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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  Tahoe 02LT - 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By Jarule - August 26 - 2:00 am

  I love my 02Tahoe LT. Its a great SUV. Warning. this vehicle has a great ride. One mus be careful in long trips because it will put you to sleep.

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  Still going... - 1995 Chevrolet Corsica
  By ... - August 25 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Corsica (V6, auto) new in Jan. 95, and Ive put nearly 150,000 miles on it. Its not flashy, but it gets me around and has only had one major repair (cracked intake manifold at around 140,000 miles). It still gets 29mpg highway with the A/C on.

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  Buy 1 - 1995 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By LB625 - August 25 - 2:00 am

  Except for a poor design overdrive transmission the Tahoe is excellent. Owned it for 7 months and the sun gear broke and for $1400 we were back on the road. Throttle body gasket leaked but the felpro replacement gasket which is at least twice the size goes in easily. This is the unit to buy!! Comfort, power, ride are all the best I have owned, so far.

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  More problems... - 2003 Chevrolet TrailBlazer
  By dwmorris - August 24 - 10:00 am

  Rolled into dealership with 4000 miles today. This time, fan clutch will not disengage and the truck sounds like a jet taking off when accellerating. The service writer told me that this will happen when it is really hot out and all was working as designed. I would have bought that line if the truck had not already made it through the hottest summer ever in Phoenix, AZ without ever experiencing this, and considering it did the same thing at 5:30AM when outside temp was 70. I paid extra to rent another TBlazer for the day and drove it immediately over to the same service writer so she could hear what a properly running TrailBlazer sounds like.

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  Quadrasteer - 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By roadflyt - August 23 - 7:06 pm

  Best overall truck I have had in the last 40 yrs. Interior material is not as good as older Chevy trucks but design is good. Averages 16-18 mpg with good perfomance (5.3v8).

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  Dissapointment - 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt
  By cobalt - August 23 - 9:06 am

  I bought this car brand new. The first week it was fine. But within the second and third week of driving, strange noises started coming from the front engine area - these weird ratting sounds that would come and go. And after 3 weeks, a horribly loud noise suddenly started clicking. It sounded like it was coming from the right front tire. So I had to take it back to the dealership to get fixed. The brakes also make a strained sound, and they arent paticularly as sharp as Id like them to be. The clanking sound is unnerving and extremley annoying. Now I have to go out of my way to get it fixed. This is inconvienent and not fair - Ive only owned for less than a month!

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  Our New Malibu! - 2005 Chevrolet Malibu
  By larry tobias - August 21 - 11:50 am

  We leased our Malibu on June 5th, 2005 (Its our fourth Malibu lease in a row, dating back to 1997). We like this years design best of all. My only regret is that we did not get it with the sport package. It runs and handles very well, with plenty of room for rear passengers, and room in the trunk. We are getting about 21mpg. around town, and about 30 mpg. on the highway.

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  Good Car - 1999 Chevrolet Astro
  By Edward B Chastain - August 21 - 2:00 am

  I baught the van because of 9 grand kids. It was and is great. But the kids have grown up and have thier own cars, so it is now too big for one.

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  Just give them a real suspension - 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By thestevester - August 20 - 2:00 am

  Have put 22,000 miles on my 2001 Z24 since buying it new last year.I Have had no problems at all.Great looks and a good price.The car handles very well and is only lacking a better suspension.The build quality on mine is very good,much tighter and no rattles compared to my 91 z24(also bought new).2.4 is a little loud at idle but quiets down on the road.Great on the highway but it can get tiresome driving the manual around town,especially on bad roads when the car feels like it falls right in to potholes.

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  1995 Chevy Corsica - 1995 Chevrolet Corsica
  By Aimee - August 19 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car used, and I have not had many problems at all. Alot of people told me that Corsicas tend to stop working after they reach 100,000 miles, but mine seems to be doing just fine. I bought it with a little over 50,000 miles on it and the only problems I have had is sometime it tends to flood inside when it rains really hard. Other than that it is a good affordable dependable car. Another thing it did that I wasnt sure about is I have gone through 2 alternators in less than a year, but maybe that is my fault, I am not the nicest on my car. Good car.