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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  Not worth buying - 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Julia - September 8 - 12:20 pm

  This car is a piece of junk! Definitely not worth the money! We have had our Cruze in the shop numerous times with coolant system problems!!! Really Chevy!! How many bad reviews from unhappy customers are you going to get on this car? This is ridiculous!! We certainly wont be buying another Chevy!!

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  Buyer beware!!!! - 2011 Chevrolet Traverse
  By Alps_112 - September 7 - 1:14 pm

  Ive had my 2011 traverse for 3 years. Once the vehicle hit 50k miles it was downhill from there. I hadto invest in a $1400 powering steering rack. I took the vehicle In for what I thought was a minor leak and $1400 later the car still doesnt handle/drive well. I am now starting to have suspension problems. I do not understand how GM can get away with having these vehicles on The road with known problems. Ive read hundreds of reviews with people experiencing the same type of issues. Do not waste your money on GM vehicles. What I thought to be a good crossover for my family of 6 turned out to be a nightmare.

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  Do not buy a diesel Cruze! - 2014 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Rob - September 4 - 1:00 pm

  Do not buy a diesel Cruze! We purchased our 2014 diesel Cruze a few months ago. It was a new car left over from last year and we got a great deal on it. It was an ok car and then we began having problems. The check engine light has come on 3 times now due to issues with the diesel particulate filter. The most recent issue began a few days ago and we brought our Cruze into the dealer. They ran all the tests and pulled the code. We have been told that they need to keep the car for weeks and a new part has to be custom made by Chevy because the emissions sensors are faulty. No one knows when the part will be ready. This is an absolute joke. GM Global Support is useless and the person who is "assigned" to our case wont speak to us. Weve paid for a car that we cannot use. No one can give us any answers. Seriously do yourself a favor and stay far away from the diesel version of the Chevy Cruze. We have heard from both the dealerships weve brought the car into that there are many known issues with the Cruze diesels and a recall is probably in the very near future.

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  Beware as they age.... - 2012 Chevrolet Volt
  By S. Moore - September 3 - 7:45 am

  what started out as a love affair has turned into a headache/nightmare. My volt started out great but as it has aged it seems to be heading into the service dept more and more for repairs. Chevy has covered all of these repairs under warranty even though my car is well past the 3yr/36k mile point without a fight which leads me to believe that I am not the only owner experiencing these sort of problems. When I called to complain about the more and more frequent service dept visits, GM CS told me I really don have anything about as they have covered all the repairs even though my car is long out of warranty. While I appreciate that, I really don like that the service dept at my local dealership know me by sight. I really hate that I have fallen out of love with it, handles well, incredible acceleration, quiet and awesome gas mileage....well over 500mpg. Down side is repeated service visits and a lot of time in a loaner car as they fix mine. Really wonder what the long term will bring.

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  terrible - 1998 Chevrolet S-10
  By donnag - September 2 - 12:32 am

  terrible, great ride, but terrible on reliability, it just brakes! and chevy doe not stand behind it!

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  After 5 years I still regret buying this thing. - 2010 Chevrolet HHR
  By Nic - August 31 - 3:10 pm

  Problem #1 HHR would show the no seat belt light for passenger when no one was sitting there. Dealer claimed cell phones caused it to malfunction Problem #2 The car would like autobrake rapidly causing the car to slowdown, and shake. It was very scary when it happened. The "ESC" or something was cutting on. Would have to pull over and restart the car. Dealer claimed they never heard of the problem but I found on line forums where others had this issue. Problem #3 Recall, after recall, after recall Problem #4 The door handle is made of cheap plastic and broke. Dealer wanted like $400 to fix it. Found a replacement on Amazon for $50 and put it in my self Problem #5 Rotor and brakes when out. I think Problem #2 cause this. Cost me $530 to fix. Other issues.

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  The HHR that couldnt - 2008 Chevrolet HHR
  By Very - August 24 - 4:08 pm

  When the car hit 100.000 miles it stated to be an on going money pit new transmission new starter...door locks would not work engine blew up nothing but problems dont buy one!

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  Chevrolet should be ashamed of these cars - 2012 Chevrolet Malibu
  By shadizar - August 23 - 11:26 am

  The 2012 Malibu with the 2.4 engine is severely underpowered. It goes fairly well on a flat highway, until you need to pass or accelerate, and then the engine roars and the car doesnt go much faster. With four people inside and a trunk of suitcases, it is absolutely pathetic trying to climb a hill. The engine just will not pull the car up the hill! You will have better luck using the manual downshift because the transmission is never in the right gear and it haso be floored to downshift. Chevrolet should be ashamed of this cars "performance," or lack thereof. Its embarrassing when trying to climb a hill. I know these arent performance cars but my 97 cavalier would zip right by this thing on any kind of incline. Dealership service team checked it over and reported engine was working properly and there were no repairs they could do to make it any better. Bad points: No power. Fuel economy is about 28 mpg at best. Brakes needed replacement at 30k. Wheel bearing failed at 30k. Tires worn down to nothing at 38k. Many recalls. Paint scratches very easily. Stereo sounds good but doesnt go very loud. Trunk opening small. Good points: Fairly quiet ride. Comfortable front seats. Warms up quick in winter. Goes well in snow. This car would be ok for a single driver with no passengers (as the more weight in the car the slower it goes... seriously its that underpowered.) And only then if most driving was on a flat road with few hills and small ones at that. I would not purchase it again. Very pricey and poor performance. My 201 Cruze is twice the car this Malibu is!

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  the Malibu Eco sucks - 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
  By debi - August 21 - 6:16 pm

  Dont buy it with the start/stop system, I didnt do my homework and I wish I had, but unfortunately I knew nothing about this start/stop crap. When you test drive it, I didnt know, but the extra battery takes a while to warm up and charge then the fun starts. it has a constant miss going down the highway like something tugging on the engine and in regular traffic the transmission is clunky. My Nissan Altima got better gas mileage, had a smooth ride and it didnt have a start/stop system.The salesman told me nothing about this awful system, they know its crap. So test drive it for a while and I bet you wont buy it!

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  Started off as the best car, has morphed into a le - 2012 Chevrolet Volt
  By Dave Thompson - August 21 - 2:12 pm

  Beware, mine has been in for service 17 times in the three years, 9 trips for issues with the charging system/battery alone. Started off as a reliable car, but as we have passed the 50k mark it has broken down 4 times in the past 5 months. Two of those times it had to be towed to the dealer. Thankfully I have raised enough of a stink that GM has been covering the cost if these frequent repairs. No way should a vehicle w 52k miles on in and 3 years old be in the repair shop multiple times for the same issues. Great idea for a car, but wait til the bugs are worked out to buy. My neighbor has a volt w similar miles on it and has even worse luck than I have. Worse part is I looked to trade in in and was offered 10k by numerous dealers, nothing like a 75% depreciation in 3 yrs .....and the car is in show room condition. Unless GM buys it back, it looks like Im stuck w the car