I've never owned a Chevy, or any car for that manner, but I've ridden in a couple, and I rode in all of them on the same week, back in July.
First, there was a beige Chevrolet Venture that we rode in from Syracuse to New York City and back. My uncle had recently purchased the van as a work vehicle (not sure why he couldn't just use his Dodge Ram as a work vehicle, but alright), so he wasn't actually aware that the air conditioning wasn't working. Well, it functioned, but it was as effective as an old man blowing air into your face. So, we had to roll down the front windows, and pop out all the rear windows, and that served as our air conditioning. It certainly felt nice and added to the sensation of speed on the green highways of the country, but we were all stewing in the Lincoln Tunnel. The radio was the worst I'd ever heard in a vehicle; it just sounded bad and grainy. The ride quality wasn't that great either; the van had a tendency to bob about over bumps and imperfections. The passenger side sliding door couldn't be opened from the outside, and the rear hatch made a weird clinking noise when it shut. On a funny note, I got to witness the valet bump it into a Pathfinder with a loud thunk. Surprisingly, the van was unharmed, and I seemed to be the only one who noticed the accident.
Next, there was a little cobalt blue Chevrolet Cobalt, an '07, with 160,000 miles on it. This little car has had quite a rough existence. It was purchased new by my aunt who wanted the cheapest car on the lot, and thus, has manual locks, windows, mirrors, and seats. The only thing on it that was automatic was the transmission, but that's only because they didn't have any stick-shift equipped Cobalts on the lot at the time. The Cobalt didn't stay new for long, and has endured harsh Syracuse winters, but with minimal rust, has been in numerous accidents, and has seen plenty of dirt roads. This car served as our main form of transportation during the week that I stayed in Syracuse, so I got to know it quite well. The engine seemed spirited and peppy, but was loud and course. The ride quality wasn't very special, and it jittered about over bumps. The quality of the plastics inside was appalling, but even after spending a week with it, I didn't hate the Cobalt. Its poor condition gave it an odd, appealing character, but that said, I'd never want to own one.
There was also a beige Chevrolet Blazer, a 4.3 V6 model from the early '00s. What a tiny, tiny SUV. I know Blazers have never been very big, but I'd at least expect the interior to be packaged well. The seats were overstuffed and large, and the contoured center cluster and dashboard added to the claustrophobic atmosphere. This car wasn't technically my uncle's; it was his friend's, a man who enjoys buying cars and then storing them at my uncle's property, never driving them. I have no idea why. Nevertheless, this gives my uncle a broader range of cars than his rusty Ford Ranger. The Blazer itself was in decent condition, but I don't remember the air conditioning working. Or maybe it did, I'm really not sure; it seems to be family tradition in New York to ride with all the windows down. The Blazer had no redeeming qualities worth mentioning; it felt powerful enough, the brakes felt alright, but it was particularly loud at speed with the windows down, even for an SUV; the '12 Jeep Wrangler I rode in that week had much less wind noise, even with a flappy canvas top and the windows rolled down.
Finally, there was my uncle's (the one with the Dodge Ram and the Chevy Venture, not the one with the Blazer) '84 Corvette. I actually drove this car, and I really, really liked it. It sounded fantastic upon start-up, beginning with some unsettled revs and then settling into a deep burble. Having 205 horsepower, it didn't feel overwhelmingly fast, but it was fun, especially with the T-Tops opened up and the windows rolled down. Each shift, while incredibly jerky, added to the raw feeling and drama of gaining speed. Unfortunately, the 4 speed automatic wasn't very smart, and often liked to shift up to 3rd as fast as it could. Throttle response felt a little off, but it was still easy and fun to have access to that low-end torque at low revs. Steering was nice and direct, and I quite liked it. The brakes took a while to actually do something, but they were smooth enough, and coming to a smooth stop was easy. The ride quality, according to others, is absolutely awful. Apparently, the combination of regularly riding in a Mini Cooper S, which has an unspeakably bad ride quality, and just being young, have made me immune to being bothered by a bad ride. Still, the Corvette felt very, very firm on the road, but when going over bumps, it felt as if the whole car was rattling against itself. But overall, I really liked the Corvette, and it was by far the best Chevrolet I'd ridden in that week.
Would I buy a new Chevy in the future? Well, I'm not in the position to buy a car, or own one, period. But would I consider one? Well, I'd love to have a C4 Corvette of my own, and the Sonic looks neat, but other than that, I find that Ford offers more appealing products across the board.
. Sorry if its been posted before :/.
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