Do you think we will ever see this nameplate again? would you think it would be a bad idea to come up with a 2 door cruze and use the Cavalier name on it?
Why would they even want to?
as far as im concerned the cobalt is the new iteration of the cavalier
DaFlyinSkwirl (Pj) v2.0 wrote:Dan Cummings wrote:as far as im concerned the cobalt is the new iteration of the cavalier
and soon that dies too
^^^This
and the Cobalt is the 4th Gen Cavalier =P bwahaha
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Tuesday, March 30, 2010 8:17 PM
It's actually quite a shame. Each Cavalier was generally a decent car when it was released. The problem is that they absolutely destroyed the brand by having the 3rd gen linger around for 10 years. That was just plain stupidity.
The Civic is a prime example of what could have been. It's been around forever, and certainly looking back there were some crappy ones, but they continually updated and improved it so anyone that had one generally liked them, and then liked the new one even better.
Nobody who bought a 2005 Cavalier thought it was a great car or, if they did, they' were probably living in a bubble. Sure, it was a pretty good car in 1995 when it came out. The problem is that the refresh it got in 2000 should have been done in 1998, and it should have been completely replaced by 2001. Instead, it just lingered around for a few more years so that completely decrepit 1995 models didn't really look much different than brand spankin' new 2005 models and people equated the name with cheap crap.
I really hope I haven't offended anyone by saying that, but I'm sure there's some agreement here that the only reason anyone bought a 2005 j-body was because it was cheap, or they had some affinity for the car that had nothing to do with reality, which I completely understand. I still love my Sunfire.
I find it a bit sad that GM didn't have the foresight to try and build a new heritage with the Cobalt, and has already thrown out the name after a single generation. Of course, the Cobalt wasn't exactly winning awards for greatness, so maybe they're looking to start fresh... again... with the Cruze.
I agree with Wild Weasel completely... they got lazy with it... sure it makes it fun for us to swap parts around to our hearts content, but from a marketing standpoint, wasn't a good move for the Cavalier name. It was a good base for a seemingly successful, reasonably priced, economic, small-sized vehicle. I think it would have continued to be more successful if it actually got improved over the years, other than a few pick me ups like fancier headlights and better styled front/rear bumpers...
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Wednesday, March 31, 2010 6:24 AM
I call shenanigans on the idea that the 2003 refresh involved "better" anything. You might make an argument for the new Sunfire front end, but other than that, the whole thing just stunk of laziness and the constraints of working with the existing sheet metal. You can be sure that whichever designer got tasked with that knew from the get-go that it was a crap assignment and frankly, couldn't be bothered to even try to make it good, much less great. The only goal seems to have been to make it look different, and that they sure did.
What they SHOULD have done was go out with a bang in 2002. I've always thought that the 2002 Z24 with the Ecotec, the chrome wheels, the body-coloured door handles, and the new skirts was the j-body's finest moment. They should have put the turbo engine in that to make a proper SRT-4 competitor, went out with a bang, and introduced something new in 2003. People would have remembered the 3rd gen as being a nice car, and would have been looking forward to the next one.
actually their was supposed to be a new Cavalier for the 2002 model year. but when they showed it to focus groups it got a total thumbs down. I heard it was pretty much a baby 2000 impala. So they decided to go back to the drawing board. so in the meantime they gave the J bodies a quick facelift for the 03 model. then they had to hurry up and design the current cobalt. The J body couldnt have been produced past the 2005 model year. It doesnt meet the 2006 side impact standards.
Yeah, I remember hearing the same things back in the day. Now, I think the Cobalt coupe made a pretty good go of things when it came out, and improved quite a bit with the turbo, but the sedan has never been an attractive looking car. With that in mind, I would LOVE to have seen what those concepts looked like that got rejected.
^^ No offence to anyone that has one.. but for the most part, the Cavalier sedan wasn't anything that attractive either. The LS Sport or a nicely modified one has some potential to turn into something fairly nice tho..
I would rock this sedan:
I think that when it saw the light of day in 1994, it had a nice enough look to it, certainly in line with it's peers.
I think the same goes for the 2nd gen. I mean, we can point out everything that's subpar by today's standards, but for it's day it was all just about exactly what you'd expect in its class.
just my .02 cents...
cavalier sedan > cobalt sedan
We all need somebody to believe in something...
everything sedan > cobalt sedan... that was just an epic failure for GM
Its not as bad as driving a Pontiac Sunfire, both the brand and the platform is dead.... lol
Walter Losey wrote:Do you think we will ever see this nameplate again? would you think it would be a bad idea to come up with a 2 door cruze and use the Cavalier name on it?
Being that the first thing that comes to most peoples mind when you say Chevy Cavalier is "piece of sh1t", then no Id say you wont see the name again. Chevy knows the stigma the name carries. Its not a high enough mark to get the older people who buy things like the Impala, and its extremely uncool among younger folks.
Ill even go so far as to say it is the reason that GM will never have import level success with any small car. For every person you meet that likes/liked their Cavalier, you will find 5 or even 10 that owned or drove one and hated it.
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Can I just run off topic and say that I must be under a rock, because I didn't even know Weasel was still around?!?!?! You been lingering here and ne not notice, or did you disappear for a while!?
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
Some say he invented November.
LOL! I was having a slow week at work and figured I'd drop in and see what's up.
Generally speaking, I'm just too busy at work to be a regular contributer to any forums anymore. I just don't have the time to keep up.
I guess that's what happens when you get older and gain more responsibilities at work.
I'm still alive and well though! Sunfire is still in my garage, though the future plans seem to always stay well in the future.
Im considering selling my cavalier and buying eiether a new Cobalt or a new Camaro.
I currently have the new cavalier, the cobalt lol
Cobalt guys get so pissed when you say it's a cavalier but it is, just a new one. It's my beater so oh well
Wild Weasel wrote:
What they SHOULD have done was go out with a bang in 2002. I've always thought that the 2002 Z24 with the Ecotec, the chrome wheels, the body-coloured door handles, and the new skirts was the j-body's finest moment.
In CANADA, yeah, but in the good 'ole USA, my 2002 Z24 has a 2.4 w/blower, lol.
You would be referring to the 2002 LS Sport here.
Supercharged 2002 Cavalier Z24
J-Body Bash Veteran
