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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  Chev malibu is trash - 2002 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Syed - December 3 - 2:00 am

  Bought an optimum vehicle since then I have nothing but troubles with this car, GM service sucks. My advise : buy a Japanese car that brings reliability, economy and good service with it. I am buying Japanese cars for the rest of my life.

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  HOPELESS....OH BOY - 2003 Chevrolet Astro
  By LEE1 - November 21 - 2:00 am

  HOPELESS,EXPENSIVE, HIGH RESIDUAL VALUE, LOW RESELL VALUE, HIGH MAINTAINANCE, HIGH GAS CONSUMTION, UGLY DESIGN

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  Worst Vehicle I ever purchased - 2003 Chevrolet Venture
  By John1111 - November 8 - 2:00 am

  They forgot to give us all the little extra like the netting for the back. We found stains on the chairs.

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  Poor Quality Backup Camera - 2017 Chevrolet Traverse
  By Dbat - November 7 - 10:39 am

  The quality on the backup Camera is so poor its useless. There are so many things I do not like about the vehicle, but mainly the stereo and backup technology are so far behind my Mazda CX-9 that I regret the purchase.

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  rust bucket - 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By sean shean - October 14 - 9:12 am

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  Cavaliers are BAD buys - 1996 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By Molly - October 8 - 2:00 am

  Everything has gone wrong with this car in the past year. From the motor mounts to the rack in the rack and pinion steering to the struts.

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  Brakes fail 2 times - 2017 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Jei - October 7 - 5:57 am

  Lease the car and after 9000 miles the master cylinder of the brakes fail and i almost got in a accident but thanks to a little hill i manage to slow down the car . dealer fix it but after 852 miles the brakes fail again . this time to avoid and accident i had to go in the grass and almost hit a building... The dealer say to me .. IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN WE WILL GIVE YOU A DIFFERENT CAR BUT TILL THEN YOU HAVE TO KEEP IT....maybe next time i wont be lucky .. ...... DONT BUY THIS CAR PLEASE

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  Needs way too much work - 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Niklas - October 6 - 3:53 am

  Avoid this vehicle! It needs way too much work from any other vehicle Ive owned. Since purchasing this Chevy 1 YR ago Ive had to replace the Battery; Fix the AC; Restore the transmission; and get new brakes. This Chevy is a money pit if Ive ever seen one.

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  Piece of garbage!!! - 2011 Chevrolet Equinox
  By mharris - October 5 - 1:33 pm

  Do not buy this car and if you already have...get rid of it! I have had this car in the shop at least 10 times since I bought it. Ive had problems with and had repaired or replaced the timing chain, actuators and lord only knows what else. 2 weeks ago it did again what it always does...check engine light comes on, makes a terrible rattling noise, service stabilitrak light comes on, goes to reduced power mode WHILE IM DRIVING and then just dies. This car has left me stranded on the side of the road on 3 different occasions. After having my vehicle towed to a GM dealership and complaining to GM about them covering the repairs, they tell me that they will not cover the cost. There has been a service bulletin issued regarding this same problem and a chevy dealership has made repairs before based on this service bulletin at no cost. Im going to sue. Does anyone know of an attorney in Houston that would handle my claim?

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  What a lemon - 1998 Chevrolet Venture
  By dadall1 - September 27 - 2:00 am

  Ive had nothing but expensive problems with this van ever since the warranty ran out at 36K miles (coincidence?). The service engine light was on for well over a year while my garage tried to find the cause. I paid for everything from new spark plugs/cables to an oxygen sensor to an ignition control switch (just to name a few things) while they performed exploratory surgery on my van and now at just over 73K miles, they are telling me the transmission is kaput. No wonder Fords motto is "Quality is job 1" because its obviously NOT GMs.