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:

• 

  Great Truck - better than I expected - 2015 Chevrolet Colorado
  By Justin Tate - July 20 - 5:49 pm

  Lest start with this - Mine is a Z71 with 275 70 R17 Cooper AT3 tires, a 2 & 1 lift/level kit. I test drove 2 of these set up that way (The way a truck should sit with real rubber). Other than that the typical stuff on a loaded Z71. Very clean and refined buggy, A few little tweaks would be great in the future. It rides and handles like a truck should - after the mods. Much better than the Silverado and it looks good. Comfort is great, Mileage is real world and very good - Absolutely love it. LIKES: Mileage, Power, Comfort DISLIKES: Tranny seems to search at times, No Heated Mirrors, No Electric Sliding Rear Window

• 

  A great family SUV - 2015 Chevrolet Traverse
  By S. Paz - July 20 - 4:04 pm

  Going up from a sports car with the family growing old I needed to lease a family SUV that holds at least 7 people, I shopped around and was close to seal a deal on a Honda Pilot but after testing the Traverse I was very impressed by the size of it, very specious plenty of room for everybody. One thing Ive noticed that needs to be address, the touchscreen buttons should be bigger and remove from the borders of the screen.

• 

  HEADLIGHT FAILURE AT !!!!!!!!!!!! 50 MPH !!!!!!!!! - 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche
  By William R. Johnson - July 20 - 12:51 pm

  2002 Advalance headlight problem that no one has ever heard of! Driving down dark road switch lights from low beam to high and lights go completely off. What a surprise so I switched back to low beam and thank goodness they worked. The odd thing is the bright light indicator stays on either in low or high beam position. NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO HELP. PLEASE HELP ME IF ANYONE HAS SEEN THIS PROBLEM.

• 

  Blind Spots - 2012 Chevrolet Impala
  By Joyce Bronk - July 20 - 8:30 am

  This car has blind spots. If you are shorter and need to move the seat forward for driving the headrest on the both the passenger and driver make it difficult for lane changes. The mirrors out need to be redesigned because you cant see when a car is in the lane next you when it is between the rear of your car and the back door. I have purchased addition mirrors to help with these problems because I nearly caused two accidents because of poor visibility. Other than that I love the car.

• 

  Just a great little truck - 2003 Chevrolet S-10
  By Christopher Paull - July 19 - 8:58 pm

  Bought this truck new in 2003 presently have 140k on it, I opted for the high performance engine and my gas mileage is a little rough avg 12mpg city 16 high way besides and annoying problem with a vacuum switch for the front differential which is located on the transfer case ( it was trying to engage the four wheel drive when you didnt push the button made a really nasty noise while the front tried to engage when the transfer was lined up) Other than that on regular scheduled maintenance has been done to this truck just a nice comfy ride due to the torsion bar suspension (something its replacement doesnt have the Colorado) and the truck has not once broken down. Good performance , good handling( unless you have to turn around in a narrow street) car like ride yet will haul and run like a little sports car. Was a shame when they discontinued it they finally got it right.

• 

  Review at 90K Miles - 2013 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Paul - July 18 - 4:15 pm

  Ive got just shy of 90,000 miles on this car at this time. It has been absolutely trouble free. Just replaced original Goodyear tires just last week. Two recalls, minor issues, both taken care of while the dealership replaced the tires. (BTW, dealership beat Discount Tire by $100 for equivalent tires.) Im averaging 37 miles per gallon. Yes, I said averaging. Brakes still good, no shudder or fade. Engine still runs great. I replace the oil regularly using only Mobile One. I especially recommend using high quality oil with any turbo-charged vehicle because turbos tend to keep spinning once you stop the car. Shut the car off too quickly and you shut the oil flow to the turbo off. I let it sit for a minute before shutting off. Good advice for any turbo engine if you want the turbo to last. MyLink infotainment system is great although a little slow on screen response. Overall, this is by far the best car Ive ever owned, and being almost sixty years old Ive owned quite a lot of cars. I highly recommend this car.

• 

  Fantastic car for city driving - 2012 Chevrolet Volt
  By Paul S - July 16 - 8:23 am

  I leased a 2012 Volt in April of that year and loved it. Once I learned to always drive in “L” gear for maximum regen braking, and “S” drive mode for maximum acceleration at the light the car was so much fun to drive. It was extremely quick and totally quiet. What I like is the acceleration is 100% useable. Since there is no noise, grinding and shifting you can put the pedal to the floor every time you start off without any guilt or spectacle. 90% of my driving is in town and I never have to use gas unless I go on a trip out of town. My only disappointment with that car was that in the third year that I owned it my battery range dropped about 20%. I went from seeing 36 miles after charge in the winter to 30 miles. In the summer it went from 47 to less than 40. Chevy said this was normal, but I can’t believe that since it all happened in the third year. Also in that year I added a level 2 charger at work and started topping the car off both at home in the evening and work in the morning. Turned that car in at end of lease and got a barely used 2014 with every option which I love. It has navigation which the 2012 did not and that is a great feature because of how it integrates with other features. Lots of improvements over the 2012. Now I’m not charging until I drop below 20 mile range and keeping my fingers crossed that I won’t lose driving range in two years.

• 

  Vroom Vroom!!!! - 2013 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Macy - July 14 - 12:38 pm

  Its a real awesome car , people talk bad about it for some reason , they say go with toyota or honda when they dont realize every car will give you problems , it is how you take care of your car. This LT model is amazing and drives smooth , interior beats any car i have driven and has a sexy look to it . the 2014 model is also a nice aggressive looking model i love them all!!!!!!

• 

  Best Little SUV - 2015 Chevrolet Trax
  By Someoldman - July 13 - 9:08 pm

  This little crossover/SUV is the best, easiest to drive,most comfortable vehicle Ive ever owned and driven. Entry and exit are easy and visibility from the driver seat is superior. Rearview camera whhich activates on shifting to reverse is seamless and offers a good look behind before and while backing. Seats are chair height comparing favorably to any SUV on the road today. Not sure why some reviewers have knocked the acceleration of the 1.4 litre turbo or the 6 speed auto transmission. I cannot find fault with either one, unless of course, I had just driven a $65000 BMW and expected that kind of power and response from a Trax costing a third as much.... Storage areas are numerous but a bit small the lack of an passenger center armrest is the only oversight in design. It needs to be there. I love driving the Trax... and so does the wife. Its not a sports car but handles well at reasonsble speeds the AWD is seamless. Never had a better car, and have owned some nice ones. Im a car guy who has owned over 40 and driven the rest.. had my doubts about a South Korean Chevy with such a "small" engine, but am very impressed with the little package GM put together.

• 

  I Love Mine - 2001 Chevrolet S-10
  By Jack Montague - July 13 - 6:31 pm

  I purchase my 3 door LS extended cab 2WD 2.2L in August of 2001 brand new off the dealership lot and have been happy ever since. Almost 14 years and 116,000 miles later were still together and going down the road. I have always loved the reliability and simplicity of my S-10 (Im old so it gets more points since its so simple!) All I have done is preventative maintenance and nothing else, Ive never had issues with it except a new exhaust system last year. It hasnt gotten any rust and seems to be a good truck for the money since I didnt want the Silverado MPG. I took it on a 410 mile trip last weekend without any issues and the 4 cylinder got 24 MPG and thats with the hilly Missouri terrain with the Cruise Control set to 70. I really love this truck and since its lasted 13 ILL winters without any issues Ill keep it for another 13+!