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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  Used buy value - 2008 Chevrolet Impala
  By stirfry1 - January 1 - 11:01 am

  Bought the car one year old, now have 60,000 on it with no significant issues.

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  So far so good! - 2008 Chevrolet Uplander
  By 59_cadie - January 1 - 10:22 am

  Bought used with 133000+ miles. 23+miles to a gallon @ 70 mph. Heater could be better but still keeps us warm in -0 temps. We got it for $6500.00 tax, title, ins, & travel expenses to pick it up. We are very happy with it.

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  BAD BAD Choice in a vehicle.. - 2011 Chevrolet Equinox
  By redding63 - December 31 - 10:58 am

  Where do I start... first of all I owned the vehicle for 5 days to have it taken in to the dealership for costly repairs! Yes my warranty covered it but still, I had to have the water pump,fuel pump and timing chain all replaced! Then a month later the check engine light comes on so I called On Star to have them diagnose the issue,come to find out its misfiring.AND we smell gas in the oil AND our remote start wont work because of the check engine light thats on.The dealership has us waiting a week to bring it in. Not only is that bad business ,but to find out they may or may not give us a rental car to drive. Do I feel safe in this vehicle? NO absolutely NOT!

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  Highest Owner Satisfaction Two Years In.A Row - 2014 Chevrolet Volt
  By davidsvolt - December 30 - 4:09 am

  My current overall milage is 69.8 mpg and climbing. I expect my overall milage will be over 100 mpg after a few more months of driving. With my current commute of 56 miles daily I typically drive 42 miles on a charge, then it switches to gas, seamlessly, for the remaking 14 miles. Its range is well over 300 miles per tank. It currently takes 10 hours to charge the car using the charger that comes with the car. It plugs in to any standard wall outlet. It cost about $1.50 to charge completely. You can buy a 220 volt charger that cuts charging time down to less than 4 hours. I paid $31,900 -$7,500 Fed tax rebate - $1,500 Ca rebate = $22,900 + tax/ license. That is a total steal.

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  Nephews Camaro, Not Mine - 2013 Chevrolet Camaro
  By weldrup - December 29 - 1:12 pm

  Nephew went to Qatar for a year (Army) and left the car with me. Fun to drive, handles great, rides OK for what it is, mileage is good, good looking car...BUT...preparing the car for his return, after washing and waxing, I see the car has marks under the clear coat which will not come off. I tried different waxes, buffing with 3M Finesse...clear coat is ruined as far as Im concerned. Ive seen this same defect on my 1996 Intrepid and my 2003 Dodge Ram. It must the good old boys at Detroit using the cheap junk because my 2002 Honda (296000 miles) sits in the same driveway, and does NOT have these issues. Im glad we taxpayers just gave GM $10 billion to produce junk!!!

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  Great value - 2013 Chevrolet Cruze
  By kj83 - December 29 - 11:49 am

  The Cruze is a nice, solid car for a great price. I like the exterior styling, and also the simplicity and layout of the interior. The driver has excellent visibility. The key selling feature for me was the top safety ratings, as my daughters would be spending a lot of time driving this car too. The car (1LT, 1.4Turbo) handles competently, and the engine has surprising strength given the fantastic gas mileage. Weve had it for 4 months & 4K miles, and so far no issues. The transmission and controls all work perfectly. I was initially looking for a good used car, and also looked at new Civics & Corollas, but I liked the Cruze the best and am happy to buy an American brand.

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  First month impressions - 2014 Chevrolet Volt
  By epguy - December 27 - 10:17 pm

  I have had our 2014 Volt for just about a month. Its been very impressive. My only disappointment is that in very cold weather, below 15 degrees, the gas engine is programmed to come on instead of just using the battery all the time. As I have gotten to know more about the car, it continues to amaze me with all of its technological features, from the remote start from your smartphone, to the car turning the seat heaters on when you sit down, and automatically reducing the seat heater temp when they warm up. I like being able to drive an electric car, with no range worries that is sharp looking and truly fun to drive.

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  Sonic Hatch LT with 1.4L - 2013 Chevrolet Sonic
  By jaar819 - December 25 - 6:58 am

  I thought the overall design of both the interior and exterior of the Sonic was very tastefully done. I liked it better than other cars in its class but this is obviously a matter of taste. The 1.4L turbo engine is smooth and fun, 6 speaker sound system which seemed better to me than other cars in class, MyLink system, body of car seemed extremely stiff, much better than Mini Clubman, the last car i owned. I know this because my driveway has a bump which puts torsional stress on the car. the mini creaked. the sonic does not. very smooth ride on highway. very low rpm of engine at highway speeds. very quiet car for subcompact. the suspension system makes car feel more like a luxury car.

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  great mileage - 2013 Chevrolet Impala
  By lecartier - December 15 - 7:55 pm

  I will not address the vehicle appearance, interior appearance or "creature comforts", those are all subject to personal preferences which are as numerous as the populace. I can address only the mileage of this vehicle. I own this vehicle, entered service 8/12, now with 30K miles, plus/minus. I drove 320 mostly freeway miles in the last two days at 33 plus miles per gallon. The returning mileage in terrible friday traffic of 7 hrs vs the 3 hrs getting there was still barely over 30 mpg. The lowest mileage recorded in ALL traffic has been 24 +

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  Tail lights and headlights - 2003 Chevrolet Venture
  By sherrington - December 15 - 1:47 pm

  I see numerous complaints about tail lights and headlights for the Venture here. Ive had and cured both issues. The brake lights burn out becuase of water collecting in the tail light assembly. The seals are unable to keep it out at highways speeds. Drill a 1/4 inch hole in the bottom of the tail light assembly to drain water out. Be sure and drill through the bottom bulb chamber as well. Headlights come filled with nitrogen. Dont as why. If the nitrogen leaks out they will fog up. You can change the bulbs without draining the nitrogen, but a new head light assmebly is available online for about the cost of a new bulb. That said, my Venture is reliable, comfortable and roomy.