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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  Engine noise at start up - 2011 Chevrolet Equinox
  By ram20 - July 17 - 11:16 am

  Noticed loud rattle upon start up. Sounds like valve lifters getting no oil for a few seconds. Had 4000 miles on car, took to Chevy dealer, he recommended changing break in oil and kept car overnight to listen to noise. Said he heard noise, but put otherwise on invoice??? If Equinox keeps this up now at 6000 miles I will start to battle with the folks on the complaint line. I previously had a Chevy Colorado of which 2 cylinder heads had to be replaced(factory defect) which they would not admit to, so this is how GM is.

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  Piece of junk - 2005 Chevrolet Avalanche
  By avalanche05 - July 16 - 7:23 pm

  Never will i buy a Avalanche again. bought because of features.its a piece of junk there is a rattle in the front end my abs brake went the part is 600.00 to replace not including labor. now shocks in the front need replacing have had to replace o2 scensors brake calipers and so on... oh did i mention it only has 56,000 miles on it.and i paid way too much for a piece of junk

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  not getting 32 MPG - 2011 Chevrolet Equinox
  By sjshouston - July 13 - 5:06 pm

  we purchased our Equinox LTZ LTZ Brownstone interior, white exterior five months ago . Looks great and has lots of features. However, after 4,800 miles we are only getting 21.7 mpg average. I should have believed others who purchased the Equinox and complained about the MPG. We even took the 4 cylinder to avoid less MPG. Boy, were we suckers. I probabaly should have gone with Hyundai. Its not a performance engine but its not too bad on 4 hour trips, again except MPG. if youre looking for good gas mileage look somewhere else.

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  Never buying Chevrolet or GM again... - 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By car_truck_chic - July 13 - 9:21 am

  Bought our Tahoe in 07 with only 20K mi.Got a great deal & were thrilled to have something nice. SUCKERS! We now have 93K mi & pray every day itd get struck by lightning. Weve done all maintenece & we even put in a transmission cooler! *bad alternator + other charging system issues.*transmission rebuild @ 35K miles, at 80K started acting up, I think needs new torque converter since not done when rebuilt but wont pay for it, though under warranty.*started burning oil, after PITA "oil consumption" testing they agreed to install a deflector (have a TB about AFM) & they replaced all the pistons and rings too.*cheap materials, molding faded, door handles peeled, plastic int. pieces have broken.

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  Expensive to own - 2003 Chevrolet Venture
  By gunner29 - July 9 - 1:45 pm

  We have owned this van for over 4 years and are finally selling it. It is reliable as far as driving is concerned but expensive to own. The rear brake lights are always burning out. We have also had to replace the windshield wiper motor twice, the ball joints, the rear shocks and springs, and now the rear load leveler is broken. It is also starting to rust out all along the bottom. The gas mileage is okay if you do a lot of highway driving. Use synthetic oil for oil changes. We have put on over 130,000 kilometers since we have bought this vehicle (90% highway) and this van has not broke down once while driving. We do most of our driving with the van loaded with family gear.

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  My1st American Truck - 2004 Chevrolet SSR
  By my2004ssr - June 30 - 10:22 pm

  I purchased my 2004 ssr in 2010 with only 1,600 miles.. with only adding 8k miles, i had to replace the windsheild wiper motor, gas tank, and coolant fans. A total of $7,000.. This will be my LAST american Vechical !!

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  Never buying another GM vehicle again... - 2005 Chevrolet Impala
  By workingdogdoc - June 29 - 11:29 pm

  I bought a 2005 Impala as a program car that year and it had 28K. Its 2011 and now has 106K. Total crapper. While its not a bad car to drive around in the city or highway and has pretty generous space, the reliability has totally put me off GM cars for good. I seem to have at least 1-2 major repairs on it per year and my next big one is coming up like clockwork. Woohoo...water heater pump, power steering pump, now fuel pump have all gone out. The heating system also failed. The transmission has a tendency to slip. The instrument cluster has all reset themselves at random intervals, then gone back to being fine. My husband drives a same year Camry and its night and day more reliable!

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  I want to get rid of this! - 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
  By nickab182 - June 24 - 9:56 pm

  Bought used March 2011 w/ 53 k miles. It is now June 2011, I have 60 k miles on the car and I want to get rid of this. Thought I was getting my dream car. The day i brought it home I noticed there was a foot of water in the spare tire well. Two days later the CD player went. The next day I noticed rear break light seal and windshield seal were broke. The back cup holder and it fell apart in my hand. I replaced a front left wheel bearing one month later at 59 k. Since then I have had too many problems to list. Key comes out of ignition while running, shifter doesnt lock in place, part of top rck fell off while driving, clunks when turning, has trouble starting, lighter sockets broke, ect.

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  162K Miles and still going - 2005 Chevrolet Uplander
  By momtaxi3 - June 21 - 7:08 pm

  Van runs great but it has all kinds of little issues. I have to push the gas to start it however, it does have 162K miles on it so I expect that. The turn signals and radio only work when they want to. My headlights dim on their own and the automatic sliding door gets stuck all the time...it sometimes dings constantly! It gets horrible gas mileage. The seats arent very comfortable and stain easily. The rear windshield wiper doesnt work at all. With that being said - it runs great. There is nothing wrong with the engine...it just keeps going and going! Im positive I will get at least 200K out of this vehicle.

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  water leak - 2006 Chevrolet HHR
  By dmilesi - June 19 - 2:00 pm

  my 2006 chevy HHR is leaking on the passenger side. The water is coming in from the air filter that is located under the hood. below the right windshield wiper. There is a big pocket and a air filter there so when it rains it runs right in under the dashboard. I read that many other people are having the same trouble. Chevy needs to make this a recall or they are going to lose hard working peoples business. Just one person will tell hundreds of people. If there are enough complaints maybe they will do something about this major problem. I went to [violative content deleted] , Still waiting for a response . Also read they are terrible in the snow even with studs on them.