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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  Not for long term use. - 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Erica. - August 25 - 10:20 pm

  I bought my 2011 Cruze LT in early 2012 with about 18,xxx miles. I was so excited and it was my first car purchase on my own. I was in nursing school and commuting an hour each way to clinical sites and needed something that would sip gas. That it DID. I averaged 36 MPG at its newer years and LOVED that aspect. It was a great commuter car for that as it has large windows and I felt as though I sat up decently high to get a get view for merging and being in and out of traffic. Never a blind spot. It parks easily and turns on a dime to squeeze into tight spaces. Everything is very in-sync with those aspects. When it comes to overall car quality... Less can be praised. Within 8 months of purchase I replaced my FIRST water pump. Within 64 days I was replacing my second, blaming the failure on the initial repair. All the while I was borrowing cars and hitching rides because Chevy has altogether quit handing out loaners even when the repairs are obviously their fault (they probably cant keep up with loaner demand anymore). Again within 6 months the car is overheating again and another water pump. It is now 2015 and I just replaced my EIGHTH water pump. CHEVY YOU HAVE LOST ME FOREVER. It has had a new water pump every 10,000 miles. I can name about 10,000 things that lasted longer than 10,000 miles and my Chevy Cruze is not one of them. Im sure wagon wheels lasted longer than that and yet Chevy cant figure out water pumps... If I ever come into money Im going to videotape myself shoving this car off of a cliff somewhere very beautiful and send the video into Chevy for their next advertisement. Because no, youre not going to want to drive your Cruze around a pretty city night scene, youre going to be doing what I want to do. So lets get real and advertise it as such. "This is you in 4 years happily pushing your well maintained and STILL FINANCED vehicle off of a cliff out of anger because we are too cheap to put in parts that will last!" This is like one of those $5 Amazon purchases you make from China where you think to yourself. "This might electrocute me but lets try it!" But waaaaaay more expensive and waaaaay more aggravating. My eighth water pump issue brought me to having to wake up 2 hours early on a Monday, which already sucks, to take my car in and to be dropped off at work like some hobo. Thanks Chevy. Im now onto my second car purchase and staying far far away from Chevy lots.

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  awsome - 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Rowena - August 25 - 1:09 pm

  We live in Clearlake, Ca where if you need to go to Doctors out of the area you have to drive curvy and crocked roads. Whether it is in Santa Rosa or Yuba City, Ca.. We bought the Chevy Malibu LS ECO 2015 from Thurston Auto in Ukiah, Ca NEW and on our way home in the mountains we go 38+ mpg. and in town we get about 25mpg my Chevy Tahoe only got 12mpg in town and around 17=+ on the open road. The Chevy Malibu has lots of power going up and down the mountains. I love my New car.

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  Chevys best kept secret - 2015 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Theodore_E - August 24 - 10:20 pm

  The only thing you should know about this car is that its amazing! The price of the my 2015 was unbelievably cheap?! You know why? because its a 6 speed manual transmission. Everyone wants an automatic which what car reviewers complain about. They say its to laggy or non responsive. Not mine! The manual transmission is the best way to drive this vehicle. Offering low end torque for the inner city stop and go. Again just perfect for what I need to be. The 1.4L turbo charged engine is superb for suburban dwelling. It provides a very torquey feeling when applying more gas. My favorite thing about this car is the gas mileage! Try 26 city and 38 highway. A hybrid or electric car absolutely cannot beat the price of this four door gas saver. The interior is played up and has a very classy feel. The dash contains loads of info like average mpg, mph, distance till empty, and total miles. All in a tap of a button. The buttons for CD, music and radio can seem intimidating and cluttered at first. When you just read the controls you find out theres a button for everything instead of cycling through settings or menus. Easy enough. I have the LT trim and I still feel like a sub par luxury car. My only gripe about this car is the Bluetooth setting. You cannot synch your phone to the car to play music. Only phone calls. To play any kind of music you can use the CD player or an auxiliary cord! Cmon Chevy. Get with the times. No one uses cords anymore. This is the only feature that makes the car feel outdated. Also there is a plug in for electronics that enables you to charge your device(s) conveniently located behind the shift knob next to the emergency brake. Lastly there is one USB connection along with..... An auxiliary port in the center console. One thing to note is the driver leg room and entry. Im 70" tall and when I try to get in, Ive smacked my shin on the edge panel below the steering wheel. OUCH. The leg room leaves much to be desired. On longer straights or highway, I like to put it cruise control and lift my foot/leg off the pedal causing my knee to rest against the temperature knob setting. A little bit uncomfortable but not much to deter me from this car. Some of the highlights of this car is trunk room. By gosh its huge. Best in class for a SEDAN. A hatchback will be better obviously. Aside from the 5 star safety ratings and ten airbags, this car is pretty safe. A telescoping steering wheel is standard which I enjoy. I know its a bit scattered but this car is just overall really good. If your looking for a sedan that gets great gas mileage for under 20k then this car is for you. It has many trims to choose from to suit your needs. Chevy has done an excellent job and keeping up with its Japanese competitors. This just might be the next best thing for Chevy cars.

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  The HHR that couldnt - 2008 Chevrolet HHR
  By Very - August 24 - 4:08 pm

  When the car hit 100.000 miles it stated to be an on going money pit new transmission new starter...door locks would not work engine blew up nothing but problems dont buy one!

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  Great little car - 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By Roger sharp - August 23 - 11:38 pm

  I purchased this cavalier convertible 6 months ago They rod bearing went out 2 months ago every body told me to replace them engine 2.4 oh dual cam But being a stubborn old man (80 years )old can do that myself it is then most complicated car I have ever worked on

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  Hate the sound system - 2015 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Sandy Steiger - August 23 - 5:30 pm

  I am so sorry I didnt stick with a GMC. I decided to get a smaller SUV, I hate this car, it drives fine since I dont drive very far. But the radio just gets on my last nerve, the sound is awful, it is so flat even when I have the base turned up. The radio keeps going to XM which I didnt use when it was free so I sure dont want to pay for it. The blower on the heater/ air is so loud you have to turn up the lousy radio or talk louder or turn it off in order to talk to anyone. But yet they put in a box in the back of the car to take up storage room, that blocks OUTSIDE sounds! WHY? I needed to put the seats dow to put some boxes in the back, the second row of seats DONT lay flay, so most of my boxes which had breakables kept shifting towards the back of the car as I was driving, what a stupid design! I want rid of this car so badly, but probably wont get diddly squat for a trade in even with only 6000 miles in a year on the thing.

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  Chevrolet should be ashamed of these cars - 2012 Chevrolet Malibu
  By shadizar - August 23 - 11:26 am

  The 2012 Malibu with the 2.4 engine is severely underpowered. It goes fairly well on a flat highway, until you need to pass or accelerate, and then the engine roars and the car doesnt go much faster. With four people inside and a trunk of suitcases, it is absolutely pathetic trying to climb a hill. The engine just will not pull the car up the hill! You will have better luck using the manual downshift because the transmission is never in the right gear and it haso be floored to downshift. Chevrolet should be ashamed of this cars "performance," or lack thereof. Its embarrassing when trying to climb a hill. I know these arent performance cars but my 97 cavalier would zip right by this thing on any kind of incline. Dealership service team checked it over and reported engine was working properly and there were no repairs they could do to make it any better. Bad points: No power. Fuel economy is about 28 mpg at best. Brakes needed replacement at 30k. Wheel bearing failed at 30k. Tires worn down to nothing at 38k. Many recalls. Paint scratches very easily. Stereo sounds good but doesnt go very loud. Trunk opening small. Good points: Fairly quiet ride. Comfortable front seats. Warms up quick in winter. Goes well in snow. This car would be ok for a single driver with no passengers (as the more weight in the car the slower it goes... seriously its that underpowered.) And only then if most driving was on a flat road with few hills and small ones at that. I would not purchase it again. Very pricey and poor performance. My 201 Cruze is twice the car this Malibu is!

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  A typical 4 cylinder Automatic. - 2012 Chevrolet Equinox
  By David T. - August 23 - 10:55 am

  I drive a 2012 equinox LT2 FWD daily and have had no issues with it and it august 2015. It a SUV with a 4 cylinder engine so if you consider the weight to engine size of course it going to be a little slow a typical 4 without turbo. MPG is great I get 32 on long trips and 23city mix driving. I do notice the transmission jerk once in awhile when going 15-40 when I let off gas and step on again when approaching a light. I believe it is just the flywheel catching up again nothing to worry about. All automatics shift different. If you dont like automatic consider a CVT. I also own a 2015 Subaru Forester 2.5 Touring.

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  traction control and stabilitrak systems 2nd time - 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
  By vbwolf1 - August 21 - 7:24 pm

  Has anyone experienced your 2011 Traverse having a sudden loss of power and loss of acceleration followed by error messages for both the traction control and stabilitrak systems?? This is the 4th trip to the dealer when for my car losing all power following by the above error messages. There is no warning only ding.ding..ding and loss of power!! The dealer has said it was a sensor problem, then tried taking out the transmission and working on its sensors, and today they say it is a throttle body issue. Help! Has anyone else had this issue and what finally fixed your car?? Thank you for your help! My car has been having this issue for the past 8 months and has about 65,000 miles. Prior to this there were no big issues or problems with the car.The first time the dealer thought this was the computer board and at the cost of $1009.00 I am still having issues. Called Chevy main number spoke to Gwendolyn and she is going to ensure the dealership in Waldorf Maryland fixes this problem she personally is going to call the dealership. I told Chevy this car is not reliable I am afraid to drive my car. Its only 5 yrs old with 67,000 miles and is acting like 20 yr old car....This year 2010 and 2011 needs to be investigated for possible 50 state recall, to pay all repairs from here on out because of this issue...I was coming from the vet today and the car just powers down, all controls read nothing ( no water, no gas, no speed, everything is off the charts)...this is scary, you can make the car go because the gas isnt going through the car. Something is stopping everything.

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  the Malibu Eco sucks - 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
  By debi - August 21 - 6:16 pm

  Dont buy it with the start/stop system, I didnt do my homework and I wish I had, but unfortunately I knew nothing about this start/stop crap. When you test drive it, I didnt know, but the extra battery takes a while to warm up and charge then the fun starts. it has a constant miss going down the highway like something tugging on the engine and in regular traffic the transmission is clunky. My Nissan Altima got better gas mileage, had a smooth ride and it didnt have a start/stop system.The salesman told me nothing about this awful system, they know its crap. So test drive it for a while and I bet you wont buy it!