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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  nice car - 2006 Chevrolet Malibu
  By sj - September 9 - 12:30 pm

  For the money this has been a great car. Bought with 6K miles and only a few issues that so far the dealer took care of. Tires did wear quickly but thats not cars fault. Gas mileage is excellent. At 35K miles now, well see how the next 30K go... Had considered Camry but got a fully loaded 6 cyl for almost half the price..

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  Very nice car - 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  By toegar - September 9 - 10:00 am

  My car has been a pleasure to drive. It has the pick up when you need it. It takes corners tight and with ease. The car gets a lot of compliments from stangers. Im 47 and never had this much fun with a car. The car has had no no major problems. I store it in the garage over the winter.

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  Trailblazers dependability - 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer
  By herbra - September 9 - 10:00 am

  The 2002 LTZ Trailblazer is a fairly nice vehicle except for its reliability. Ive driven the LTZ for a 18 months with 6 trips to the dealer for the same problem connected to the four wheel drive system. It seams to have a mind of its own. It either wants to shift on its own or leave you stranded. Has anyone else had this problem? The dealer made me a reasonable offer to trade mine for a 2003 model but when I accepted the offer they pulled it off the table. Good luck to all who purchase a Chevy Trailblazer.

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  Shouldve Bought the Tahoe - 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT
  By Jim - September 9 - 7:53 am

  I was looking for an SUV that was less than $50,000 and I was looking at the Tahoe and TrailBlazer. I thought I wouldve got better gas mileage than if I were driving a Tahoe but not true. My wifes 03 Tahoe gets better mileage than my 06 TrailBlazer This car has to go out of my garage and back onto the car lot.

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  Ill get another one already - 2008 Chevrolet Corvette
  By Rick - September 8 - 7:45 pm

  I have an 08 convertible with the 3LT option and my wife has the 08 coupe with the Z51 option and the dual mode exhaust. I did not get the exhaust option on mine or the Z51 option and quickly wanted to drive her car instead. Now Ive added a GM performance exhaust system to mine and wooooo!!!! However, I am now already looking at jumping on an 09 model as they now offer the cyber grey color. I hope to get a dealer to put me into that car, otherwise my wife and I can still enjoy our two 08 models. Now I will shop for an 09 with the dual mode exhaust and Z51 options exclusively.

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  not bad for an old car - 1991 Chevrolet Lumina
  By A. Schmidt - September 8 - 6:46 pm

  I just got this car for really good price. It runs very well! It hugs curves, and does wonderfully at higher highway speeds. Mine is the 4 door Euro. The driver side seat makes my back sore, though. And the inside is a dark blue cloth, and its own way, its quite nice looking. The outside body style is kind of pokey looking. Very fun to drive though. Id drive this thing to the moon if I could.

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  I hated this vehicle! - 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
  By judy - September 8 - 5:52 pm

  After 2 horrible winters I wanted a vehicle with better clearance. I was driving a VW Golf (which I loved!) The Equinox had 35,000 miles on it when we bought it. The interior was soiled and we couldnt get it clean. We immediately had to replace the shocks and struts. The first time we used the air conditioning it stopped working after 20 minutes and needs a new compressor @ $500. You cant hear the radio because of the outside noise and every time I turned right it made a horrible noise! Plus it has some bad blind spots. After 6 months we traded it in. My confidence in this car was zero.

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  For The love of God this is Bad!!!!!!! - 2003 Chevrolet Venture
  By Joe Smith - September 8 - 4:16 pm

  We purchased this van and have had nothing but problems. At 60k miles the headgaskets blew that was 3 grand then the front end had all types of problems. Next at 97k miles the radiator went, another 700 bucks down the drain and on top of that the transmission is starting to slip. My suggestion is dont buy a gm! My 1994 Jeep grand Cherokee has never had to have any Major repairs so from now on if I buy American Im buying Chrysler

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  Run dont walk away - 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By Corey - September 8 - 3:57 pm

  The transmission went out initially at 75k miles, then again with 97k miles on it (luckily under the 36k warranty). Now with 106k miles on it the flex fuel sensor has gone out, and guess what? It is a dealer only part (quote for $800.00 from dealer to fix) You can buy on-line from GM for about $300.00 vs $500.00 at the dealer (love the markup) All in all I will never own anything from Government Motors again, worst reliability of any vehicle I have ever owned. Which is saying something as I have owned an old IH Scout which lasted longer and caused me less head aches.

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  Disappointed - 2006 Chevrolet Impala
  By Dave - September 8 - 12:32 pm

  My Wife and I were first very excited to get a newer Impala ours is an 06, the fact that I was not given the vehicle history up front should have warned me off. our first problem was the trans. we lost 2nd gear, then the rotors warped at 39000 miles, then the truck started rusting out and also the passenger side front door panel started to rust. After I finally received a copy of the cars history before I bought it I was shocked there were 3 pages of repairs on the car. I am still having trouble with 1st gear shifting hard and sometimes being sluggish to shift at all, and as far as gas mileage this car has never done better than 17 mpg period.