(first posted 8/12/2015) One of the things I enjoy most about business travel is the ability to explore new-to-me places once the day’s work is done. My current job afforded my first night’s stay in all-American cities like Des Moines, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska – both of which I loved. There’s something liberating about being able to ditch my suit and tie in my hotel room after smiling, listening and talking all day, putting on comfortable clothes, and hitting the pavement with my trusty Canon.
It was on one such trip several years back that I discovered this Cavalier notchback while walking around downtown Des Moines. I was positively mesmerized by the sight of this once-facelifted Squarevalier, but at the time, I couldn’t put my finger on why I found it so utterly fascinating. Several things later dawned on me. This car was the look of every high school parking lot and shopping mall of the early 1990’s. This was the car featured in myriad Showcase Showdowns on “The Price is Right”. This car was 1980’s America.
Another thing that struck me was that despite its terminal rust situation, the body on this sporty, little J-car was bone-straight – and I’m not just talking about the linear styling. After walking around it several times, I couldn’t find any noticeable dents. That’s usually an indicator of some degree of pride of ownership, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out this is / was a one- or two-owner car. It was a paradox in a parking lot, with rust everywhere but no dents and a super-clean interior.
These square-rigged Cavalier notchback coupes did absolutely nothing for me back in the day. I avoided looking at one of these as a potential used car purchase in the early ’90s when I had decided I’d had enough of my hand-me-down ’84 Ford Tempo which didn’t like to stay running when at a stop. I did like these Cavaliers in hatchback Z24 form, especially in red with the orange graphics, but there were just so many of this generation, everywhere, all the time, that I suppose I had just learned to tune them out in the autoscape. There are still some rounded, latter-day first generation cars still running around (in decreasing numbers), but most of the early Cavs appear to have vaporized, which made me take notice of this one even more.
The ’85 Cavalier was the best-selling car in the United States that year, with over 383,000 sold. Powered by an 88-hp 2.0L 4-cylinder, this Cavalier would have edged decisively ahead of my same-horsepower, 400 lbs.-heavier 2.3L 4-cylinder ’88 Ford Mustang LX at any stoplight. My poor, slow, lovable Mustang was a cheap ticket to the nosebleed seats – a ponycar masquerading as an economical excuse to own something attached to its storied nameplate. (More on my Fox-stang later.)
Since I took it there, I have no doubt that four-cylinder versions of the Cavalier and Mustang were cross-shopped more than a few times by customers who thought the Escort was just too basic and/or dowdy-looking. The U.S. version of the “world car” Escort never seemed to measure up to the Cavalier in terms of style or substance, from the get-go. In base form, especially, the comparison wasn’t even close. Aesthetically, it was Pinto-vs.-Vega all over again and more often than not, looks matter in the youth market which includes such economy-minded cars. Also, the base Cavalier-Mustang comparison isn’t completely far-fetched if you consider that the Cavalier succeeded the Mustang II-competitor Monza in Chevy’s lineup.
To my eyes, this is a clean, purposeful, honest, well-balanced design. This particular model year, the last for the “Type 10” variant which was replaced by the RS for ’86, is when the look of these cars seemed fully realized. The enlarged taillamp clusters with amber turn signals and horizontal strakes had just the right amount of “80’s tech” about them. The subtle, red accents on the body-side trim glowed like neon. The Spirograph-look wheels on this car were another really nice-looking element. While I thought the ’88 restyle was a really commendable effort to bring the 7-year-old Cavalier (especially the coupes) in line with GM’s aero design language – especially with its new, Beretta-esque rear, there was something that irked me about the way the C-pillar didn’t connect smoothly with the rear quarter panel. The pre-’88 models now look better to me, with their blunt front and rear fascias and upright rooflines.
Taking a closer look at this car, I’m wondering if I’m waxing poetic only out of a temporary fit of nostalgia. I do miss the days of the 1980’s when the U.S. top-ten sales charts of passenger vehicles included a majority of American nameplates. Of all the small Chevies built in the forty-four years since the Vega made its debut for model year ’71, I feel like the Cavalier nameplate had the most potential to stick around and still be with us today. Most people I know who owned or drove these Cavaliers seemed to like them, even if they didn’t fawn over them. I don’t remember a lot of Cavalier trash-talk (that wasn’t related to the Z24 and whether someone else’s sporty small car was faster).
In the dusk of downtown Des Moines, and even despite its severe acne problem, I found this Cavalier coupe not only more alluring than some of the cars that later took its subcompact spot it in Chevy’s lineup, but also a really nice-looking car in its own right. True to its mission, it provided basic transportation wrapped in a no-nonsense shape that was both sporty and thoroughly modern. As American (and the same color) as a pair of faded Levi’s, this example was a welcome, familiar sight that made me want to search for a good, mid-80’s Pandora station. Here’s to a car that was everywhere, then nowhere, all at once.
Photos are as taken by the author in downtown Des Moines, Iowa.
Thursday, October 11, 2012.
My wife then girlfriend had a 1986 base Cavalier in the same color as the featured car. I can tell you firsthand that little car impressed me greatly. It had a solid feel to it, and never gave her a bit of trouble in 130k miles. She bought it two years old with 28k miles on the clock and kept it well over 8 years before deciding it was time for a new car (and I pushed her to sell it – she really didn’t need a car at all). It was bare bones but never felt cheap to me. Hers had the blue cloth bucket seats which were very comfortable and an aftermarket pop-up sunroof. The lady that bought it drove it for several more years until it was never seen in our area again. Honestly it was a great little car.
It probably runs like a top, but sad to say… it looks, structurally, on it’s last leg.
The rot looks too far gone, even if you were to swap out for replacement body panels(yeah, good luck with that)… Where would you even find them?
It’s not as if there’s a Year One or Original Parts Group restoration firm for Cavaliers.
That rust has to be attended to ASAP, if the owner wants to get a few more years out of it. Sad, because you don’t see those 1st gen Cavaliers any more, especially the uber rare Z24s.
Stellar find. And great perspective on this car. I had much the same reaction to it when it was new: srsly? Ignore! And then the ’88 restyle did this coupe no favors. And now today I like the original better than the restyle.
I rented a Cav in about 1986. I hated how my knuckles kept hitting the dashboard when I steered the car. They solved that problem by 1989 when I went new-car shopping, but then I hated how low the seating position was. I bought a Beretta instead.
The hatchback Cavalier had lower seats to match its lower roofline. The notchback coupe, despite a lower roofline than the sedan or wagon, nonetheless had seats that were the same height as the 4-doors. Headroom in the back of the coupe was scant as a result – I’m 5′ 8″ and my head touched the roof.
I wasn’t aware the notchback coupe had a lower roof, I’d always assumed it was a true two-door sedan apart from the C pillars being a bit slimmer than the 4-door’s.
When my wife went to buy a used car in 1988 she was searching for a Cavalier and saw one at a local Chevy dealer. It was a 1986, white and red two-tone, with several options like tilt and cruise and a/c. She didn’t leave a deposit on it and when she went back it was sold. She had seen the light blue one which she eventually bought, and was very happy with that car for many years. Ironically, the white and red one was purchased by an old high school friend of hers. Well, that car gave her friend nothing but trouble. It had rust on it in a few years and was always in the shop being fixed. My wife’s car was as reliable as could be. It never gave her an issue and she kept it long after her friend got rid of her lemon. Funny how things happen, isn’t it?
The first-gen Cavalier looked worse each time they mucked with it. The most attractive to my eyes was the first-year ’82 CL, with the single headlamps and a plush interior with velour seats and woodgrained dash, which as with its Pontiac J2000 counterpart didn’t last into its second season. The later aero restylings tried to turn it into something it wasn’t. The hatchback was also dropped at that time. The only good thing I can say about the revamped coupes is that the trunk liftover was much lower.
The Cavalier was a weird car in many ways. Around ’84-’85 there were two completely different dashboards depending on trim level, and later models got yet another third dash design – again each one less attractive than its predecessor. The Z24 coupes and hatchbacks had a V6 which was a (rare?) option in the wagon as well, but not available in the sedans, perhaps not to step on the Cimarron’s toes (not that it helped).
Funny you mention these cars being won on The Price is Right – my cousin won a 1989 Buick Skyhawk Coupe on that show playing the Three Strikes game! I always thought you got the actual car that was on the show, but instead you picked out one at a local dealership near your home. She didn’t keep it though and sold it right away.
This is the car that could have made me a Chevy owner. We visited some extended family in 1985, and a cousin had a maroon 85 Type 10 notchback coupe just like this, and was even a five speed.
I didn’t drive it, but from a passenger seat, it seemed like a nicely done small sporty car. Then, later that year when I was in the market for my first new car, I tried to find one to test drive. Do you think I could find a manual shift Type 10 (or a stick shift of any trim level) at one of the biggest Chevy dealers in Indianapolis? Yes, that Indianapolis, home to multiple GM plants at the time.
Who knows, I might have hated the stick shift Type 10 as much as I hated the automatic sedan that I drove for a few minutes. But I will never know. But I always did find my cousin’s car attractive. As an aside, I also cross-shopped a Mustang (but a GT) and never gave even a first look to an Escort.
My neighbour two houses down has an 83 Cavalier sedan that looks almost as bad as the feature car. Up until a few months ago it was his choice for commuting to work. As he used to be a mechanic, the power train and other hard mechanical components were well maintained over the years.
Our family had an 82 sedan for a year which served us well although the 1.8 engine pinged all the time. Using mid-grade was no help. It was a good car but we quickly outgrew it when baby came along. Depending on the model or trim I like this generation especially if they wore upgraded wheels.
GarryM re pinging: this from my 84 Citation owners manual:
“However, now and then you may notice light spark knock for a short time while driving up hills or accelerating. This is no cause for concern, because you get the greatest fuel economy benefit from the gasoline’s octane rating when there is occasional light spark knock. Using gasoline with a higher rating than that which allows occasional spark knock is an unnecessary expense.”
It’s all in the engineering !!! Pinging is good for you ! No additive ever made it go away. Had it checked, tuned, etc. It’s just what the car did.
I imagine the same thing is in the Cavalier’s owner’s manual. The above reads like GM boilerplate that would have gone into all their owner’s manuals of the period.
In addition, the manual says it’s okay to use “gasahol” aka ethanol, but at a level no higher than 10%.
My Citation 2 door notch pinged as well and I hated it. Loved the car. Loved the Cavalier. Ironically, with the reputation the X cars had, I bought a 99 Cavalier for my first new car because it was so much like that Citation. A little less room, and 3 inches longer, but it did exactly what I wanted it to do. Never gave me any trouble.
Wish I could find a modern equivalent.
The 2 door 95-02 was one of GM’s best designs of the period in my view. The 03-05 mash-up couldn’t hide the basic good looks of a decent design.
And as someone else posted: the 82 was my favorite design of the Cavalier, followed by the 95-99.
Good account of the J Car introduction by Brock Yates in his book The Decline And Fall Of The American Automobile Industry.
Ha! How funny is that?
If I ever spot an owner’s manual at a swap meet or at the wreckers for an early 80’s Cavalier, I must see if there is such a notation.
My old Citation was a Kalifornia car, so maybe there’s a difference in other parts of the country. Pinging going up Laurel Canyon in it really bugged me. It was just soooo not okay [ getting all hip wid it ].
Using premium made no difference, it was just….. there. Heard a lot of Cavaliers on the street going by, clattering and pinging down the road as well.
I guess it was “Computer Command Control” [or whatever it was called] that allowed it. Could have been 84,000 miles on an Iron Duke too.
In 1982 my local, small Texas town Chevy/Pontiac/Cadillac dealer had several of these Cavalier coupes and a J2000 hatchback. I passed on the Cavaliers because they were so “run-of-the-mill”/boring. Sure, they looked vaguely like the old Vega 2 doors, but to my eyes the hatchback J2000 looked like a mini-Firebird. I wonder if the Cavalier hatchback would have been more popular/lasted longer if it looked more like a Camaro.
In the late 80s I looked at a Mustang notchback. The underpowered 4 cylinder didn’t bother me nearly as much as the meager list of standard equipment…..no rear window defroster, just a hot air blower vent behind the rear seat.
Given the extreme weather you guys have, I don’t understand why such a vital piece of equipment as a proper rear window demister wasn’t mandated by law. Pretty sure they were standard in Australia as far back as the seventies. I know my ’74 Cortina had one, and it was the bottom trim level.
Given the amount of government interference in everyday life for Muricans I’m surprised these werent fitted too, Camiras had rear screen demisters standard on the 83 my dad bought and the 87 Isuzu Aska rebadge he traded the 83 on had one, he traded to get the 2.0L motor as the Aussie Camira was 1600 or 1800cc unfortunately the Japanese car came with a japanese suspension tune and handled poorly.
We eventually got the 2 litre in these, but it came with all the post-’86 emission gear. Wheels headed their road test “From Slingshot to Slug” – don’t think GM liked that, but hey, they built it that way! You never saw many of the later ones around.
My dad end for ended his down a 65ft bank walked away with a cut wrist ordered a VL Commodore that afternoon the IsuzuAska/NZ Camira on wiki is his, harvested from our cohort page
For many years New York was the only state that required a rear defroster on all new cars. Today even the dregs at the bottom of the barrel (Nissan Versa, Mitsubishi Mirage etc) have them as standard.
Some states require them, but not all.
This was the best looking Cavalier, period. I never thought these were bad looking cars, but they never held any real appeal to me until recently.
Being one that enjoys a sporadic episode of low-brow entertainment, about two weeks ago I went with my family to a Figure 8 race at the county fair (I even wrote about attending one a few years ago). This year, in addition to the Cavaliers, Escorts, and Tempos there was also Honda, Toyota, VW, and Mitsubishi – there was even an Acura. Given the intent is to destroy the things, in my mind their behavior in such an instance reflects upon their core virtues.
Guess which car was the consistent winner, heat after heat? The Cavalier. The others simply weren’t as robust in this endeavor.
While their conditions drove them to this finale of life, it was intriguing. And it would also explain, partly, why so few Cavaliers remain.
The Cav’s results in smashup events makes sense to me. Whatever the Cavalier’s faults, being thin and brittle was not among them. The cars always felt pretty substantial for their size, so I guess that feel was not all subjective.
I am starting to have a lot more respect for the Cavalier than I ever did before. The Mopar L and K body cars may have been more appealing when new, but the Cavalier seems to have been tougher.
Yeah, for one of the worst quality periods in automotive history, both the Chevette and Cavalier get kudos for being two of the more memorable cockroaches of the road. Oh, trim, switchgear, and other non-critical parts may be falling off and/or not working, but it seems like the mechanicals are relatively easy to fix when they do break, and keep right on going to the bitter end.
Replacing the hydraulic clutch in the J-body was something I had done by a professional. (I had a ’94 Sunbird with a V6 that was still going strong when I sold it in ’09. Wonderful car.) That said, I once had to replace the clutch in my ’80 Chevette. Never. Ever. Again. It was a massive pain in the arse, involved more labor than I want to think about, and the clutch itself cost more than the clutch for my uncle’s dump truck.
The Chevette was designed to be a disposable vehicle. Repairing it could be remarkably expensive.
Saw a Cavalier locally recently, in May, same year, 1985, but the Vauxhall hatchback version, a limited edition ‘Commander’. Bit of a difference when it came to rust though – barely a trace.
For your being in Great Britain (I’m thinking), this Vauxhall is pristine given its moist environment. And it looks so tiny in comparison to its neighbor.
Yes, North Wales. I think it must have had only a few diligent owners in the past 30 years. While it wasn’t concours it looked more like a 10 than a 30 year old car in condition. It doesn’t seem that long ago when most cars were that sort of height (I’m getting old!).
I always thought it was weird how the mostly okay (for its purpose) Cavalier was the follow-up to the Vega-based Monza, and the miserable X-body Citation was the replacement for the stalwart Nova.
There was one thing about the Cavalier, though, that I couldn’t get past, and that was the offset steering wheel. Nothing says poor engineering like a car where they can’t even get the steering wheel centered directly in front of the driver. Even today, I think the same thing can be seen in the brand-new Chevy Silverado, which is one of GM’s main bread-and-butter vehicles, at that.
GM dustbuster plasticvans also had steering wheels obviously to the right of the center of the driver’s seat. I never noticed it when actually driving mine (for years). Other cars like I think the original Taurus and others had the steering wheel centered but angled toward the center of the car. Maybe someone knows why engineers insisted that the steering column connected to the rack (or whatever system) closer to the center of the vehicle than the driver’s position and it had to be adjusted for somehow.
Bigger mystery: why the Brits made original Minis and later larger versions like the ADO16 with bus angled steering wheels instead of putting in one universal joint like the Italian versions did. Wouldn’t a properly angled steering wheel be worth the three pounds extra to consumers? Of course they made a lot of other inexplicable decisions as well.
I also thought the Cavalier (along with the other related GM body styles) was a neat and tidy design. Even though the power train wasn’t so refined, the nice front wheel drive “pull” made them decent to drive.
Here’s more Mid West Madness Oldsmobile style
I liked the dimensions and the clean, uncluttered lines of this vintage of Cavalier but I remember the front seat height being rather low making it feel like sitting in a bathtub. It resembled an Opel Ascona two-door of the time and I liked how the rear windows could be popped open like on a BMW 3-series coupe. I was considering one of these cars as a runabout in college but ended up with a four door Chevy Celebrity.
Another version of a UK spec Cavalier circa 1985. Not many made, and only available with the 1.8 injection engine I believe.
I bought an ’84 Type 10 notchback in 1988 after college. It had the 5-speed and was a good driver, although the shifter could be a little clunky and I actually had to replace it a few times. The engine also pinged on regular – I fould that kind of annoying and always sprung for premium. With good gas mileage, the extra few cents per litre was no bother for me. When it was in an accident a year after I bought it, they gave me a new Tempo as a loaner. Funny, I was actually glad to get my Cavalier back. I kept it for 4 years and 180,000 mostly trouble free kilometers, and traded it for a ’92 Nissan King Cab. I still miss the Cavalier – it was a good car, and better put together than our old ’78 Cutlass that I drove for a few years.
Backing the ignition timing off a degree or two is free and the usual cure for preignition pinging. Or if its gone on for a while youve likely broken some piston rings
Also quite possibly a vacuum leak – good luck finding it, though!
Whatever merits the basic car might have, I just can’t get over the condition of that example. It looks like it needs to be shot with a cannon, not a Canon.
According to the brochures, all ’84-85 2 door and hatchback coupe Cavaliers were Type 10s, no 4-doors or wagons were, and convertibles came with a mix of CL (uplevel sedan/wagon) and Type 10 exterior trim. All that ended in ’86 with base, CL and RS available across all body styles except no base ragtop.
You know, I had a couple of beers with dinner, I surf over to CC and see a posting for a rusty Cavalier. I expected the usual cheap, crappy GM Deadly Sin banter. Instead, folks are sharing positive stories about their old J cars.
What the hell was in that beer?
I grew up near Lordstown, Ohio, where the majority of the J-bodies were produced, especially after the 1988 re-style. We swam in these things. Every kid in the 1980’s got one of these as a high school or college graduation present, some even bought them as their first new car. I can’t begin to tell you how many I’ve been in.
When somebody says these things were a part of the scenery in their neighborhood, please follow me back to Northeast Ohio in the mid-late 1980’s. It seems that every other car was a Cavalier. At one time in the mid 1980’s the Cavalier was third or fourth on the new car charts and was on the top ten through most of that decade. As much as GM cars are denigrated (and some rightfully so) there must have been some value in these little boxes on wheels that appealed to folks.
I have my own history with my J’s, a 1995 Pontiac Sunfire GT and a 1997 Chevy Cavalier. The Sunfire finally wore out in 2013, but the guy I sold the car to managed to bandage it up and gave it to his nephew who wrecked it. The Cavalier (Lansing built) is STILL on the road at 18 years and 265,000+ miles. It’s not as rusty as the subject car, but not too far behind.
I liked both of my J’s, while they may not have been as sophisticated as some other cars, they are reliable and when not rusting, durable. With the right set of tires, they actually handle pretty well and the 2.3L Quad 4 that was in my Sunfire never gave me a moment’s trouble and was pretty powerful in it’s old age. Pretty decent space utilization and good gas mileage. The Cavalier was a great commuter but the Opel derived 2.2L was a bit underwhelming, especially as the mileage climbed above 200,000 miles.
As for this original version of J cars, I have an irrational love of the Oldsmobile Firenza GTs (with 2.8L V6) or the late Cadillac Cimarron (again with 2.8L). Every so often I search Bring a Trailer, eBay Motors and a few other sites looking for the elusive Firenza GT. So far, no success…
There is a special feel in an Oldsmobile…
Best of all, it’s a Cadillac…
Geo: the 2.2 was based on the original Cavalier 1.8. Totally engineered by Chevrolet, and increased to 2.0, then 2.2.
Sunbirds also had a 2.0 till 95 standard but it was the Brazilian [initially 1.8] OHC unit.
The Cavalier at one point was also built in Mexico as well as Lordstown [home of the Vega, the Cavaliers were way better cars and not being churned out at the rate GM demanded] and Lansing.
The “3” in the VIN tells one it’s from the Mexican plant.
Loved my 99. Bought it for the yester-tech OHV engine, parts commonality, GM 4 speed automatic, simplicity, ease of repair, and the fact the platform had been in production so long.
First new car and I’d have it today if someone hadn’t center punched the rear end at a red left turn arrow on my way to work. Just paid off, detailed and waxed the week before.
Good gravy… WRT the Opel engine reference: You’d think I’d remember that from our discussions on here…
FWIW, Lordstown made the Chevy and Pontiac variations, along with Ramos Arizpe in Mexico. IIRC, Ramos Arizpe only did the Sunfire(?) My daughter’s 2004 Sunfire was a 3.
Also, IIRC, the Buick and Oldsmobile J’s were made in Janesville, WI up until the re-design in 1988. After that, I think Janesville went to trucks.
I can’t remember if any other plants down South or out West did J’s. They must have, though.
And yes, the cockroach-like aspects of the J’s were one of the good reasons why to buy one. I think about getting another of the later Sunfires (with Ecotec), but there seems to be very few with the Getrag 5 speed available.
Interesting write-up and photos. Brought back some memories, I had a Cavalier Type 10, but it was an ‘84 and a hatchback. And never had nearly this much rust. I bought it new, my first new car actually, after getting tired of spending too much on gas and repairs for my previous cars. The car looked nice with it’s blue paint and the red accents on the black body side trim. Mine was a 5 speed, and even had a full gauge cluster in the dash.
I drove my Cavalier for about 150,000 miles, but they weren’t trouble-free. It had a main seal fail at less than 1000 miles. The coolant recovery tank also failed at less than 1000 miles, with a clutch interlock switch failing shortly thereafter. One of the factory equipped tires failed at about 5000 miles. Trouble free after that until just out of warranty. Then, the ECM failed. After that, mostly just comparatively minor things like some paint wanting to flake off, a headliner that refused to stay up, and a turn signal stalk that really just wanted to turn the wipers on instead.
Still, the car was solid, reliable for major things after all the initial trouble, had great fuel economy, and was reasonably fun to drive with its manual transmission (probably the only Cavalier that was ever autocrossed… and it actually did quite well with its F41 suspension). It even still had the original clutch when I traded it (the engine didn’t really have enough power to do much clutch damage very quickly).
In the end, I liked the car, but it always made me think that no one at GM ever paid attention to the details, and that it could have been so much more. As mentioned in one of the comments, Brock Yates’s book “The Decline and Fall of the American Automobile Industry” deals a lot with the Cavalier. It’s an excellent read, with much of it perhaps still applicable today.
My mother bought a cavalier wagon in 1989. It was a used 1983 model with the original front end with the small grill and fiber glass piece between the two large sealed beam headlights. It was a similar shade of blue. Stock gray steel wheels with the 2.0 four banger and an automatic.
The following June after having the car six or seven months it got rear ended hard by a Buick Skyhawk. We were at a dead stop and he hit us doing 40 or so. The back end of our car bent down and in. The rear doors jammed. The tailgate and bumper bent in a frown shape.
We hit the mustang coupe in front of us.
The car was totaled and paid off by the insurance company.
They let us keep it because it was worthless as parts.
We drove it for another year or so. We sold it for parts.
I always liked the cars goofy looking front end and the fact that it seemed fast ( mom had a lead foot). Our pit bull in the cargo area could make the wagon change lanes if he turned around back there.
When we sold it she bought a 76 Buick park avenue limited.
A serious change. It was an awesome little wagon and I’ve always like the j cars If I can find one from 1982- 1994 in good shape I will take it in a second.
the 2-door Vauxhall Cavalier has different c-pillar metal.. funny how these ‘world cars’ differ so much in what I would imagine were relatively expensive ways
Great photos and story on a car that used to be everywhere around here, but then disappeared about 10 years ago.
It’s interesting that the X-cars were given great reviews upon their introduction, but turned out to be a disaster for GM, and were gone by the middle of the decade. The J-cars, meanwhile, received tepid initial reviews, at best, but turned out to be reliable cars that remained in production for years. A big problem was the drivetrain – the first engine was simply too slow and unrefined, particularly for the target market.
These cars did not, however, initially compete with the Ford Escort. They were supposed to be a premium small car. The Escort competed with the Honda Civic, Datsun 210/Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla and VW Rabbit. The GM entry in this segment was the doddering old Chevrolet Chevette (and Pontiac badge-engineered version, the T1000).
The Cavalier was aimed at the Honda Accord, which was a step up from those cars in the spring of 1981, when the J-cars debuted. That is why GM initially released the J-cars with a high level of standard equipment, as one of the selling points of the first Accord was that there were no “stripped” versions. Unfortunately, GM’s accountants then decided that the J-cars had to be priced to make a profit, and the result was a small, front-wheel-drive car that approached Chevrolet Caprice prices. The Honda Accord wasn’t the cheapest small car around, but it wasn’t that expensive.
In 1981, that was a bridge too far for loyal GM buyers. The J-cars initially met stiff sales resistance because of the high prices and lackluster performance.
Sticker shock played a hand in the slow initial sales of the Cavalier, especially compared to the larger and roomier Citation in the same showroom.
Same thing happened with the K cars and in this century, the Pacifica.
Early on Chevrolet started offering a bottom line “Cadet” that was priced lower and more basically equipped.
These used to be everywhere, now you never see them. I think I’ve seen 3 or 4 this decade.
Compared to these Cadavers, my 2door K-car (2.2 4cyl, 4 sped, A/C) was a MUCH more comfortable & reliable car.
Chrysler was “bi-polar” on quality control in the 1980’s…either great or terrible. I lucked out!
A friend of my mom’s had one that looked just like this, except in black and not rusty. The last time I saw that friend, which was about 5 years ago, they still had the Cav. Most of the black paint was covered by gray primer, and it looked decidedly worse for wear, but it was still plated and road legal. Definitely a car that was tougher than folks give it credit for.
There was also one still on the road in my old neighborhood as recently as early this year. I’ll have to see if I can find that one this weekend and get a photo…
Wow, what a find! And what memories come flooding back. Honestly, before this article I was beginning to doubt my memory that there even were Type 10 notchbacks, despite my family having one!
Mom had one of these, a 1985 Cavalier Type 10 notchback, that the parents stretched themselves thin to buy brand new to replace the Oldsmobile Firenza that spent most of its life in the shop. Hers was black with light gray interior. It was a four-speed with the 2.0, and because of our finances at the time, it was bereft of options. No A/C, no power windows, no power locks, no cruise control. Instrumentation (in a four-speed manual equipped car) was a linear wide-sweep-type speedometer, a gas gauge, and a few warning lights, oh, and an orange SHIFT light with an arrow pointing up. The two “luxuries” we had were cloth seats and AM/FM radio.
I hated that car! My formative years (from 5-11) were spent in the back seat of a black two-door car without air conditioning. The back windows popped out like vent windows instead of being able to roll down (if you look at the pics here, you can see the black nubs on the rear side windows near the C-Pillar. Those were attached to little flip-handles that popped the window out about 1.5 inches.), and I sweltered in that back seat. Truthfully, though, the front seats were only marginally better, as they had vinyl accent piping on the edges that, on a hot day, would burn lines into my legs.
For as much as I hated it, Mom loved that car! She’d jam it down into second, floor the gas, and pass people like she was running a race! (I thought it was cool the way it looked like the needle was flying across the gauge because the pivot was hidden, as was the tip of the needle the middle part of the range). It was really easy on gas, which despite late 1980s low gas prices was still a thing in our working-class household. And, it never visited the shop for anything but an oil change.
Sadly, mom smashed it in 1991. She actually tried to convince the insurance company to repair it instead of totaling it, and she even offered to pay the difference between the total value and the repair cost. But, it was a no-go and we ended up with the POS 1986 LeBaron GTS that ended up becoming my first car in 1997.
I hated that car as a young kid, but looking back, I think it would have been a really neat first car. Certainly it would have been better than the LeBaron ever was.
1 of 627 1983 convertible.
Wow! I do like that the convertible got the Type 10 hatchback’s soft front nose-cone. Nice example!
Runs like a top
I have no recollection of the Type 10 trim being available on anything but the hatchback and maybe convertible, and am surprised the Type 10’s main difference from the standard Cavalier – the soft plastic leaned-back grille as seen in DB’s photo two entries above this one – isn’t on this one.
I didn’t like the looks of the ’88-facelift coupes either, but the revision did include two things that made it more practical – a low-liftover trunk opening and 60/40 split folding rear seats (rather than the pre-facelift fixed seatback). While they were mucking with the rear seatback, they also added small integral headrests. I don’t recall if the sedan got the folding seatbacks; they definitely didn’t get the low liftover trunk.
It looks like the rear quarter panel was designed by the same engineer who drew the one on that year’s Olds Eighty Eight. Just a different proportion as it looks to me.
We’re these a favored car of Catholic clergy?
My ex-wife’s uncle here in Denver drove a blue ‘86 Cavalier. I’m not sure if the purchase was directed by him and paid for by his parish, or if the Archdiocese purchased it as part of a fleet deal. It was immaculately (no pun intended) maintained inside and out.
Every Sunday, Fr. J, my ex and I would head down to Colorado Springs to see his 90ish mother, making the journey over Monument Pass in either my ex’s ‘84 Cherokee or Fr, J’s. Cavalier. The Jeep was better in the snow or rain, the Cavalier quieter with a smoother ride but both were underpowered for the pass.
Both my ex and I attended Regis University, a Jesuit institution. Apparently the Jesuits had some sort of fleet deal as well. There was a residence for Jesuit faculty on campus (called the “Jez-Rez) and a fleet of 6-7 Cavaliers, all but two were blue). The maintenance trucks on campus were all Chevys, and IIRC the seminary also had Chevys.
One day we were headed toward campus when a blue Cavalier whizzed past in the right turn lane, and then at the intersection swerved into the center through lane. It was summer and our windows were rolled down. A couple lights later the Cavalier and I were side by side. I uncharacteristically yelled “Learn to drive!” Right away my ex, through clenched teeth whispered to me “Shut up, that’s Father V,” He was a highly popular Religious Studies professor. I looked over and he just waved, cracked his usual big smile, and said “Howya doin’ John?
I dreaded what would happen the next time I would see him, but he just walked up, held out his hand and said “Howya doin’ John?” He never ever brought up my rudeness, not then, and never over the years. A good example of turning the other checking
Much later I had the great honor of playing at his funeral mass. Both Fr. J and V were Irish, quite jolly with lively, humorous homilies. I suspect both probably would have preferred a few jigs and reels to be played at their funeral masses instead of hymns
I loved reading this. I would have liked to know Father V’s rationale for that maneuver in traffic, but I also liked that nothing basically came of it.
One of the vicars and his wife at the Lutheran church I attended as a youth had a navy ’88 Cavalier sedan (post-restyle) that seemed to fit their no-frills personalities.
Upon the demise of probably my Dad’s most loaded (by 70’s standards) car, a 1978 Caprice Classic wagon he bought new, it was replaced by another GM, a 1984 Pontiac Sunbird, which I’m sure he’d say was the worst car he ever owned. Within 1000 miles of purchase new, it needed a timing belt. and subsequently needed 2 engines within 80k miles…my youngest sister had taken it over by then, and it had numerous other problems like power steering leak and general degradation of switchgear like the light switch coming apart. It was serviced regularly by the local Pontiac dealer, but didn’t seem to make any difference. My (since departed) youngest sister never bought anything but Japanese cars after that, my Dad avoided GM for 20 years until he bought his last 2 cars, Chevy Impalas, which were much better (my Mother recently stopped driving as she took the last one over upon his passing, and my next to youngest sister has assumed ownership of the Impala this year).
These were good looking cars, but not substantial ones. My Dad moved on to a new 1986 Dodge 600 (his last Mopar). My sister eventually moved onto the first of 2 200/240SX models she was to own, never owned an American car after the Pontiac .