lot of time in the car and realized that the seats arent comfortable (they squeeze and push my arms forward a bit), lumbar support sucks (optional lumbar control is mostly for show and ends up being very bad for your back according to my friend whos a practicing chiropractic). The door materials are cheap and plastic-y, theres a lot of stuff you can tell will break easily. The glove box had numerous scratches from a small handful of passengers getting in/out of the vehicle. Chevy basically did a nice job updating the Malibu but failed to give it real quality interior. The 4-cyl engine MAY be decent - fewer moving parts = fewer things to go wrong. But I ended up with TWO V-6 engines because Jiffy Lube left my oil filter off and my engine seized a couple days later. They paid for the replacement engine, but funny-enough the second V6 has a couple of the same issues within weeks of it being installed! Fortunately they repairs were covered, but I lost two weeks of work over 2 months because of my car problems. Do not buy the V6 engine, as having 2 bad engines (one of which was "re-certified") means this is not a good car to buy to last you several years. Look toward 2013 and newer where the Malibu is getting much better initial quality scores and offers much better interior options.

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  Give other comparables some serious consideration! - 2015 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Dewayne - November 3 - 2:25 pm

  Im all about quality, which means how much you get for your $$ as well as the valuation of a product. The Equinox falls significantly short of expectations, especially for the $$, compared to other SUV/CUVs. My first impression was cramped discomfort. Im 6 200lbs, so Im not small but Im not huge either. The seats were uncomfortable, although did have lumbar support and power on the driver side, the seated experience was "get out, now!". Although the dashboard was rather plain, I appreciate that lack of clutter the center console MyLink system was abysmal though. Too many buttons to figure out what goes to what part of the dashboard to make this a driver-friendly experience. Road noise is horrible - for a FWD, theres an awful lot of noise from the rear end, which seems to only highlight my experience with GM products. Theres far too much plastic and too little attention to sound-dampening (and seriously, a dealer inventory vehicle that had 20 miles on it has either brake or bearing whirl on the back end? - not a testament of solid engineering!). It made me think that the 80s and 90s were back. I honestly expected a lot more from this car and Im glad I didnt buy it after the weekends test drive. It was disappointing in pretty much every way, especially when compared to equivalent vehicles from other manufacturers. Creature comfort is important and it seems that Chevy has dropped the ball on this one. The engineers and designers at Chevy need to take a long look and a long ride in their competitors inventory more value for the $$ exists in others, no matter which one you choose.

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  toomanyleaks - 2013 Chevrolet Sonic
  By Chris - November 3 - 10:07 am

  I brought this car new with 3843 miles on it. I left the dealership only to discover that there was no heat. Returned to dealership and found coolant low. It then took 8 times in shop and from Nov 14 2014 till Jan 12 2015 to find a factory defect. And now it leaking again with the dealership having no idea where. Make sure you have the Sonic checked before buying.