Chevy Cavalier and Friends: The 1st gen J bodies in North America

Welcome to Auto Chatter! Todays tale is about the first gen GM FWD J bodies in North America. From Cavalier to Cimmaron, join me for a brief stroll through the 80's where I will highlight these models and changes.

[@OLDS98]

Excellent job. Every time I was going to mention something, you covered it in the video. I liked the fact you covered the global versions of the J Cars I liked the details you shared. Recall the Cimarron O'Oro package towards the end? The Cimarron went on to become the Cadillac CT4/ATS. The front end styling that showed up on the Firenza was later used on Aurora, Alero and Intrigue. The updated front end was later used on the Ninety Eight( 1994-1996), Eighty Eight( 1994-1995), Regency (1997-1998). The front end used on the Skyhawk is now used on all new Buicks. These cars served a purpose. I liked the Cavalier with the digital gauges. The Calais hurt Firenza in the Oldsmobile showrooms. Firenza was name used at Vauxhall when GM own Vauxhall and Opel.I know you will do a part two, but I will tell you this for that video. Cavalier lives today at GM in Mexico. It can be found on You Tube. It looks like a pint sized Malibu. Excellent job with the video.

[@autochatter]

Thanks Olds! I survived your rigorous GM expectations! I actually thought of you when I was making this...No joke! Inserted a few extra Olds version clips! Oh...Not familiar with that special edition Cimarron you mentioned.

[@kwaza8574]

Even as a young child in 80’s, I thought to myself ‘man, GM is milking this platform’ my whole street was J bodies.

[@autochatter]

They were Everywhere!

[@ericbritton9346]

Love these J-Bodies back in the day. I use to draw them on paper back in 5th grade and did some imagination customization in the late 80s early 90s, especially convertible models on Pontiac Sunbirds. My mom use to owned two Pontiac Sunbird sedans in 1986 and 1990. The 1986 base model were red exterior and red interior with the 2.0 L OHV inline 4, and the 1990 was red exterior with grey interior. Had the body cladding on the sides and all. Try to find one in grand condition, like finding a mystic unicorn in the forest, or buried treasure on the island. But the Chevy Cavalier and Pontiac Sunbird is the one to get.

[@autochatter]

The ones with cladding looked pretty cool then!

[@postersm7141]

Back in the mid 90s I had the 84 sunbird and my brother had the 84 cavalier. Both were used and at the end of their lives and POS but they served a purpose.

[@arn7992]

My first car in high school was a 1989 Cavalier. It was a POS, but brings back lots of memories!!

[@autochatter]

First cars are often chock full of good times!....Even if you had the tow truck company on speed dial.

[@postersm7141]

Especially the backseat, am I right just kidding. But seriously I had the same car and the backseat had a big old house speakers in the back because I thought it was cool back then lol.

[@autochatter]

@postersm7141 LOL..I know alot of people with living room hand me down speakers in their car then.

[@h.paulsprojects3061]

The Cavalier convertible was pretty sharp looking

[@autochatter]

It was I think too.

[@drewjansen7825]

Spectacular! Thank you.

[@autochatter]

I appreciate it! Working on the sequel to it now.

[@Dave7160]

I remeber these cars were everywhere when I was a kid, and my grandma had a cavalier sedan vl model, seeing this video brings back fund memories, it's like saying hi to the long lost best friend you had as a child, when my grandma sold the car, I felt I had lost my best friend I know it sounds silly now but when I was a kid it was a big deal to me, my exact words to the new owner were you can have this car because its my grandma's, so yes I do have a soft spot for these. Look at the thumbnail picture.

[@autochatter]

I totally get it, and the nostalgia is what makes these fun for me to make. Glad you enjoyed it and cool thumbnail!

[@Dave7160]

@@autochatter Thank you the car in the thumbnail where I lived before if I was having a bad day or something wasn't going right for me and I saw this car in the parking lot it made me happy and I wasn't having a bad day anymore fun fact also there was not just one but 2 cavalier sedans this VL and a rally sport both cars were silver , the other one was around the corner up the street from me, how awesome is that to have 2 of them near you lol, I hope you have a great weekend and be safe.

[@autochatter]

@@Dave7160 Same to you and thank you again!

[@Dave7160]

@@autochatter your welcome

[@user-gw4rz7mk7q]

The J body hatchbacks remind me of the Chevy Malibu Maxx from the early 2000's.

[@autochatter]

Yeah I can see that! The Maxx flopped..Maybe it did better in Europe, but not here.

[@emeyer6963]

My neighbor had an '82 J2000 new that replaced a '76 Firebird.Was last American car he ever bought.Nothing but trouble with it.Went to Toyota in 1986 and never looked back.

[@postersm7141]

Exactly

[@robl7532]

My family story, except we had a Buick Century and multiple Pontiac 6000s. Lol. Toyota and Hondas best advertisements and sales pitch were crappy US built junk.

[@zorak1704]

My dad helped build plenty of these at the Lordstown Plant

[@autochatter]

Your Dad was real busy making these at one point!

[@zorak1704]

@@autochatter he used to work some crazy hours. Especially during the Cavalier and Sunbird years.

[@autochatter]

@zorak1704 Yeah the 80s had alot of Domestic models that sold in huge numbers. J bodies combined easily outsold best sellers today like a Rav4.

[@juelzm149]

Those turbos put out some pretty decent numbers! I'm from a rural area where people were very traditional so I never saw them around. Bet they were a hoot to toss around!

[@autochatter]

They could be a little bit of a handful when the boost was up.

[@22vx]

Lovely little old American beauties 🇺🇸

[@autochatter]

Cool! Hope you enjoyed it!

[@user-gw4rz7mk7q]

The Cavalier was my hands down favorite of the J bodies

[@autochatter]

I liked the Pontiac ones myself. I think the H body Sunbirds from the 70s looked cool too.

[@jaburadvocacia261]

the narrator has the exact same weirdly melodic intonation as Cleveland of Family Guy…and I kinda like it, makes the videos sort of quirky. great content!

[@autochatter]

OMG...This must be true as you are not the first to say that! No one on the street has ever said I sound like that! Thank you for enjoying it!

[@haggis525]

Y'all got that right 🤣🤣

[@autochatter]

@@haggis525 I never even watched the show!

[@OtterlyInsane]

I could be wrong here, but, the wagon body was designed by Holden in Australia and was adopted by Vauxhall but not Opel (which is odd as they were made in the same factory), i assume the US wagons share the same bodywork from the A pillar back as well.

[@autochatter]

They might have as all of these were GM owned car makers. I know the second gen Chevy Cavalier wagons kept the same body from these ones for the most part.

[@Steph-pn2kq]

The Americans went their own way with the wagons. The Holden has the bumper as part of the tailgate, for a lower load floor. The american wagons don't. I think the wagon panels were pressed in Oz and exported to UK for the Vauxhall.

[@autochatter]

@Steph-pn2kq Interesting. Thank you.

[@KTJohnsonkidThunder]

Chevy and Pontiac were huge back then when it came to the J-body platform. TBH, GM shouldn't have never axed Pontiac for that reason alone given them and Chevy usually work very close with each other. If anything, they should've made Pontiac a sub-brand of GMC given they were commonly sold alongside Buick and GMC years prior to dropping the brand anyway.

[@autochatter]

Yeah I was sad to see Pontiac go too.

[@dwensinger]

I owned 3 Skyhawks. Pretty reliable. You don’t see many J’s around anymore.

[@autochatter]

Nope..Most have long become razor blades by now.

[@area51isreal71]

Here in Australia GM inflicted the J car on us as well. The result? A horrid little buzz box called the Camira. It was available in three trim levels all powered (?) by a wheezing 1.6 litre four. The SL/E was the top line model and if coupled with an auto you timed it over the 400 meters with a calendar. Topping this all off was very poor assembly and durability woes. Later a 1.8 litre engine was offered but it was all too late, word had spread and the Camira was dead in the water. A mercy killing followed.

[@autochatter]

😆 " inflicted the J car on us as well" . That's interesting as I know little about what GMs J bodies were like outside North America.

[@arieljones4595]

It's crazy to look back a few years and see how manufacturers used to offer models in multiple bodies. As many as four or even five. Now the industry has shifted to strictly one body type. I'm having a hard time thinking of even one mode (outside of ladder framed based trucks) that offers multiple bodies. I guess when all anyone wants is a crossover utility, then that's all you need to make.

[@autochatter]

I think you already answered your own question, as crossovers passed up cars in sales years ago, and they tend to have less or no optional bodystyle versions. The previous Lexus RX model also had a RXL that was slightly longer with a third row. Lexus now has a RX 5 seater or a new TX with a third row...They are technically different models now though.

[@bikingD]

J cars maybe some of the best looking and most reliable GM cars and compact cars ever.

[@autochatter]

I did see them on the road for a long time.

[@johnnymason2460]

I would love to have the Cimarron. Especially one with the V6. Sure, it was a big flop for Cadillac but I still want one.

[@autochatter]

The later ones looked alot better with the lower cladding.

[@bmo7784]

Nice work, really nice to relive and reminisce the times theses cars existed. Any chance of a possibility of making a complete history of the chrysler corporation? I find it so interesting, from all the manufacturers they tried to save, to the fraudulent sale of chrysler through Bob Eaton.

[@autochatter]

Thank you! Haven't really taken on the complete history of a car maker yet...Well I kinda of did with DeLorean as it was just one car, Yugo,and Opel to a extent. I have done quite a few Chrysler models now and spoke of historical relevance during the era the car was out or being developed..Like Lee Iacocca for example. Eagle and Omni come to mind....The Prowler, Caravan, and PT Cruiser too. Roman from Regular Car Reviews has done some great long and detailed documentaries, and the one about Chrysler merging with Mercedes I enjoyed...RCR stories its called.

[@MotorMaster_Stunticon]

Great video! I’m probably in the minority, but I always liked these 9:12. They are a rare sight, but even as a kid I thought they looked cool.

[@autochatter]

Thanks Rob! I guess we're in the same club then as I liked the Sunbirds too....Especially when the GT came out with the pop up headlights. Of all the H bodies from the 70s, I liked the Pontiac one best too with its mini Trans Am front end.

[@ChrisHsuCars]

I remember when these came out and I thought they all looked pretty good (for the time).

[@autochatter]

Me too...Especially the hatchbacks.

[@RajaReign78]

I remember as a teenager going car shopping with my parents and I wanted one of these 3 door hatchback cars so bad. My parents said no cuz they thought the cars looked like they had big asses. I also remember my bestie getting a 1993 Z24 Cavalier in black with a sunroof, that car was the coolest thing ever we went everywhere in that car. Good times. 😀😀😀

[@autochatter]

The Cavalier had too much junk in the trunk eh? 😆 Yeah the Z24s were kinda cool.

[@RajaReign78]

@@autochatterthat’s what they thought, but then again I’ve always loved quirky looking vehicles. I’m still besties with my friend that had the Z24 and his next car was a 2002 red Mustang which we went even more places together in that car. 🤣🤣🤣

[@autochatter]

@@RajaReign78 If you like quirky, I'd suggest checking out my Suzuki X90 video. Doesn't get much more quirky than that! I gravitate to cars outside the norm myself. When everyone in my small town seemed to have a Mustang or Camaro, I had Toyota MR2 Turbos,Nissan Z cars,and Mazda RX7s.

[@emeyer6963]

I had a couple of Ford EXP's.Also had a few girlfriends in that era with big asses.

[@autochatter]

@emeyer6963 A Sir Mix Alot fan eh? 😆

[@doug6191]

The Z24 was the only acceptable version for me, and not until the 3.1L V6 of the early 90s. Those were the perfect Cavalier.

[@autochatter]

The Turbo Pontiac and Buick versions were kinda neat too though....in my opinion.

[@doug6191]

@@autochatter Not with the interiors they had. Those dashboards were atrocious.

[@autochatter]

@@doug6191 Yeah....They were not the best!

[@richardepstein3494]

@@autochatter had a 93 Sunbird w/ v6. Engine started loosing oil at 148k and that was the end for it

[@emeyer6963]

@@richardepstein3494 Good miles from a car of that era.

[@Skyhawk1987Turbo]

Loved my 4 Buick Skyhawks I had in and out of high school. Um the sunbird convertible came out in 1983 and the turbo models could be had with an automatic not just a manual

[@autochatter]

4 different ones in a pretty short period of time!

[@Skyhawk1987Turbo]

@@autochatter we would buy them drive for a few months, sell them and buy another, all of them were great cars never any problems

[@autochatter]

@@Skyhawk1987Turbo Thats cool!

[@postersm7141]

6:42 you mean she was running out of the bathroom. I thought the car was the bathroom!!!

[@autochatter]

Lol yes..Its like she was in a hurry to hit the restroom when they stopped.

[@postersm7141]

Oh, that sweet, sweet cavalierillac. Or is it Cadillier? Oh that’s right, it’s just a cavalier. I think I would just stick with the Slolwsmobile.

[@autochatter]

Lol.....Yeah. I actually did a Cimmeron only vid before, and I wasn't exactly kind.

[@RajaReign78]

My other bestie got a 1986 (I called it Hawaiian Punch can blue) sedan Cavalier for our high school graduation. We went many places in her car, but she let her boyfriend drive it one night and he wrecked it; since he didn’t have permission to drive it the insurance refused to cover it-she was just out of a vehicle. If my boyfriend did that he’d get dumped immediately she went on to marry this guy. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

[@autochatter]

Are they still together now?

[@RajaReign78]

@@autochatterno and the funny thing is even though I thought he was a huge jerk while they were together turns out she was evil one. I’m still in contact with him, but I barely speak to my ex bestie for tons of legitimate reasons now.

[@autochatter]

@@RajaReign78 This is some soap opera level stuff! He did kill a 4 wheeled friend though!

[@maciejgajoch1774]

And Opel Ascona in Europe,Chevrolet Monza in Brasil.

[@autochatter]

Yep...Mentioned them and the Isuzu and Vauxhall versions too.

[@RajaReign78]

I don’t know if I’m correct, so I apologize; but I think it’s pronounced Fir-en-za. My bestie had one of those before his Z24 cavalier and that’s how he said it. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@autochatter]

You are correct. I was being a bit cute in how I pronounced it, and had a caption stating how it was actually pronounced. Its at 5:15 .I know its Italian or based off a Italian word....Firenze?

[@anthonyrivera4735]

Why didn't Oldsmobile, Buick or Cadillac get a redesigned J body cars in 1989?

[@autochatter]

Sales of them didn't warrant a sequel.

[@JonathanMoosey]

Cadillac Cimmaron probably was the worst selling of them all

[@autochatter]

@JonathanMoosey Oh it easily was!

[@emeyer6963]

Buick and Olds had the N cars by then.

[@autochatter]

@@emeyer6963 And it was a much better seller for Oldsmobile than the Firenza was.

[@P_RO_]

GM pulled off the most transparent automotive scam ever with these cars and mostly got away with it. Everyone knew they were all Chevy 'Mr Potato Head' cars where the appearance changed, but everything underneath remained the same, so it's not surprising to see the high-end brands like Olds and Caddilac do so poorly. Especially the Cadillac, which was the butt of many jokes: Cadoley,, Chevillac, Cinnamon, and Cimmoley nicknames all begged the question of who Cadillac thought they were fooling. These were gussied-up 'commoner's cars' being foisted onto Caddy buyers who wanted the high-end exclusivity Caddilac had become known for. Pontiac had an easier time of it with their lower-priced young and sporty niche, with Buick not yet finding the identity which carried it through to today's more successful times. But they were everywhere, especially the Chevy's, and most people liked them. The base model 4 cylinder models were a bit slow but mostly adequate for the traffic speeds of the day, and the go-fast versions actually did go fast though there were still some older muscle cars left on the road ready to teach you what fast really was. The 2.8 V6 was an under-rated engine these cars brought to us; not particularly good performers but solidly reliable and smooth with decent fuel mileage, and IMHO a perfect match for these cars. The turbo models were sort of rare here, being costly and with people still leery of their seeming complexity and not-yet-proven durability. The 'bean-counters' had risen at GM, and as usual they provided short-term profits which GM needed at the time to counter the 'Japanese invasion' while there was still enough good engineering left in the corporation to ensure the cars worked as good cars should making for satisfied repeat buyers. They also heralded in an era that continues today, where even good cars built well reach a point where they're simply not worth keeping no matter how much you like them; planned obsolescence. I no longer see any of these on the roads or even parked and dead in poor people's yards- they're all gone now. Once ubiquitous but now forgotten with nothing special enough about them to warrant conservation or restoration of even the rarest models; a rather odd ending to what were for the most part very successful cars to the makers and buyers both.

[@autochatter]

Wonderful post as usual! Their story is like alot of other lower priced cars over the decades. Cheap and plentiful enough that not many end up surviving, and not being worth the expense to restore. The one Grandma had with 20k miles on it has long changed hands by now, and was probably turned into razor blades years ago.

[@scottyg7284]

The Euro version’s were better/faster from smaller better engines 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@autochatter]

I dont doubt it!