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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  Problems with this Chevy - 2009 Chevrolet Impala
  By Kellie Leonard - August 31 - 8:12 pm

  I purchased this car used back in 2010 with average miles. Now on my 6th year everything is going wrong. Heres what went wrong and not under warranty seeing the five (5) years are up: 1.) Car wont shift out of drive into park. $300.00 visit to the Chevy Dealer to fix. 2.) ABS light, and reduced power light came on. Another $350.00 trip to the Chevy Dealer. 3.) Now a load tapping noise from the glove box area. Another $350.00 trip to the Chevy Dealer to fix. 2 of my 4 door locks dont work properly and my check air bag light is now going on. I can only wonder how much more this will cost me!!! Very disappointed in the quality of my Chevy Impala. Dont buy!

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  Electrical problems - 2013 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Patrick - August 30 - 1:51 pm

  My 2013 Malibu 2LT is having a major issue that can cause a serious accident.. The steering and all electronics shut down while Im driving. The motor remains running but all electronics shut completely down. The dealer wont fix this issue and I will put the biggest lawsuit on Chevy if I get into an accident

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  Big Annoying mistake - 2006 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Val - August 28 - 4:46 pm

  The dealer kinda pushed this car on me cause I needed a vehicle to carry my stuff and my 70lb husky...that worked but my car has 80000 miles on it and the repairs are more than the things worth now. All I asked was that it gets me from point A to point B and now it over heats about every 20 minutes of driving. I see why the dealer wanted to get rid of this thing so much I NEVER WANT TO OWN ANOTHER ONE OF THESE [non-permissible content removed] AGAIN!!! they have non standard tires and a pain in butt to change the head lights and it takes forever to heat up in the winter and enjoy less than standard tire size.

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  Car was designed to fail after warranty runs out. - 2010 Chevrolet HHR
  By So this is what chevy is all about - August 27 - 2:35 pm

  I will state the car never stranded me but once save the recalled ignition seizing up. ALL recalls effected my vehicle, the ignition one was amazing on how long it took the dealership to replace, I kept getting notices in the mail and each time I called they either were not approved to do the recall, out of parts or some other reason why they couldnt get it in. It finally took me saying its going to get dropped off tonight whether your ready or not! Because my cars ignition will not turn. Remind you this is 6 months after I initially called and each time was told they would call me when they can get it in. Now going into that you would think they would have offered a rental....no. They had it for a week while I drove a family members car, after a week I finally had enough called back and they said they still cant get the part in...I demanded a rental...they said ok with some hesitation. 2 minutes later they call back and miraculously they found the part and I could pick it up in 30 mins. Fast forward 3 months...now my power steering intermittently starts cutting out. I search online and see there is recall for that...not wanting to go through the same deal I just went through I just dealt with it. Fast forward again, I see another recall for the air bag, this was an issue I brought up during the warranty that the light would intermittently turn on that it needs service...they looked at it twice...no shipshape. There was another issue with the door that kept it from closing some plastic pc that they charged me 350.00 after the warranty was up. It broke yet again so I took it to a mom and pop garage... 18 bucks to replace....so much for good service. Car only has 94,000 miles on it I change the oil often and run mobile 1 synthetic. And I have 2 rear doors which I barely ever used that no children were getting in and out of slamming it but they wont stay shut unless I rig them to stay closed. This week my car randomly acts like its stuck in 3rd gear and will not take off from a stop occasionally, even stalling once, once up to 35mph or higher it acted fine. Check engine light also illuminated he next day so I RELUCTANLY schedule them to take a look at it and see whats wrong with the trany and fix the recalls...thank god I made the powertrain warranty of 100k only being at 94k Wrong because the previous owner bought the car in 2009 the 5 year is up, I bought in Nov 2010 btw. with 20k miles., that the powertrain would not cover it...so I say fine whats wrong with it? Well they cant tell without dropping the tranny, thats out of the question, they charged me 350.00 to replace pc of plastic I can only imagine what that would run me just to check the problem. Long story short I have a car that I owe money on still that may very well be shot, that I cant afford to fix. Not to mention they may try to charge me 98.00 to run a diagnostic...good luck with that btw. My only hope is I can role the negative equity with a trade to the Ford dealer across the street with nothing down, because I for damn sure will not deal with this Chevy dealer again. Or likey any other Chevy dealer for that matter.

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  Hate the sound system - 2015 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Sandy Steiger - August 23 - 5:30 pm

  I am so sorry I didnt stick with a GMC. I decided to get a smaller SUV, I hate this car, it drives fine since I dont drive very far. But the radio just gets on my last nerve, the sound is awful, it is so flat even when I have the base turned up. The radio keeps going to XM which I didnt use when it was free so I sure dont want to pay for it. The blower on the heater/ air is so loud you have to turn up the lousy radio or talk louder or turn it off in order to talk to anyone. But yet they put in a box in the back of the car to take up storage room, that blocks OUTSIDE sounds! WHY? I needed to put the seats dow to put some boxes in the back, the second row of seats DONT lay flay, so most of my boxes which had breakables kept shifting towards the back of the car as I was driving, what a stupid design! I want rid of this car so badly, but probably wont get diddly squat for a trade in even with only 6000 miles in a year on the thing.

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  Rental Update - 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Larry Gorman - August 11 - 9:33 am

  Some things my original review omitted - yes, it is a rental, but it had 26 miles on it when I got it. BRAND SPANKING NEW. So my observations are not of a beaten up high mileage rental car. Added remarks - and these are personal observations and may not bother other people - the high back end and no back up camera make parking unnecessarily difficult - parallel or backing into a space. Shockingly, I discovered this weekend that a bag of golf clubs will not fit in the trunk sideways - only diagonally! Even my Honda S 2000 could hold a couple of bags of golf clubs sideways in the trunk. Having to put them in diagonally causes problems packing other items in the trunk. WHERE IS THE INTERIOR TRUNK RELEASE????!!!!!! I have looked everywhere - and the remote on the key fob will NOT work when the car is running. Why do manufacturers put the gas filler cap on the Passenger side??? And then it is not intuitive - nothing to grab onto , no release in the car - you have to press it to get it to open. All in all, the car is replete with annoyances - not surprising to somrone who has owned nothing but the best ergonomically designed cars in the world - Hondas and Acuras.

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  electrical issues - 2015 Chevrolet Equinox
  By elaine wogomon - August 6 - 11:30 am

  I bought my 2015 equinox in may 2015. so far it has been in the shop 2 times for electrical issues, first time my whole dashboard shorted out radio included. 2nd time radio shorted out made an appt for the next day to have it looked at . when i went to go out in the car later that day my battery was dead too!! Very frustrated

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  Expect the expected - 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
  By David in Delaware - August 3 - 8:24 pm

  You will have these issues, expect them - fuel pump, head gasket, center driveshaft bearing, misfire. Our 05 Escape 4 cyl has been a Much better vehicle.

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  What a LEMON! - 2004 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Suggabuzz - August 3 - 12:45 pm

  This car has so many problems that I couldnt list them all if I tried. The dash is lit up like a Christmas tree! There are problems with the traction control/ ABS and Power steering. The headlights, trunk pop button, and gas gauge all do not work. Things just fall off and brake constantly. It leaks coolant, as well as transmission fluid. I bought this car with no problems about 4 years ago, and it has been a constant battle to keep it out of the shop. There are so many re-calls i think even Chevy wants me to throw it off a cliff.

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  Rental Car while Acura RL having bodywork done - 2015 Chevrolet Malibu
  By Larry Gorman - August 3 - 11:01 am

  Reviewing this from the perspective of an Acura RL owner may be a bit unfair, but... the dash vents are barely adjustable, there are no visible rear vents, the engine (like just about any other American 4 cylinder I have ever driven) sounds like a lawn mower on acceleration though it IS economical - 32 MPG on highway at 75-80 - it rides like a truck - it is firm but you feel every bump - very poor insulation from road surfaces and imperfections - the "switch blade" key fob is annoying - if you dont keep folding it up it puts holes in pants pockets, and the access to the vehicle information system is accomplished through three switches on the left stalk on the steering column - requires too much concentration and much better placed on the dash somewhere - huge screen on the dash does nothing without navigation other than give you radio information. Very disappointing car after all the rave reviews I had read about the "new" Malibu - cannot even hold a candle to our previous 2008 Honda Accord, let lone the 2015 model.