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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  Would be good - 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier
  By Jon Smith - September 23 - 2:00 am

  Would be good but the car just keeps having problems, IAT, HUBS go out, Slave cylinders go out multiple times and then contaminate the clutch but That problem starts with the master cylinder which is usually repaired wrong at dealers for cost cutting-they replace the slave not the master cylinder. almost cost my life in an accident! Trans went out, Radio went out twice the replaced one was remanufactured, not NEW under warranty. speakers go out, throttle cable rusted and would make the throttle stick or not move-thus no driving or very high revs. The car would be great if GM wasnt so Cheap! and that intake manifold design is crap.

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  Awesome Car - 2008 Chevrolet Impala
  By JS - September 22 - 2:00 am

  This is a great car to drive recently bought this car. It is very fun to drive and I have ad nothing but great times in this car. I took this car from Philadelphia to New York City with some friends( 104 miles) and we started on a full tank of gas and using cruise control we got to New York City with approximately 3/4 of a tank left so its great on gas. There have been no problems at all with this beautiful car. Remote start works well and truck space is awesome. There is a safety precaution when there is severe wet weather it sounds like a a loud muffler but it protects the car from flooding the undercarriage

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  No more - 2008 Chevrolet Impala
  By No more - September 22 - 2:00 am

  We bought this car because we wanted a sporty family sedan. The car looks great in the red with the large wheels but thats really the only upside. Weve owned over 30 vehicles over the years and this has to be the worst. Problems started right away. Door locks stopped working, the CD player stopped working, the ABS/ traction control has had problems 2 different times. Of course now that everything is fixed it has a pretty substantial coolant leak. Maybe we got a lemon, but this car is truly a disappointment. I think were done with GM. Our 06 fusion has been perfect through 80k miles and this car has serious problems with only 40K miles on it.

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  Has to go - 2007 Chevrolet Equinox
  By HK - September 21 - 2:00 am

  We purchased our Equinox 3 yrs ago brand new. Within the first year, we had an issue with what the dealership called "contaminated hoses?" which caused the transmission fluid to be completely black. Thankfully the warranty covered the fix. Since then we have had issues with our spark plugs going bad 2x, there is a severe leaking problem SOMEWHERE that can not be found that caused a swimming pool in the back spare tire compartment. I realized this one day after a few days of heavy rain, i was going down a steep hill applying my brakes and was amazed at all the water that came gushing out from the back, entire floors soaked! Still have yet to find where it is coming from.

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  Vibration Issues - 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By RANDY NABAL - September 20 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my truck for $50K loaded. I have been complaining of vibration issues since day one. I have owned 2 Yukons and wanted a change and purchased a Tahoe. The only difference was this truck had 20" tires/rims. The sole of problem. I have had several places tell me the rims and tires are O.K. after Autoway changed them on my truck 7 times. They had the truck the first 3 weeks I owned the vehicle. If you put the 17" tires on the truck it does not vibrate. I have been told that the drive shaft is not balanced but GM will not do anything about it. I now have 63K miles on the truck and cant stand to do highway speeds especially with customers in my truck. Everyone but GM notice problem.

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  Great overall car - 2008 Chevrolet Malibu
  By al - September 20 - 2:00 am

  I love my 08 metallic black 2lt malibu. The exterior and interior are great looking, i have had people misjudge my malibu to be a Mercedes numerous times. car looks like it should cost a lot more. The 4cylinder is not a performance motor at all, gas mileage is decent in city 24.6 average but it is great on the highway. I can drive from new jersey to north carolina on 1 tank of gas. I have not had any quality issues, very reliable, trustworthy car. At 37,000 miles the car finally seems to have broken in it runs great I LOVE IT!

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  My 2001 Prizm experience - 2001 Chevrolet Prizm
  By howie12021 - September 19 - 2:00 am

  Overall a good car with a variety of small faults: 1-upholstery gets holes from cigarette ash too easily. 2-headliner becoming unglued front/back windows. 3-rear cup holder flimsy. 4-dash light between tach/speedometer out very expensive dashboard dis-assembly to replace. 5-all dash lighting is terrible*too faint/hard to read. 6-center storage box*awkward to use. 7-window mechanism: drivers replaced* passengers sticks [slam door]to un-stick?! 8-interior plastic strip above left rear door slowly shredding pieces. 9-Dashboard arrangement is poor, e.g., have to look to operate radio selections. 10-rear wiper a +. 11-bumper paint if touched flakes off to reveal black undercoat.

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  Quiet and Comfortable - 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe
  By Tim - September 19 - 2:00 am

  We had to move from a Mustang to something to fit 3 kids. Im very happy with this vehicle. The gas mileage is the same as my 05 mustang and averages out to be about 1-2 mpg more. I do wish it was a bit higher and the plastic under the front fender wasnt there but Im sure it is for aerodynamics. It does seem like every time I pull away from a stop a $5 bill leaves my wallet but once you get going its good. One nice this is the transmission, it switches from v4 to v8 depending on demand. It has been a good vehicle so far.

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  Bad Brakes - 2009 Chevrolet HHR
  By Bobnur - September 19 - 2:00 am

  Great car, fun to drive, bad rotors, it is like the last four cobolts I have owned, brakes vibrate due to rotors, they said dont use them going down hill ?

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  Hate and love my car - 1999 Chevrolet Camaro
  By Countrygirl1988 - September 18 - 2:00 am

  I bought my camaro in 2008 with 97,000 miles on it, I have put 117,000 on it in 2 yrs, in the 2 yrs of owning it I have replaced the rear end and the clutch, a/c refill, transmission lost 5th gear and it was the c clip fell off, and it blew a head gasket also had a lifter making noise, I paid $8,000 for it and have 12 in and its broken down every summer the only time of the year I love to drive it the things I love about my car is the t-tops so easy to take off and throw in the trunk, looks, lot of get up n go, great handling, comfortable, I tell myself I am going to sell it after I fix it every time something goes wrong but then I drive it and I dont want to get rid of it, I love driving it too much