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:

• 

  New Owner Loves His Avalanche - 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche
  By johnnymmmm - June 3 - 9:29 pm

  Solid multi-use vehicle, all the bells and whistles, amazing ride, technology heaven, love the active fuel management and comfort of the interior design

• 

  REAR END FALL OUT - 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By Sandy - June 3 - 7:47 pm

  Bought our first Chevy new LTZ Tahoe. Love the looks and ride of the vehicle. Have had problems with the rear end. It actually FELL OUT. Thank goodness it was still under warranty. still have problems with the rear jerking when stopping at a light or stop sign and when taking off. The rear end smells like it is burning after driving it for about 45 minutes. Resale value is about what we still owe on the Chevy. Gonna sell or trade it I think. Keep taking it to shop and they cant find anything else wrong with it since completely rebuilding the rear end. Oh, well. NO MORE CHEVYS FOR US.

• 

  very low mpg - 2008 Chevrolet Impala
  By jorge - June 3 - 6:37 am

  i have a ltz chevy impala, very nice car, I think the trunk is too large making this car extra large. The MPG is very low I just can reach 17 mpg, even in highway, making the company statement a big fat lie. I had try it everything to increase the mpg but still making the same, other than that i thing it is a nice car to have it. Thanks

• 

  Problems... - 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By d04 - June 3 - 5:10 am

  We have had numerous problems with our 2008 Chevy Silverado that we purchased new and has low miles. One of the problems is power lock failure. Recently the passenger side quit working, but since we are out of our warranty, GM would not cover the cost. However, after speaking with several people from GM I found that they will do a voluntary recall if they get enough complaints from the consumer about this issue. Even if you have already paid to have this problem fixed in the past, please call 866-790-5600 [non-permissible content removed] to let them know of the problem and maybe we can get them to do the voluntary recall so consumers can get reimbursed for the repair costs.

• 

  As the tru that cant make a 100,000 mile - 2000 Chevrolet Astro
  By Disconious - June 2 - 8:09 pm

  Actually this is my second one, I think they are attractive and the kids loved em. My first was under powered but ran with scheduled maintenance which I had to abandoned due to the expense. Both vehicles ran good until about 70, 000 miles when windows stopped working, slight idle roughness, sliding door had parts fall off and started to rattle, front ac vents stopped working, back door starting clicking and vacum problems with locks and ac vents, ac fan motor, trying to fix all this at the dealer is vehicle suicide.

• 

  Cheap reliable transportation - 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By AP_From PA - June 2 - 11:20 am

  I bought this in 2004 with about 9600 miles on it, no problems, except for a fuel pump that I had to replace. I got it for about 7K and I drove it over 70K miles. I cant ask for a better deal. Even today it has a decent re-sale value (about 3.5K easily). I do most regular maintenance myself and this car has been running like a champ. Fuel economy has been good too, in 2004 I got about 31 mpg combined, I still get about 28-29 mpg combined... even after increase in ethanol in fuel. If style is not your primary concern, and transportation is the only thing you care about then this is a good value.

• 

  Honeymoon is over.... - 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By ghorne - June 2 - 10:51 am

  The first 36,000 miles of my first big american suv ownership were great. Now that Im out of the warranty period, I can understand why people who havent been down this path before get easily burned by some american auto products. However, Ive now had the rotors turned at 38,000 miles and the other day I had to replace the entire power steering assembly ($900). I tried reasoning with the service manager that this was way too early to do for such a new car. I cant blame him for the problem, he didnt tell me to buy the car, hes just telling me how to fix it. Very frustrating.

• 

  Average American Vehicle - 2005 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT
  By Sgt_Coolio - June 2 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle was purchased with a mindset of being paid off and lasting a long time. Well the vehicle has been paid off, but only lasted in top shape a few thousand miles. At the age of 12K miles the seals around the door began to become warped, the underseat plastic panels broke off a few from then. At 42K miles, the speedometer became faulty. At 48K miles, the gas meter became no good as well. Hence I work in the field quite a bit, the vehicle would sit in a parking lot for a few weeks at a time, causing the shocks, and calipers to become rusty. Overall this vehicle is not bad for company/government usage but for a family and a service member,perhaps a better choice is needed.

• 

  I Love This Car - 2008 Chevrolet Malibu
  By JRF - June 2 - 6:20 am

  I bought this car new in April 2008. This is my second Malibu-the other was a 2004 LT. This one is far superior to the 2004. I enjoy driving the car and have had no problems yet. I cant understand why anyone 54" would have problems seeing to drive the car-Im 54" and see just fine. The car handles fine on the highway and in the city as well. I will recommend this car to anyone. No car is perfect, but Chevy got this one right.

• 

  Sonic a great car for a college student - 2016 Chevrolet Sonic
  By Sonic Boomer - June 2 - 5:34 am