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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  Wouldnt recommend a GM to my enemy - 2006 Chevrolet Equinox
  By executor485 - May 21 - 1:56 pm

  At 30,000 miles the injectors had major issues. Dealership AND GM headquarters would do nothing about it. At 48,000 miles, the timing belt cover is leaking and now the engine is making really bad noises. GM headquarters told us it would be covered, then went back on that and said were out of luck, and coupled with the fact the dealership was rude about both situations, Ill never buy a GM product again.

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  05 Aveo - 2005 Chevrolet Aveo
  By Cindy - May 20 - 5:33 pm

  Had my 05 Chevy Aveo for almost 5 yrs now. Havent had a single problem with it. Well, except for the pain. My car is yellow. In fact it is 5 different shades of yellow. Obviously a bad batch of paint? Trying to get them to fix the problem, but so far no luck. Also the clear coat is peeling. Im told this is because of the bad paint, makes sense. I use good car wash to wash it and have always kept it clean. The say the whole car will have to be repainted, of course at my expense.

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  Frustrated! - 2007 Chevrolet HHR
  By jonpcraw - May 19 - 1:02 pm

  Purchased it new. I liked it when i first purchased the car. I travel 80 miles a day to work and now have 63,000 miles on it. It seems like Ive had this car in shop too many times. Keep having problems with rattle (bad) in steering had it looked a few times, the car rattles a lot in the bad now. Had to get 2 struts 2 shock absorbers at 50,000. Has been in the shop for brakes 6 times. Its horrible in the snow even with new tires. Its hard to see out the windows because of the design. How the radiator is placed, any stone that is kicked up will put a hole in your radiator, trust me. It does get good gas mileage at 28+ and has room to haul things. Now its worth nothing in trade.Very disappointed

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  Not the quailty I would have hoped for - 2006 Chevrolet Equinox
  By skybaby - May 14 - 1:49 pm

  My car ran great for the first year or so. Now so far Ive had three blown head gaskets. Two new heater cores, and one new water pump. And now. It doesnt want to start.

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  Engine Problems x3 in 6 months - 2007 Chevrolet Impala
  By nomoregm - May 12 - 8:12 pm

  Bought my 2007 Impala with 53,000 miles 6mo ago. Forth time having it serviced and only at 63,000. PCM failed after 4 months which hydrolocked my engine. Hydrolock caused fuel injectors to go and a bent piston. Had my car back for 24 hours after 2nd fix of engine problems and engine light is back on. GM unwilling to help any further. This was my first GM product and my LAST.. Owned a 1999 Dodge for 160,000 miles and no where near the problems I have experienced in just 10,000 miles with my Impala.

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  lemon yellow lemon - 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By Kay - May 10 - 11:00 pm

  I bought this car new in 2003 and thought it would be a good car for my needs. I had it in for repairs 5 times under warranty and count fewer times since. Now it has headlight problems and turn signal light on passenger side blows out every 2 to 3 weeks. I would never buy a GM car again!

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  No more Chevys for me - 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche
  By Lonnie Griffin - May 7 - 3:01 pm

  My driving and ownership experience has been terrible. It has been in the shop at least ten times for different issues. Some of the same issues with a 2000 Chevy pickup I bought new ten years ago it had a knocking engine and Chevy still has the same issues for example, down shift hard bump in transmission, noise in steering column, defective door locks, interior noise around the dash area, bad cam in motor replaced, wind noise, popping noise when turning to left or right sometimes, battery went bad, broken door weld replaced and so on I have to stop. Issues like this should not happen to a $30,000 vehicle for years.

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  Reliable but ugly - 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By macjoel - May 4 - 8:39 pm

  This was my first car, I got it used. I like it a lot, but the interior is made of cheap plastic and is extremely flimsy and the springs in the seats popped out of the back of the seat. Driving the car is comfortable, but riding in it is EXTREMELY uncomfortable. There is virtually no legroom in the back, and the passenger seat in the front is weird, it feel like your being squeezed. As for the exterior, the design was dated way before it came out. It basically looks like a crappy four door version of a 90s mustang. Performance is good, no complaints there, so the only thing is the interior and exterior.

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  More improvements than features - 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt
  By BRIAN - May 3 - 9:18 pm

  I bought this car because I wanted to downsize from a mini van thinking I would save on gas.Big mistake my mini van got better gas mileage than this car.the car does have good acceleration good steering, turning for a 2.2 liter but the gas part not so good.I do a lot of highway driving so i needed a car with good gas mileage.also it doesnt have a lot of leg room i have 2 kids and its really tight ride. unfortunately this car doesnt have a high resale value so i didnt get much when i traded it in

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  GM has knowledge of existing problems - 2003 Chevrolet Impala
  By Super pissed - May 3 - 12:03 pm

  MANY PROBLEMS! This is not my first GM car and I always keep up with the maintenance on my car. Bought my 03 Impala 01/07 with 40,000 miles. Had the catilytic converter replace and back lighting in dash. Last year had $4000 worth of transmission work done because of slipping. Had the intake manifold and gaskets replaced due to the dexcool that gm uses in Dec. here I am 5 months later with a blown motor at 96,000 miles. There are many lawsuits against Gm for the damage the dexcool coolant causes. ADD ME TO THE LIST! Sad to say i will NEVER buy an American made car as long as I live.