Curbside Classic Outtake: Perpetuating Stereotypes In Stereo Edition

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

If the stereotypical driver of a red Grand Am is a blond beautician who lives in a trailer with an unemployed boyfriend sporting a mullet, what is the stereotypical profession of the drivers of Sunfire and Cavalier coupes? Hint: what’s that behind the fence?

It’s a daycare! And the daycare workers park on the side. And since we’re on the subject of Cavalier coupes, here’s a bonus from the apartment across the street from here:

Don’t ask why I shot these cars today; perhaps today’s lovely Camaro inspired me. And don’t think I’m shortchanging the Cavalier; it deserves its own Deadly Sin CC one of these days.

Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

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  • Srogers Srogers on Jan 20, 2010

    I think that 2 types of people in this discussion. Those that think Cavaliers/Sunbirds are less visually appealing, have worse interiors and inferior driving characteristics to other compact cars available. Then their are those that figure that $/mile ratio is good (and maybe it is) for the Cavalier/Sunbird and that if you can ignore the crap styling, crap interior and crap driving dynamics - then you have a good car (for the money).

  • Bugo Bugo on Oct 23, 2010

    The 95-up Cavaliers were great cars. Eerily reliable, quiet, comfortable, good riding, good handling, cheap to fix. Excellent visibility. Not a lot of power, but enough to get moving. Good acceleration from 40-90. Decent fuel economy. Old tech, but who cares. An OHV engine is proven, reliable, and easy and cheap to fix. I have 170K on mine and I haven't exactly babied it. Brake shoes are cheap and easy to change. And there's plenty of room for my over 6' frame. What's not to love?

  • JLGOLDEN Enormous competition is working against any brand in the fight for "luxury" validation. It gets murky for Cadillac's image when Chevy, Buick, and GMC models keep moving up the luxury features (and price) scale. I think Cadillac needs more consistency with square, crisp designs...even at the expense of aerodynamics and optimized efficiency. Reintroduce names such as DeVille, Seville, El Dorado if you want to create a stir.
  • ClipTheApex I don't understand all of the negativity from folks on this forum regarding Europeans. Having visited the EU multiple times across different countries, I find they are very much like us in North America-- not as different as politicians like to present them. They all aren't liberal "weenies." They are very much like you and me. Unless you've travelled there and engaged with them, it's easy to digest and repeat what we hear. I wish more Americans would travel abroad. When they return, they will have a different view of America. We are not as perfect or special as we like to believe. And no, many Europeans don't look up to America. Quite the opposite, actually.
  • Dwford Let's face it, Cadillac is planning minimal investment in the current ICE products. Their plan is to muddle through until the transition to full EV is complete. The best you are going to get is one more generation of ICE vehicles built on the existing platforms. What should Cadillac do going forward? No more vehicles under $50k. No more compact vehicles. Rely on Buick for that. Many people here mention Genesis. Genesis doesn't sell a small sedan, and they don't sell a small crossover. They sell midsize and above. So should Cadillac.
  • EBFlex Sorry BP. They aren’t any gaps
  • Bd2 To sum up my comments and follow-up comments here backed by some data, perhaps Cadillac should look to the Genesis formula in order to secure a more competitive position in the market. Indeed, by using bespoke Rwd chassis, powertrains and interiors Genesis is selling neck and neck with Lexus while ATPs are 15 to 35% higher depending on the segment you are looking at. While Lexus can't sell Rwd sedans, Genesis is outpacing them 2.2 to 1.Genesis is an industry world changing success story, frankly Cadillac would be insane to not replicate it for themselves.
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