Duds Vs. Stars
Chevrolet has built some truly incredible machines over the decades. But they've also produced a few absolute disasters that make you wonder what the engineers were thinking. The bowtie brand's story includes both automotive legends and complete embarrassments sitting side by side in showrooms. So, let's have a closer look at the full spectrum of its most spectacular misses and greatest hits.
Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA on Wikimedia
1. Chevrolet Vega
What happens when Motor Trend's Car of the Year becomes automotive history's most notorious failure? The 1971 Chevrolet Vega earned that prestigious award only to implode spectacularly. By 1972, Chevrolet was recalling half a million Vegas due to catastrophic problems.
2. Chevrolet Corvair
Ralph Nader's book Unsafe at Any Speed didn't just criticize the Corvair—it demolished it. The car's rear-engine design gave rise to dangerous oversteers that average drivers couldn't handle. This eventually led to crashes that sparked 85 lawsuits against General Motors.
3. Chevrolet Cobalt
In 2006, angry Cobalt owners flooded the NHTSA with 2,326 complaints, over half involving power steering failures. However, the real horror unfolded later when the Cobalt became the epicenter of GM's ignition switch scandal, affecting 2.19 million vehicles.
4. Chevrolet HHR
Automotive journalists wrote brutal reviews of the HHR, describing its "horrendous drivetrain" and “garbage steering feel”. The retro-styled wagon featured claustrophobic interiors with tiny windows. After just five years of disappointing sales, Chevrolet discontinued this competitor in 2011.
5. Chevrolet Chevette
Despite being America's best-selling small car in 1979–1980, the Chevette earned a spot on Time magazine's list of the 50 worst cars ever made. Besides, Car Talk's listeners have also ranked it fifth in their "Worst Car of the Millennium" poll.
6. Chevrolet Monza
GM originally structured the Monza to house their revolutionary Wankel rotary engine, but when that powerplant was canceled due to poor fuel economy and emissions issues, engineers scrambled for alternatives. Apparently, it was built on the problematic Vega platform.
7. Chevrolet Citation
Motor Trend's editors must have been embarrassed when their 1980 "Car of the Year" became what experts later called "legendarily unreliable and one of the most recalled cars of all time". The Citation marked Chevrolet's first attempt at front-wheel drive.
8. Chevrolet SSR
By December 2004, the company was announcing five weeks of factory layoffs due to a staggering 301-day supply of unsold SSRs gathering dust. The bubble front clip made it look like "a roadster lost," confusing consumers about its actual purpose.
9. Chevrolet Aveo
Chevrolet's subcompact solution was essentially automotive outsourcing gone wrong—a rebadged Daewoo from Korea sold under the bowtie badge. The Aveo's performance was so painful that it stood unrivaled in the subcompact segment for all the wrong reasons, with plain styling.
10. 2014–2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (Third Generation)
Chevrolet's flagship truck also became a recall nightmare during its third generation. The 2014 model endured 20 different NHTSA recalls, while the 2015 version suffered through 23 separate safety campaigns. The first two model years proved particularly failure-prone with mechanical issues.
Now, let's celebrate the Chevrolet models that got everything right.
1. 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air
The pinnacle of 1950s automotive excellence arrived in the form of the 1957 Bel Air, representing the crown jewel of Chevrolet's Tri-Five series, which dominated American roads from 1955. This cultural phenomenon sold five million units across three model years.
2. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
Available only to those in the know, the 1969 Camaro Z/28 was essentially a "secret menu" offering for serious performance enthusiasts who understood its racing pedigree. It was built as a homologation special for SCCA's Trans Am Series competition.
3. 1963–1966 Chevrolet C10 Pickup
Between 1963 and 1966, American truck buyers made a stunning statement: an astonishing one-third of every truck produced in the entire country wore a Chevrolet bowtie. The beloved 1963 model year brought the famous egg crate grille and headlamp bezels.
4. 1990 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1
America's first true supercar competitor emerged when Chevrolet partnered with Lotus to create the LT5 engine. It powered the 1990 Corvette ZR-1 to 375 horsepower and a capability of over 180 mph. The ZR-1 featured advanced technology, including selective ride control.
5. 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454
The muscle car era reached its zenith with the 1970 Chevelle SS 454. This powerhouse could rocket from 0–60 mph in the low 6-second range, establishing it among the fastest muscle cars ever produced before emissions regulations would neuter American performance.
6. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro COPO
Special ordering through Chevrolet's Central Office Production Orders allowed dealers to circumvent GM's corporate ban on engines larger than 400 cubic inches. The COPO 9560 and 9561 variants packed 427-cubic-inch V8 engines that weren't typically available in Camaros.
Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA on Wikimedia
7. 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (C7)
With a supercharged LT5 V8 engine generating an earth-shattering 755 horsepower, we got the most powerful Corvette ever created. The beast could sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.85 seconds and achieve a blistering 212 mph top speed.
8. Current Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Today's truck buyers have spoken loud and clear. The current Chevrolet Silverado 1500 stands as both Chevrolet's best-selling vehicle and America's second-best-selling vehicle overall as of 2023. The latest fourth-generation iteration showcases modern convenience features that represent pickup truck evolution.
DestinationFearFan on Wikimedia
9. 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport
Chevrolet built exactly five Grand Sport Corvettes in 1963, making them among the rarest production Corvettes in existence and extraordinarily valuable collector pieces today. These weren't ordinary sports cars; they were Chevrolet's earnest attempt at crafting international racing competitors, powered by 377-cubic-inch V8 engines.
Alan Raine from Cheshire on Wikimedia
10. Chevrolet Suburban
Since 1935, one nameplate has endured longer than any other automobile in the world. The Chevrolet Suburban is currently celebrating its twelfth generation of continuous production. It became the progenitor of the modern full-size SUV by adding wagon-style utility.
