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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  Worse car ever - 2011 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Rob - December 11 - 8:59 am

  Its all about problems on this car. I bought brand new and so far i had 6 major fixes. The last one out of my pocket: 1) oil leak at 7K miles 2) freon leak at 10K miles 3) oil deep stick dry every 2K miles when it had 30K miles. GM would consider that normal 4) burning oil continued at 50K miles and GM issued a recall. They replaced the timming belt, and leaky fuel pump. 5) burning oil continued so they replaced cylinders, rings and spark plugs. 6) at 70K miles car shut with engine loss power alarm and engine alarm. I had to pay 930 dollars to replace throttle box and 2 cam solenoids. I called GM and they will not issue additional warranties. What is next???????? THis is a car that will break and have to trash under my budget. Please DONT BUY GM. They are a piece of garbage. I was reading everyone that has this problem on chevy equinox. How is it possible that GM is allowed to sell this car? Does it meet the EPA standards????? I doubht it...

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  Research before you buy one! - 2009 Chevrolet Equinox
  By NanaT - October 19 - 8:48 am

  Stabilitrak Off/Traction Control Off/Service Stabilitrak light coming on. Can not find an issue in the vehicle even after having it taken in 3 times. Apparently this warning means about 1,000 different things could be wrong with the vehicle. I actually made it 21 miles home from leaving the service department this time before it came on. Please, please do your research on this. There are hundreds of complaints on the issue and evidently GM does nothing about it because it is a continuing issue!!

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  Dont buy this car - 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  By dave BONO - October 16 - 10:00 am

  THIS CAR NEEDS A COMPLETE REDESIGN.

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  GM MAKES HORRIBLE VEHICLES - 2012 Chevrolet Cruze
  By smwavon - October 3 - 9:01 pm

  Horrible vehicle. I have had nothing but problems. Car revives up and has problem shifting in automatic. I was able to move to manual one time and noticed that going 35 miles an hour the computer had me in 5th gear when I was in automatic. I almost rear ended a semi because the car lunged forward. Sometimes anti freeze smell leaves the engine and comes into the cabin of the car; I have three small children and its either smell the anti freeze or freeze in the winter. I have had the car overheat on me and have to shut it off for no reason at all; fluids were all at normal levels. I have had the breaks decide to not work on me and ended up in a middle of an intersection and three months later

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  This car is junk - 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By mbolton - September 28 - 2:00 am

  Poor design, Ill always regret this purchase. I should have bought a Toyota or Honda

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  Worst Chevrolet Vehicle Ever - 2011 Chevrolet Equinox
  By MzP - September 24 - 4:27 pm

  My family has owned Chevrolet Vehicles for over 60 years and the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox is the WORST vehicle weve ever owned! It has been in for recalls and "special policy bulletins" for Cam Shaft Position Sensor, Transmission, Oil Consumption, and now the Catalytic Converter (oh and how convenient, they cover the converter, but not the sensors connected to the converter...which are another $400+) and several issues. It stalled in heavy traffic, is sluggish at times, and nothing but a constant headache. Stay away from this vehicle at all cost...Chevrolet has lost my business forever, I will never own another Chevrolet product again!

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  Bad door locks It is a 2017 - 2017 Chevrolet Trax
  By Catherine Wilson - August 26 - 8:29 pm

  I traded in my lease (equinox) for a Trax. I really like it as I am getting over 34 mpg, sometimes 37. PROBLEM is door locks started to mess up, Took it in and they had it 2 weeks. Had it out 2 weeks and it started again plus security alarm went off when I opened the door. They have now had it 2 weeks again. They told me that they had only 2 other cars that did that.!!!!!!!! This is a lease and I am making payments on a car I can not drive. I have a large family and they all drive G,M. cars plus my father worked at G.M. for over 30 years. HELP HELP

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  Very poor quality - 2016 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Ron Smith - July 15 - 1:30 am

  The quality and attention to detail is deplorable the dash board and door panels are totally out of allignment and of different thickness 11mm on driver side and 4 mm on passenger side the vehicle looks as if it had a very poor repair after an accident to the front end

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  2014 Silverado Liz 4x4 - 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By Sal Gomez - June 23 - 5:26 am

  I I bought this truck last year and Ive been having a lot of problems with the transmission and the dealer is saying that it is normal because they already worked on it twice and it only has 1600 miles. well thats only one of the problems the other problem is the paint. when I bought it I noticed that fender had a weird mark so I took it to a body shop and they told me the fender was painted, and yes, it was new from moss bross in Moreno Valley ca when I bought. The dealer is blaming some other dealer for the problem they are willing to paint it but I bought it new, so I expect new. The other problem is the driver seat is loose and was will move when I break, The dealer fixed it, and all the recalls were checked. By the way I contacted GM and it looks like they work for the dealer because they dont even wants to look at paint problem. Dosent GM have to backup their product?

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  GM MAKES JUNK - 2016 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Deborah Karolewicz - June 18 - 1:28 am

  DONT buy this car with the start / stop system you will hate it, it works when it wants to. The transmission is so clunky, the car skips and lunges when you least expect. Lets not forget the dealerships are not telling you about the start/stop system, when I test drove mine it never shut off once until I got home and drove it that night(Thursday). I called the dealership they told me to bring it in Monday, then they said " What your experiencing is the start/stop system. I told them I didnt want the car, they told me too bad. I HATE this car, its JUNK!!!!!!!!!