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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  Next time I buy a Toyota - 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By elkhornsun - November 4 - 3:37 pm

  I purchased my 1998 Tahoe coming off a lease with 28K miles. At 32K I found that the rotors needed to be replaced and that Chevrolet had put undersized rotors on its trucks up until 1998, and corrected the problem in 1998. Stopping distance is 50% greater than average for the Tahoe even with no passengers and no load and not pulling a trailer. I bought it to tow a trailer but with the terrible brakes I have avoided using it for this purpose. Can only use a proprietary CD player which costs 4x as much and mine broke within a year. In first 100k miles I had to replace the breaks twice, rotors once, manifold gasket, fuel injectors, AC compressor, idler, and the front tie rods.

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  The Cavalier That Could - 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By roo93 - November 2 - 4:30 pm

  I bought my cavalier on 4/28/10 w/ 85,xxx miles on it. Was prior salvage. I bought it for $4k. Initially, I was very concerned it would break down or something, or if it was just going to die on my way back home. But I fell in love with this car. Not one problem out of it, and I drove it till it had 100,000miles on it. Had two things go bad: A ratchet thing on my muffler that had fallen off from going down my gfs bumpy driveway($25) & tires. Now, it was in a wreck 4 days ago from me hitting a deer. Just want to say, the seatbelt and airbags saved my life. Its a very well built car. And I went to the salvage yard to look at my car, as soon as I put the key in, it started right up. Reliable

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  1 year review, love our Cruze - 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
  By ricksreview - November 1 - 10:50 am

  Have over 25,000k already. The Cruze has been very dependable. It continues to feel solid and well built. We are getting average of 38mpg with a loaded model with automatic transmission. Bought as a commuter car and we could not be more pleased with it!

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  My first Car - 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By cjbridges - November 1 - 12:46 am

  Im 16 years old and this is my first car, We bought it with 77k miles on it and it now has 80k, The only repairs we had to do were basic things like replacing the fluids, oil filter, oil, and a new battery, but other than that its had no major problems. The paint is rather cheap and chips easily, and the interiors plastic is cheap and the fabric is thin, however if you take car of it everything shouldnt crap out on you. My dash cracked and my engine light comes on when there is no problem, the car can be noisy at times, and my CD player broke, but I have to say there are no major problems. I like the sleek sporty design of the car.

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  You get what you pay for. - 2004 Chevrolet Colorado
  By coloradoguy719 - October 31 - 1:45 am

  Besides the archaic styling, I really love the truck (113k miles). For those that complain about the power/interior space buy a full size. Plenty of pep for a compact truck. Ive hauled a lot of weight in this girl and she doesnt mind it much. I bought the CO because the Dakota had a hungry V8, the Ranger is tiny and the Taco and Frontier were about 2k more, plain and simple. It drives like a small SUV smooth and easy on the blacktop. With a decent pair of shoes it takes the KS mud and CO snow with ease. The mpgs are great for most pre gas hike vehicles, not just trucks, about 18 city at 6500 ft. If you need a laymans truck for the occasional moving day or trash haul, the Colorado is it

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  LT 2.4 auto - 2009 Chevrolet HHR
  By monkfarm - October 30 - 10:22 am

  I bought my HHR 2.4 LT at 8100 miles. I am a spirited driver. The suspension is antiquated. Look under the rear and discover the solid axle. (I have had 3 bmws). That said, the car starts well and is dependable, and is a good solid car for hauling my wife and 4 dogs. (the back seat folds down.) There is not enough storage in the front and the front corner of the dash tends to bother my knee on long trips. The drivers seat isnt bad, but could be improved. The dimmer switch seems to make the headlights disappear for a microsecond which is irritating. The torque steer when you really stomp on it is pronounced. This car is pretty good on long trips and doesnt handle badly. I enjoy it

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  Love it!! - 2004 Chevrolet Blazer
  By bfamily2 - October 28 - 11:25 am

  Love our Blazer, it has survived: front collision, hitting a tree, then the tree falling on it, hulling trailer loads of wood, pulling rocks and stumps, getting stuck in the snow to the point the front bumper was ripped off. We have the opinion that you buy a vehicle to serve you and this SUV has taken everything we have had to offer just fine. After everything it is still our main vehicle 2 car seats fit pretty nice in the back (you can’t put the front seat all the way back). The interior doesn’t stain or scratch very easy. We do a lot of traveling and we feel very safe in it. We are excited to see how many Blazers make it well past 200,000 miles, we will be keeping ours.

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  Love my ZR2! - 2003 Chevrolet Blazer
  By dufmoney - October 25 - 10:24 pm

  I have put over 100,000 KMs on my 2003 Blazer ZR2 (current odometer reads 206,000 KMs) and the only thing other than maintenance I have ever had to do was the head gasket. This is is a fault on a lot of Chevy/GM vehicles from these years. She is so reliable though! Other than the tailgate squeak, which I am in the process of fixing, I have no complaints with this fast accelerating, smooth off-road driving, snow loving vehicle! If you want fuel economy, buy a Prius (lame). If you want a vehicle that is extremely reliable and comfortable, than buy a Blazer.

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  Looks good, but think before buying - 2012 Chevrolet Equinox
  By mp1983 - October 24 - 1:25 pm

  So I recently bought a 2012 equinox 2LT, pretty much fully loaded. One thing I did not realize was how low a profile to the ground that the model has. There is a rubber apron under the front bumper that drops the profile of the car to close to the ground--Im wary of driving it in the new England winter weather, afraid Ill bottom out on ice and snow. Ive easily scraped it on sidewalks or pulling up to a curb in a parking lot. Another issue is tough rear visibility. The rear window is quite small and it is difficult to see driving in reverse. As much as I like my first new car purchase, part of me is regretting not noticing these details before I signed.

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  Chevy bought me over with this car - 2007 Chevrolet Malibu
  By mvozz888 - October 24 - 10:48 am

  First of all I would like to say that I find it disappointing to read negative reviews on such a marvelous car. Anyone experiencing major engine or trans. issues has probably not serviced their vehicle at regular reccomended intervals. The 2.2 liter ecotec engine is incredibly economical, though it could use a few more horses. Before i purchased this car from my father, it had been used every day as a company car. My father is a salesman who is on the road daily with considerable amounts of extra cargo weight added. He was putting 500+ miles on it weekly. This car has had no issues with engine, transmission, torque conv, etc. It currently has 105,432 miles and still runs strong.