The Chevrolet Cavalier was a compact automobile produced from 1982 to 2005 by General Motors. Built on the company's J platform, the Cavalier was one of the best-selling cars in the United States throughout its life.
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 previous platforms had rear-drive layouts while the new design followed the front wheel drive trend, as in the Dodge Omni and Honda Civic. 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 3-door hatchback (which replaced the Monza 2+2 Sport 4-door hatchback) and, in later years, a 2-door convertible. The small Cavalier even helped fill in lagging sales of the compact Citation (a Nova replacement).
First generation
The Cavalier first went on sale in early 1981 as a 1982 model with front-wheel-drive, a choice of two four-cylinder pushrod engines, and 2 and 4-door sedan, hatchback, and station wagon body styles.
1983 Cavaliers offered electronic fuel injection, and a V6 engine became available in 1985, uncommon for a compact car. 1984 brought modest changes to the front fascia.
The Cavalier was largely identical to the Pontiac Sunbird. Before the Pontiac brand was officially introduced in Mexico in 1992, Cavaliers sold there featured Sunbird body panels, as opposed to US-spec Cavalier panels. From 1993 on, the sibling marques were both offered, as in the United States.
Second generation
The 1988 Cavaliers were introduced with updated styling and modified drivetrains. Overall this revision was "skin-deep," as much of the chassis underpinnings were the same as the previous generation. Interiors were also carried-over from the previous generation. During the 1988 and 1989 model years, a convertible trim line of the Z24 series was offered. In 1989, the RS model was discontinued. In 1990, the Z24 convertible was discontinued and Z24 coupes received an updated interior. The 2.8 L V6 motor was replaced with the 3.1 L V6, and the transmission was revised as well. For 1991, the Cavalier underwent a minor update, and RS trim and the convertible options reappeared on the line-up. The exterior and interior were also revised in 1991 and continued almost unchanged through 1994. 1994 was the final year for the second generation Cavalier, as well as its sister car the Pontiac Sunbird. This generation of Cavalier was one of the best sellers for GM. General Motors introduced a redesigned Cavalier in 1995 (essentially a shared platform with the all-new Pontiac Sunfire). With the introduction of the 1995 model, the V6 option and the wagon were both dropped from the line-up.
Third generation
The Cavalier was redesigned for 1995 with expanded dimensions and styling that was a departure from the two boxier previous generations. The wagon was discontinued, but the coupe, sedan, and convertible body styles returned. This Chevrolet Cavalier generation lost the V6 engine entirely. It is the only Chevrolet Cavalier generation with only a four-cylinder engine.
The Cavalier was facelifted in 2000 and in 2003. The convertible disappeared after 2000.
The Cavalier was replaced by the Chevrolet Cobalt in 2005.
Toyota Cavalier
As part of a wider effort to avoid additional restrictions on exports to the US, the third generation model was briefly sold in Japan by Toyota under an agreement with GM, badged as the Toyota Cavalier as in return for the Geo/Chevrolet Prizm. Aside from the fact that it was right hand drive, the Toyota Cavalier also featured a leather-wrapped shift knob and steering wheel, wider front fenders, amber turn signals for Japanese regulations, power folding side 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, and the rear seat had a fold-down armrest. The Toyota Cavalier was entirely produced by GM in the USA and sold from 1995–2000. 1996-2000 Toyota Cavaliers came equipped with the 2.4 L LD9 engine, while the 1995 used the 2.3 L Quad 4.
While all Chevrolet-badged Cavaliers received a facelift for 2000, the Toyota did as well with the updated center console, head-lights/hood/front bumper, tail-lights, and colors available.
A fair number of these vehicles are re-exported as Japanese used cars, most notably to New Zealand. Production of the Toyota Cavalier ceased in June 2000.
TRD made a body kit and rear wing for the Cavalier, available exclusively in Japan.
Safety
The third-generation Cavalier earned several low scores in crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Also, IIHS fatality risks statistics rated the Cavalier among the "Highest rates of driver deaths," with 150 (4 door) to 171 (2 door) driver deaths per million registered vehicle years. Average for the Cavalier class (small) was 103 (4 door) to 134 (2 door) driver deaths per million registered vehicle years.
The IIHS gave the 1995-2005 Cavalier a "Poor" overall score in their frontal offset collision test.
2005 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Crash Test Ratings (coupe):
- Frontal Driver:
- Frontal Passenger:
- Side Driver:
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