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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  Perfect choice to replace old Vette - 2008 Chevrolet Corvette
  By Lea - April 28 - 5:06 pm

  I owned a 69 427 pumped up Vette for 16 years. Decided at last, to replace it instead with a new one a few weeks ago. My old car was a beast, and this one equals it, but stock and under warranty! Chevy has finally brought back a true muscle car! Fun to drive, great gas mileage, unbelievably 26.5 mpg after a 3200 mile trip out west, and a rather comfortable ride to boot. I still miss my old car but this one takes away the pain leaving nothing to be desired.

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  Built in Oshawa CA-JD Powers Plant Award - 2006 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  By very proud driver - April 28 - 11:13 am

  Built by proud Canadians - JD Powers award for the plant that built my car - very cool! Interior and exterior of car turns my friends heads - wow very cool car. Recent trip on expressway at 67 mph on cruise - got 35.1 mpg - way above the 31 mpg rating for the 3.5 V-6 engine in my Monte Carlo LT model - great job Chev - way better than my Olds Cutlass Supreme LS. Onstar and XM features are great - only have 500 miles in 6 weeks but this is obviously a keeper

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  Great Vehicle! - 1997 Chevrolet Suburban
  By J.R.Gibbs - April 28 - 10:18 am

  We purchased one for family traveling and some trailer towing.. Ours has 185,000 miles on the original engine, transmission. We have had no real problems with it, except we did replace the water pump and radiator due to minor issues unrelated to the quality of the vehicle. This is a very well- built vehicle, and I would recommend it to anyone. Recently, driving 1800 miles and back, we averaged 20.9MPG with the cruise set at 75MPH. If you take care of this vehicle and get one that has not been driven by an idiot kid, you should be totally fine. I do recommend you totally flush out the Dexcool coolant(red) and replace it with green or yellow, as Dexcool is known for destroying gaskets...

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  Colorado Dutch - 2006 Chevrolet HHR
  By Dutch - April 27 - 11:22 pm

  The hhr is wonderful on mpg ( 34 on road) 27 in town. Made several long trips. Ride is not the best a little stuff but road ability is fine. Space good for 4 adults and 5 good size bags. Interior is tight for a 230# 6-3 man. The auto is excellent for city driving easy parking turning and good space behind 2nd. Seat. It would be a wonderful car for mother conducting her duties. Not fancy but simple operations.

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  Excellent Choice - 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By Mark - April 27 - 1:10 pm

  This vehicle is a pure joy to drive. Excellent handling for a vehicle this size. The interior is not just leaps- and-bounds above the outgoing model, but is wonderful compared to its competition. I purchased the LT3 package with the sunroof and I do not regret anything yet (hopefully that will not change). Chevy interiors always had ease of use, but now there is some style as well. The exterior is sharp, crisp and put together with very little seam separation, a definate plus over last years model. Looks are subjective, but I dont think there is a better looking full size SUV on the market today.

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  Go ahead, get one! - 2006 Chevrolet HHR
  By Perry - April 27 - 11:06 am

  The wife says it is "Zippy" but I like to keep the revs down and the MPG up (32 on the highway, 25 average). There are no lights in the glove box and I cannot turn on the dome light from the front. Also only one cup holder in the back & seating for 3.(!) Not near enough storage for stuff like CDs. Love having the 6disk MP3 player for *hours* of mucic. Moon roof is cool as is the little spoiler the wife had to have. Running boards get in the way when getting out though they look cool. (I think I would opt to not have them.) Very quiet ride and smoooth ride! Overall great car but needs more (better) storage solution.

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  Great small SUV - 2010 Chevrolet Equinox
  By phil clark - April 27 - 11:06 am

  Mine has the V6 option. Rides great and more room than you would expect especially in rear seat area. Son in law says there is more room than in my Avalanche. The gas mileage on the V6 is not what they had claimed with best ever less than 20 combined and if mostly in town drops to 15 or so. Still improvement on the Avalanche I traded in, but could be better. Hopefully that improves once broken in and get past the first oil change too. Interior is very stylish with a friend comparing it to cars like the Lexus,now thats a step up for GM. Shows they are moving in the right direction.

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  Typical GM - 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By JCK105 - April 26 - 11:37 pm

  I bought this Tahoe a few years ago with around 40K miles on it. The speedometer broke at 60K, and shortly after GM recalled them, but by that time I was at 71K, so they would not refund me the $600. Overall it is comfortable, and fun to drive. Typical GM though, many interior lights are burned out, and everything is starting to rattle. Other than that, there have been no major problems.

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  GM stop making lemons! - 2000 Chevrolet Malibu
  By MikeDJ - April 26 - 6:09 pm

  We bought our 2000 Malibu couple of years ago, thinking is a good balance between price, performance and quality! We were sooo wrong! Although the price was cheap, but not cheap enough to justify the poor performance and the overall quality. The engine is a junk (we had to replace the intake gasket), the A/C system has to be recharged monthly (the compressor and few other things has to be replaced)-still is not working properly! Overall costly repairs!!!

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  Fair Overall Waiting for Problems - 2008 Chevrolet Malibu
  By E.G. - April 26 - 10:46 am

  Extremely poor visibility when backing due to limited window area and wide rear roof pillars. Center console had poor fit due to popping clips. Entire console had to be replaced. Steering at high speeds is very tight, causing light drifting. Rear folding seats dont go down flat enough for proper storage, and trunk height is too low. Pleasing body style and good paint quality.