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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  The Fastest Mistake - 1994 Chevrolet Corvette
  By Mark Johnson - September 14 - 11:42 pm

  The 1994 Chevrolet Corvette is by far one of the coolest cars Ive ever seen. Pop-up headlights, reverse hood, targa top, V8 5.7, etc. As a 17 year old boy I decided to purchase this car from a family on Craigslist. It was a nice dark purple, clean body, with only 70,000 miles on it. I had it inspected and obviously there were a few things wrong but nothing to bad, because I only payed 2000$ for new brakes, radiator, and headlights. After about 1 month however...needed a new intake hose, new horn, plastic was wearing, fuel was leaking into the filter, water pump went bad. Im about 4000$ sunk into maintenance. The car is worth $6500 by next month I could afford another vette. No, this is not a reliable car. Yes, Im a dumb kid who spent money on a car I didnt need. MOVE PAST THIS. Look at it. Its the American Dream and its beautiful. It goes like hell when it runs and it ALWAYS turns head. Give it love, and if you dont mind paying for the maintenance, and fuel-which can be expensive if you drive a lot, you will learn to accept this car. 3 stars as a daily driver. But if you find a nice one and you whip it out on occasion, I guarantee your smile wont come off and you will come back to Edmunds and write a 5 star review.

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  My sweet little OJ - 2000 Chevrolet Blazer
  By Jane S. - September 13 - 6:54 pm

  I bought a white 2dr 2000 Chevy Blazer (yes called OJ because my mom thought it was a bronco) with 148k on it and its been pretty great. Its very responsive to turning, acceleration is a little slow sometimes but once it gets warmed up it shifts really smoothly. No problems with the engine although we did find out later that we were driving without brakepads for almost nine months and the car still managed to not kill us. Its very spacious with the seats down in the back. The car is pretty comfortable and a great size, I tend to think of it as a lifted sedan. Pretty much a gas guzzler, averaging around 20 mpg. Sometimes it wont shift out of 4 wheel drive and the CD player doesnt work half the time, which are apparently common problems with the car. Otherwise no issues. I love it to death and would recommend it for anyone who needs a car with some cargo space or as aa starter car. They are really cheap so believe me its a steal.

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  This SPARK will fire up your daily commute! - 2015 Chevrolet Spark
  By Joe Korpi - September 13 - 12:23 am

  I just bought a 2015 Chevy Spark LT after spending a week car shopping for a new commuter car. My criteria: small car (that my 6 2" frame will FIT into), 30 - 40 mpg, affordable, fun creature comforts. I found this LT version at the end of a LONG day of car shopping after passing on a couple of Fiat 500s, a Prius, and an uninspiring stripped-down 2014 Spark base model with a manual transmission. The 2015 Spark LT with automatic transmission really answered all the concerns that were raised with previous Spark models: better acceleration (still a tad anemic, but it IS a small engine), more comfort, and a better sound system. This is a lot of fun to drive, and my teenage son was really impressed with sound system (and the way I could use my iPhone for music AND Bluetooth dialing through the sound system). Now, everyone in the family wants to go for a ride in "Dads FANCY new car"...

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  BUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!!!!!!!!! - 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
  By tpower17 - September 12 - 2:51 pm

  Leased this car on July 10th (a day after my birthday). The BEST car Ive owned! Comfortable as a mitten, drives like butter, great room. IN FACT GREAT EVERYTHING! Not at all sluggish, and great gas mileage

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  2014 sonic- a/c and heat - 2014 Chevrolet Sonic
  By Linette Thesing - September 12 - 7:55 am

  I love my car for the most part. II purchased it June 2014. Right away I noticed that it felt like there was a vent open whenever I used the a/c. When I brought vehicle to dealership to put on license plates I mentioned it to them. They checked things over but couldnt find anything. I brought it back in a couple of more times that summer for same issue. They never could find anything wrong. The computer showed everything working correctly. Then it started to get cold (I live in mn). Thats when I noticed the windows foggy up on the inside. Again,couldnt find anything wrong. The snow came and so did the ice on the windows...as I was driving with defroster on. I took pictures and sent to dealership. They finally were able to tell me that GM designed the car this way. They adjusted the vents and that did help a little. I keep a blanket in my car because one side of me (left side by window) freezes and the other side gets too hot. I dont even bother using the a/c as it just pulls hot air in.

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  Overall view. - 2011 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Robert Poole - September 10 - 6:31 pm

  I read all reviews. The sluggish start problems I corrected with a computer module reprogram. As for A/C compressor problem my vehicles is noisy also. I will install an aftermarket model compressor. Other than that I have no complaints. I drive all GM products and recognize some short comings. My vehicle has 45000 mi. and uses no oil between 8000 mi changes. Mileage is 25 on average city/hwy mix, I run 70 on interstate. I am a mechanic aircraft and car. I can overcome small problems. Thats my perspective.

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  My equinox - 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Jared - September 10 - 3:05 pm

  I see many complaints of the equinox. I have owned mine for 7 yrs now bought it with 35000 mls now has 156000. I havent had to do any major maintenance on it til now having to replace the head gasket. I put almost 700 mls a week on it and have had nothing but being happy with its performance and reliability. My wife also feels the same. So whether it be ppl not performing their own at home maintenance of a vehicle, changing its oil and just learning their vehicle with its sound and handling and knowing when something is wrong is their fault. I love my Equinox and would not hesitate to buy another

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  Driving on clouds - 2001 Chevrolet Suburban
  By Danielle White - September 10 - 9:06 am

  Know that if you buy this vehicle you will have a reliable vehicle for life. I purchased my Suburban in 2001 with 22K miles on it and have driven this vehicle for 13 years as far as Nova Scotia Canada as well as many, many other states but this vehicle has taken me many miles and I have not had any problems with it. The tires are a little pricey but what can you expect for such a mega vehicle. The seats are comfortable, seating is awesome and which is why I purchased. I was infatuated with having a vehicle that seated 9 although at the time I only had 1 child. The vehicle has so much space. We would travel and be able to leave all the seats in and take our child bike as well as luggage. When we all wanted to take bikes we would take out the 3rd row and the bikes would sit up in there without taking any wheels off as well as luggage and cooler. I cant say anything bad about the Suburban. I cried when I sold mine. So 13years later and 289,000 miles!!!!! I sold my vehicle because I did notice around 270,000 miles the engine requires work. Watch out for the coils, its like 8 of them and they cost a whopping chunk of change. I could not get the check engine light to go off once I hit 270K miles no matter what I did to repair the vehicle. I still have no complaints because for the whole life of the truck I never fixed anything on the truck except replacing the fuel pump $600 so this baby has been good to me. Also please note as the truck gets older the gas mileage gets better. I drove from Raleigh NC to Orlando FL roundtrip for $228. Awesome!!!Once I had the engine problems I spent about $1200 on the car and still couldnt get the truck to drive as it once did and I lost my job and was unable to continue to work on the truck so I sold it for $3000 which I am more than satisfied with. I cried and kissed my baby on the day of sale. I wish I could have kept it forever and I would have changed out the motor and kept it moving....Please keep in mind, I am a woman driver and drove my baby like she was built but at the same time I took great care of her so I know that had something to do with how good of shape she was still in and how she was able to be reliable for me. I am in the market for buying another one.....

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  2008 Impala LS - 2008 Chevrolet Impala
  By Dederic Crisp - September 9 - 2:07 am

  I bought this car used abt 3.5 years ago. lock actuators had to be replaced. I know have 200000 miles on it and its been a pretty reliable vehicle. I only wish GM wouldve gotten the kinks out of the motor and transmission.

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  Town or Country - 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By Steve Fuller - September 8 - 8:50 pm

  We love our new Tahoe 4x4 LTZ! Weve had it for 3 months and taken it on long trips and towed our 7,000 lb boat 6 hours to the beach and back. It truly excels at every task. My wife calls it the perfect truck for town and country. We love the 3rd row folding seats, the entertainment system, the towing and braking capabilities, comfort, and look of the Tahoe. Its just been a great vehicle for us and we wanted to share our opinion. Although I read lots of reviews, Ive never written one before. I was happy to take a few moments to tell you why we love our truck and recommend it to you if youre considering it versus any other large SUV.