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:

• 

  clunker - 2007 Chevrolet Equinox
  By challmez - November 14 - 8:33 am

  Bought it new in 2007. Biggest piece of junk on earth. Leaks inside entire interior rotten and moldy! I traded it in with 10000 miles on it 10/30/2010. What a piece of garbage!

• 

  Lil Blue Aveo - 2006 Chevrolet Aveo
  By BM - November 14 - 5:06 am

  Well I bought this new for my 16 yr old as a first car. I wanted her to have something new, reliable, and warrantied. So far, so good. She has been driving it about 50K miles and 3.5 years with no mechanical issues. She has had some brim and tire issues though. Chevy didnt want to hear anything about it though. After about 16K miles the tires were bald as a babies butt. She purchased some 40K Firestones and they are lasting. I was thinking it was a normal junky chevy front end or junky calipers etc ruining the tires but I guess it was the "no good" stock tires they put on it. Anyway, She has rode this sucker pretty hard in 3.5 years. She has been "ramming like a teenager".

• 

  Great rig - 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By ber - November 14 - 3:03 am

  Had initial isues with rattling at start, time and mobile 1 fixed that. 15,000 miles now 27 highway with kn filter and special chery bomb muffler. Run 34 in tires. Leveling kit sure helped take away the 60s raked look. And handles better. Great truck

• 

  WoW, I Really Like My HHR - 2006 Chevrolet HHR
  By MisterB945 - November 13 - 8:16 pm

  Ive only had my HHR 1LT for about two weeks, but so far I havent found much to complain about. I do feel my HHR is somewhat underpowered (it has the 2.2L 4 cylinder engine). Most of my driving is in and around the city, so the lack of power dosent affect me much. I am very pleased with the fit and finish and with the really comfortable front seats. I do think the power window controls could have been better placed. My gas mileage has been between 22 and 24 mpg in mostly city driving, but I havent had my HHR long enough to evaluate whether or not this is very accurate. My overall driving and ownership experience has been very good.

• 

  2003 Monte Carlo LS - 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  By ep1 - November 13 - 7:29 pm

  Really like the style of the car, though not very happy in the way it handles, sloppy but sort of controlled has the feeling of being very nose heavy up front in cornering manovers presently having steering shaft issues the dealer lubed and greased the steering shaft seems to be much better - great gas mileage and a real head tuner on the road.

• 

  A piece of junk! - 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By Valerie - November 13 - 3:30 pm

  Bought this car brand new with 3 miles on it. Thought it would be a great reliable car. WRONG! I had every stupid little thing go wrong with it possible. I replaced the rear turn signals about 20 times and finally the dealership did some fixing to it. Didnt work cause I Still had to replace it once a month. The windows, BOTH, broke and wouldnt go down so I had to have my father fix them several times. The interior lights had issues with flickering constantly. Another electrical problem the dealership fixed and it restarted again. Had some engine issues but luckily my father is a mechanic so it didnt cost too much.

• 

  Not satisfied - 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt
  By Valerie - November 13 - 3:23 pm

  We bought our Cobalt brand new, with 16 miles on it. Thought it would be a great car but so far it has proved us wrong. We had alot of minor issues within the first 4 months but they were covered under warranty thankfully. Now our back windows dont roll down at all and havent since shortly after the warranty was up, of course. No idea what the issue is but will not be fixing it. The emergency break never worked. The visor cover broke just lifting it up one day. The back seat is so uncomfortable. I hate when someone has to sit back there because its worse than sitting in a truck!

• 

  Nice window - 2008 Chevrolet Aveo
  By Amanda - November 13 - 2:22 pm

  I had had my chevy aveo for 1 year and I placed my dog in the back seat and shut the door. I than proceed to the drivers side and I noticed that the hatchback window shattered and it cost $1000 to replace. I think that the cars parts are cheaply designed and are very expensive to replace. The gas mileage is great and the space for a small 4 door car is great but other than those 2 things I think the car is cheaply made and not a reliable car.

• 

  Poor Fuel Economy - 2016 Chevrolet Traverse
  By bravo1 - November 13 - 2:15 pm

  To get a true review of this car look at the previous years, I got a LT1. The fuel economy they advertise is probably on a flat test track with no stop signs or signal lights. The car is heavy and on fuel economy we are averaging 10-14 mpg. The headrest is too far forward, Bluetooth is poor and hard to understand, and the Info system does not respond well. The fold down middle seats for access to the 3rd row seats could have been made smoother to operate, and rear visibility is poor. Over all the car looks good and the interior design is of good quality.

• 

  Great car - 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt
  By nellis - November 13 - 9:26 am

  I know that the Cobalt is an upgrade from the Cavalier but its way beyond that. The cCobalt is much more comfortable and rides much smoother. I would recommend this car to everyone. Its great for travel or just your everyday driving. Chevy is definitely a winner with this one!