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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  Overall one big giant shrug: "meh" - 2012 Chevrolet Volt
  By Maggie B. - August 12 - 12:41 pm

  Having previously owned a second gen Prius, a 2006 Ford Fusion, I got to feel very different rides and experience very different levels of sorrow at the gas station. On the one hand, the Volt will get most folks super far on the just electric mode, but on the other the ride is still hybrid and numb. The efficiency drops when Im in standard city or suburban stop and go traffic, accelerating to 45 on most roads is fine until I have to stop and do it again literally 2 miles later and the electric range just plummets. There is almost no way to recoup ones range by barking or cruising so dont have your hopes up if you previously owned a Prius or other hybrid. Then in dense city areas the efficiency goes up marginally until the city driving is over and then the range just drops as soon as youre back on the highway. That point is especially true for most N Americans outside of largely dense cities. Then there is the technology. Hybrids are the vehicle equivalent of smartphones. The Insight and Prius were the smart phones before Apple iPhone and Volt, Tesla and Leaf are the equivalent of those that came after. Having owned the 2nd Gen Prius it was like having one of the rock solid 3g phones before the iPhone: I thought it would be cooler to upgrade and now I regret it. Sometimes we are too set in our ways to upgrade our hardware, I say this as a millennial btw. The Volt is more like a shiny iPhone 4. One in which you cannot in fact turn off most notifications during meetings. One in which the phone (car) will tell you that you put your phone in your purse or took it out of your pocket or that its about to turn off due to low battery and so on. And these alerts are not mute-able! Imagine that. Its insane the amount of bells, bongs and rings this Volt makes. I remember the backup signal on the Prius, that was the only alert, and it was bothersome but I would appreciate having only that over all the other alerts on the Volt. And to think I havent brought up the entertainment system. You have a smart phone or iPod and plug it in and select your favorite band and then ... wheres the album list... so you select a song. Now that great song is playing and the next song is whichever song is alphabetically later in the song list. So think you can remember that bands best album you loved? No, sorry, scroll through the millions of albums and now the songs will play in Alpha order from the album you just selected. If that sounds "smart" then you my friend belong in a VOLT. The touch controls are sometimes responsive and sometimes require a little extra prodding below the touch screen. So memorizing the touch buttons by feel is now impossible. And if you once had a Prius in the always hot SW, you probably got used to adjusting the climate on the steering wheel, and now you get to shift your eyes away from the road, onto the center console, over the the split climate section and adjust every two seconds since eco mode on the climate control is as effective as having a golden retriever pant on your for cooling. Yay, Volt! Now youre turning left, trying to see past the giant six inch pillars which are still in the way no matter whether you lean left or right and then check your rear view mirror which now is misaligned due to slightly shifting your seat and the rear window couldnt possibly get any higher/narrower/less effective now could it? Sure the Fusion has absolute crap rear-view and so do most chunky-reared sedans, but this here Volt is a purported Hatch! So surely you have more window and a better view.. sorry no, this a Volt and even worse, a Chevy. In summary, SUV drivers may love the fuel efficiency and Prius owners may love to up their smugness with this green-hov-sticker qualifying car but the vast majority hate the numb steering, the dead until youve hit something braking and the lack of visibility due to crash test standards where we absolutely must be able to flip five times into a moving train and live. But honestly, give me a plug-in Golf and lets call it a day. This is still a Chevy after all.

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  No Complaints on MPG - 2015 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Barry Skinner - August 12 - 12:09 pm

  The electronics are great but on-star is very costly added to XM radio it could cost over $55.00 per month. The front seat quit once and dealer replaced fuse, also dealer left seat cover on side hanging off, so not happy about that. Very comfortable ride. Not fast if you are looking for sports car performance but I pass people easily enough, just have to allow more room than say a turbo boosted engine. As for the mileage I average 29 mpg which is great and I have gotten 37 mph for a 50 mile average. All in all I am pretty pleased with my Equinox 1 LT which has back up camera, power driver seat, 7" touch screen, 4G internet, navigation, satellite radio, remote start, and a lot of other features, just no fog lamps, but I only paid 26,000.00 out the door price and it had only 1500 miles on this demo.

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  love the malibu - 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Dawn - August 11 - 11:51 pm

  I bought the new 2015 Malibu after owning a 2000 Monte Carlo SS I bought brand new. Love my Malibu. Not as much room as the Monte Carlo and a little harder to get out of but love the gas mileage.

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  Stylish Ride - 2010 Chevrolet HHR
  By E Souffle - August 11 - 10:13 pm

  Early HHRs had many teething problems some of them serious. My 2010 model has been trouble free. The car went in for two recall items: ignition switch and power steering, even though I was not experiencing any problems. Neither visit cost me anything. My mileage isnt great - about 22mpg (80% street). I dont use ethanol. A drop of ethanol has about 85% the energy of a drop of gasoline. Not to mention some water content. The car is plenty peppy for me. The A pillars are very thick take a little getting used to, but the interior is very comfortable. Entry/exit is very easy unlike some cars with a low roofline. I also like the useful cargo area and A/C. There is a little compartment in the middle of the dashboard - very handy. I do my own oil changes and the HHR is the best car for this. The new type oil filter is so neat, no mess. Owners of earlier models have reported transmission problems at around 40K+ miles. I only have 33K miles no problems yet. So far Im very happy.

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  piece of crap - 2008 Chevrolet HHR
  By Roberta - August 11 - 10:02 am

  I just financed this car and already had to take it back for recall then my timing chain broke which costed 1000 all for 2 months and now the engine blew this was the worst car experience i every had never again will i purchase from Chevrolet again im so hurt and disappointed

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  Rental Update - 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Larry Gorman - August 11 - 9:33 am

  Some things my original review omitted - yes, it is a rental, but it had 26 miles on it when I got it. BRAND SPANKING NEW. So my observations are not of a beaten up high mileage rental car. Added remarks - and these are personal observations and may not bother other people - the high back end and no back up camera make parking unnecessarily difficult - parallel or backing into a space. Shockingly, I discovered this weekend that a bag of golf clubs will not fit in the trunk sideways - only diagonally! Even my Honda S 2000 could hold a couple of bags of golf clubs sideways in the trunk. Having to put them in diagonally causes problems packing other items in the trunk. WHERE IS THE INTERIOR TRUNK RELEASE????!!!!!! I have looked everywhere - and the remote on the key fob will NOT work when the car is running. Why do manufacturers put the gas filler cap on the Passenger side??? And then it is not intuitive - nothing to grab onto , no release in the car - you have to press it to get it to open. All in all, the car is replete with annoyances - not surprising to somrone who has owned nothing but the best ergonomically designed cars in the world - Hondas and Acuras.

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  Really Love This Car - 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Randy Risner - August 10 - 6:16 pm

  I have owned many cars including Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Cadillac Buick and other premium brands. This car impresses me for its value. It is solidly built with quality materials. It rides well, it handles well, it accelerates well, it is comfortable on long drives and it gets incredible fuel economy for its size and weight. The only complaints I have are the limited room in the rear passenger area and the blind spots in the rear. I recently drove the car from California to Alabama. My average speed was 80 mph. My average fuel economy was better than 36 mpg. Maintenance costs are fantastic. Regular maintenance on this car is about $40 per visit compared to over $400 per visit for my wifes Mercedes C Class. I wont even go into the maintenance costs I experienced as a Jaguar owner. Overall, this car compares quite favorably to similar offerings by Japan or Europe. I drive this car a lot having put over 40,000 miles on it in one year. All of that mileage and no significant problems at all. This is not a sports car and it wasnt designed as one. So, everyone complaining about handling and acceleration are comparing apples to oranges. It drives quite well and is very much like any other similar car like the Honda Accord or Nissan Altima. In my opinion, the car is a bit overpriced. However, I made up for that with GMs military discount which brought the price into reasonable territory. Further, I doubt that the car will hold its resale value the way Honda or Nissan does simply because it is a domestic offering. All in all, this car does what GM says it can do. It is a great value and a great car.

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  Why would you need a HORN?! - 2012 Chevrolet Equinox
  By connie - August 10 - 1:52 pm

  We have owned out 2012 Equinox since Dec. of 2011. Beginning in Jan. of 2015 the horns have gone out 4 times. Thanks to the extended warranty we purchased when we bought the car , they have been replaced 3 times. The first time they went out the dealer said it was a very unusual happening , this was January 2015. Mar. 2015 they quit working again and were replaced with the comments that they didnt think they had ever replaced them twice on a vehicle like this. May 2015---out again. This time I made a call directly to GM and was told that this hasnt happened before. I really dont care about before but do care about my car. After explaining the horn troubles twice they decided that it might be water but DUH I live in northern Iowa and the roads do get wet! They then transferred me to a senior advisor and I retold my story. Her solution was that I had bought the extended warranty so no problem--get them fixed. I said I had 50,000 miles left but at the rate they horns were going out I would have to return to the dealer 25 more time. Her response was simply that the warranty would cover them!! Who cares--each time it is a 20mile drive each way , and about an hour repair time...WHO is reimbursing me for that? She then suggested that I not use the car wash, the same one I had washed it in for the first 3 years of ownership and the horns were fine . Again MY PROBLEM not theirs! The solution that was finally given my dealership was to drill holes in the horns for water to seep out..so after the last car wash I did not have horns for 2 weeks while I waited for the water to drain. Second complaint--- at 59,000 miles the seat is cracking. I was already very unhappy with the leather seats due to the little tiny holes in the leather that fill with any little piece of whatever is on them . The only way to get them clean is to poke each little hole with a toothpick. Not satisfied but I know it is me getting the stuff on the seats so I was tolerating this. But torn seats !! Not happy. It has only twice in 3 years met the advertised 30 mpg. 21 to 26 is much more normal-again disappointing! Needless to say an Equinox will not on my list of vehicles to purchase again!

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  68 Vett When we got married 07 Vett 40 yrs later - 2007 Chevrolet Corvette
  By Anthony - August 9 - 7:35 pm

  Buy a Battery Tender , GM Should have had one on the car , The Key fob is kind of funky , Garage door openers , Cell Phones , Sent in to the Twilight Zone , Other than that Its a Great Car , I am 6ft 3 , a lot of leg room , 68 vette was 1/4 mile fast ,07 is fast and quick as Far as You want to GO !

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  piece of crap - 2012 Chevrolet Equinox
  By amber - August 9 - 5:50 pm

  My truck I bought new and It dont start lights come on wont turn over jerks when you accelerate tire pressure comes on at least 2 times a month