Chevrolet Cavalier

The Chevrolet Cavalier was Chevrolet's version of the compact GM J platform. The book American Automobile 1893-1993 notes that the Cavalier was aimed at quality imports such as the Honda Accord. It was one of the most popular cars in the United States and Canada from its introduction in early 1981 as a 1982 model. Even in the 2000s, it was GM's best selling car and trailed only the Ford Taurus, Toyota Camry, and Honda's Accord and Civic in total sales.[1]

The Cavalier was a compact Chevrolet produced from 1982 to 2005. The Cavalier is widely cited as the most successful of Chevrolet's long line of cars aimed at combatting the influx of compact imported vehicles, starting with the Corvair, Vega, Monza and the Chevette, with the Cavalier leading up to current Cobalt. The Chevrolet Vega defined the subcompact class, before being replaced by both the Monza and the Chevette.[2] After the exit of the Vega, the Monza and Chevette would do little to expand Chevrolet's share of small cars, but the arrival of the front-wheel-drive Cavalier would change this.

It was not the only J-car to use the Cavalier name; it was also used in the United Kingdom on the Vauxhall-badged version of the Opel Ascona C, and indeed the badge had been used by Vauxhall since 1976. The J-cars were offered by all five US divisions of General Motors, as well as GM in Britain, Germany and Australia.

Predecessors

The Cavalier replaced the Monza, which was available as a 2-door coupe, a 3-door hatchback and a 3-door wagon (using the same body as the discontinued Vega wagon, the model it replaced). The inexpensive Chevette was retained even as sales declined, and was formally replaced by even smaller captive imports. Both platforms had conventional rear-drive layouts which suffered in comparison with more efficient front wheel drive offerings such as the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Ford and Chrysler also introduced new front drive compacts. The largely successful mission of capturing the bulk of domestic compact sales would fall on the Cavalier's 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan and 4-door station wagon, the relatively short-lived Accord-like 3-door hatchback (which replaced the stylish Monza 2+2 Sport 3-door hatchback) and, in later years, a 2-door convertible. The small Cavalier even helped fill in lagging sales of the mid-size Citation (a Nova replacement).

Criticisms

The Cavalier had a major restyling in 1988 (growing it to the size of the Ford Tempo) and was redesigned for 1995. Despite strong sales, the car was widely criticized by automotive journalists for its aging platform, interior design and quality control. The Cavalier would have poor crash test ratings, most notably the high risk of pelvic injury in the third generation model (according to the NHTSA). The 1995-2005 model received a rating of "Poor" from the IIHS. The Cavalier would retire as an affordable compact comparable to, but usually sold for less than, the Honda Civic, while the Accord evolved into a mid-size car.

Production

Cavaliers were built in Lordstown, Ohio, although they have also been produced in Lansing, Michigan, Janesville, Wisconsin, and Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, Mexico.

Production of the Cavalier ended in October 2004, with the very last 2005 model year Cavalier rolling off the Lordstown Assembly Plant line on October 6, and the last Cavalier off the Ramos Arizpe Assembly Plant line on September 1. The Cavalier was replaced by the 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt in the United States and Canada, and Chevrolet Astra in Mexico.

United States sales figures

• 58,904 - 1982
• 218,587 - 1983
• 462,611 - 1984 (Best-seller)
• 383,752 - 1985 (Best-seller)
• 432,101 - 1986
• 346,254 - 1987
• 322,939 - 1988
• 376,626 - 1989
• 310,501 - 1990
• 326,847 - 1991
• 225,633 - 1992
• 251,590 - 1993
• 254,426 - 1994
• 151,669 - 1995
• 261,686 - 1996
• 315,136 - 1997
• 238,861 - 1998
• 272,000 (est) - 1999
• 5,210,123 ~ total known to 1999

Sources: Edmunds.com (1992-98), Autoworld.com (1999 estimate)[3]

Generations

• First generation (1982-1987)

• Second generation (1988-1994, restyled for 1991)

• Third generation (1995-1999)

• Fourth Generation (1999-2002)

• Fifth Generation (2002-2006)

Engines used

• 1.8 L inline-4 OHV
• 2.0 L inline-4 OHV
• 2.8 L MPFI (available in American Z24 models from 1986 to 1989, and in Mexican models until 1994)
• 2.2 L inline-4 OHV
• 2.2 L inline-4 OHV "2200 SFI"
• 2.2 L inline-4 DOHC "Ecotec"
• 2.3 L inline-4 DOHC (1995 Z24 only)
• 2.4 L inline-4 DOHC (Z24)
• 3.1 L V6 MPFI (Available in Z24 and Wagon models from 1990 to 1994)

Years used

• 1991-1994 3.1 L MPFI (191 in³) V6
• 1992-1997 GM inline-4 OHV 2.2 L (134 in³) I4 115 hp LN2
• 1995 Quad-4 2.3 L (138 in³) I4 145 hp LD2
• 1998-2002 2.2 L GM inline-4 OHV "2200 SFI" 120hp LN2
• 1996-2002 LD9 2.4 L (146 in³) I4 150 hp
• 2002-2005 Ecotec L61 2.2 L (134 in³) I4 140 hp
• 2002 (LS Sport Model only) 2.2 Ecotec (152in) Inline 4 190hp

Models and trim levels

• Cadet - coupe, sedan or wagon
• base - coupe, sedan, or wagon
• VL (Value Leader) - a as coupe, sedan or wagon
• Type-10 - coupe, convertible and hatchback
• RS (Rally Sport) - coupe, sedan, convertible, and wagon
• Z24 - hatchback (1986-1987), coupe, convertible, and sedan (2002)
• LS - coupe, sedan and convertible
• LS Sport - coupe or sedan

1993 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 convertible

Facelifted 2nd-gen Cavalier coupe

Facelifted 2nd-gen Cavalier wagon

Concepts

General Motors has produced a handful of concept cars based on the J platform which were first seen at the 2001 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) auto show. These include the Cavalier 220 Sport Turbo Coupe, the Cavalier 263 Super Sport, the Cavalier Z24R, the Cavalier Maui 155, the Cavalier 425 A/FX drag car, the Cavalier Technic Z24 and the Pontiac Sunfire HO (High Output) 2.4. These concept cars were produced by GM to show off the flexibility and performance of the J platform and to show that Cavaliers and Sunfires have greater potential than just hauling groceries. The concept cars at the 2001 SEMA show boasted supercharged engines, customized interiors, aggressive exterior styling, and high end audio/video systems.

Toyota Cavalier

The third generation model was briefly sold in Japan by Toyota, under a company agreement with GM, badged as the Toyota Cavalier, with some notable differences. Besides the fact that it was right hand drive, the Toyota Cavalier also featured a leather-wrapped shift knob and steering wheel, wider front fenders, Japanese legal taillights (with amber turn signals, per Japanese regulations), power folding rear mirrors, side turn signal repeater lights on the front fenders, and carpeting on the inside of the trunk lid. Interior seats were often flecked with color. Rear seat was folding. The Toyota Cavalier was entirely produced by GM in the USA and delivered fair sales from 1995 to 2000.

A fair number of these vehicles are re-exported as Japanese used cars, most notably to New Zealand.

See also

• List of bestselling vehicle nameplates

References

fr:Chevrolet Cavalier lt:Chevrolet Cavalier ja:トヨタ・キャバリエ pt:Chevrolet Cavalier

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