China Resurrects a Great Nameplate for a New Chevy: 'Cavalier'
No matter who you are or what status you hold in society, at some point in the past 34 years you did something in a Chevrolet Cavalier, and it was probably a lackluster experience (barring anything in the backseat, though even then…).
For reasons unknown, the nameplate that once summed up everything that was wrong with domestic compacts will return to the automotive landscape on a China-only Chevrolet model, GMInsideNews reports.
The name will return on a compact model built by SAIC General Motors Corporation, hopefully without the peeling paint, tinny body panels and bargain basement plastic that graced its American-market predecessor.
Slotted between the Cruze and subcompact Sonic in terms of size, the new compact adopts plenty of Cruze styling up front but not much in the rear, if photos leaked to the Chinese media are accurate.
GMInsideNews notes that the Cavalier shares an identical wheelbase to the Daewoo Lacetti, which underpins the Chinese market Buick Excelle. Their sources claim the Cavalier will come with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder that makes 109 horsepower, which probably pulls better than the American version’s pre-Ecotec four-cylinder.
Jokes aside, the original Cavalier (1982-2005) wasn’t all bad, with this writer professing some admiration for the second-generation coupe, but only if equipped with the torquey 3.1-liter V6. The others? More disposable than a free pen.
[Images: Autohome.com.cn]
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I think what everyone's saying is, if brought to the United States, the car needs a different name. Is "Vega" taken yet?
Bad mouth the Cavalier as you will, but I bought a 96 teal Cavalier with a salvage title in 1997 for my second car after my 1987 Mazda 626 got too expensive to keep fixing. The Mazda definitely had better handling, but I drove the Cavalier for almost 10 years, including wrecking it once. It still ran great when I sold it, and I always had fun with the 5 speed manual. I imagine the automatic would have been pretty miserable, though. My 2007 335i went to the shop more in a 2 year period than the Cavalier did in its entire period of my ownership.