Vauxhall Cavalier
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The Vauxhall Cavalier was a large family car sold primarily in the UK by Vauxhall Motors, the British subsidiary of General Motors from 1976 to 1995.
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[edit] Mk. I (1975-1981)
Launched in 1975 as a 1976 model, the Cavalier was a restyled version of the German Opel Ascona, produced at Vauxhall's factory in Luton and also at the GM plant in Antwerp, Belgium.
The original range was available as two and four-door saloons, and as a two-door booted ("three-box") coupé as used for the Opel Manta, with a choice of 1.6 and 1.9 L I4 engines in the saloon and just the 1.9 L in the coupé.
It was revised in 1978 as the 1.9 became a 2.0 L engine and the 1.3 L OHV engine from the Vauxhall Viva and Vauxhall Chevette was used to create the entry Cavalier 1.3 variant. At the same time, a three-door hatchback known as the Sports hatch (also seen on the Manta) was added to the range.
All Cavaliers shared similar bodywork to the Opel Ascona but had the slanted nose of the Manta to give them the distinct "droop snoot" front end, while the coupé also had a front air dam. The Chevrolet Chevair in South Africa was a variant of this model, featuring the grille of the Opel Manta and different engine choices.
For a time, the coupé was transformed into the Centaur convertible by an aftermarket coachbuilding firm in the UK.
Despite being the same car mechanically, the Opel Ascona was sold alongside the Cavalier in the UK until 1981, when GM decided to phase out duplicated models with the Opel brand in the UK, and merge remaining dealerships with those of Vauxhall. The Opel Manta (and Monza) remained available, giving the Opel brand a "sports" position.
[edit] Mk. II (1981-1988)
A new front-wheel drive car was introduced in late 1981, using the same underpinnings as the Opel Ascona. This model was part of GM's family of compact "J-cars", along with the Ascona, the Australian Holden Camira, the Japanese Isuzu Aska, and the North American Chevrolet Cavalier. In the UK, the new Cavalier was a success and challenged the supremacy of the Ford Cortina as the company car of choice. Following the British public's reluctance to embrace the Ford Sierra's radical styling, the Cavalier overtook the Sierra in sales and became the best selling car in its class in the UK through much of the 1980s. Its best year was 1984, when it was Britain's second best selling car behind the Ford Escort.
At launch, this version of the Cavalier came with the choice of 1.3 or 1.6 L engines, these being similar to the smaller Vauxhall Astra / Opel Kadett, while for 1983 a 1.8 L engine was launched, which had electronic fuel injection. A diesel 1.6 L was added about the same time, while the 1.8 L was supplemented by a 2.0 L in late 1986.
This model was produced as a two and four-door saloon and five-door hatchback. An estate version (based on the Holden Camira wagon with rear body panels imported CKD from Australia) was also available, as was a convertible, based on the two-door converted by Hammond and Thiede in Germany. The estate version was also sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico as the Chevrolet Cavalier estate, and in Japan as the Isuzu Aska.
The Thatcher government in the UK created a tax break at 1.8 L, with any company car having a larger engine than this attracting higher personal benefit taxes, thus effectively giving the Cavalier an advantage over its rivals soon after its launch.
By the end of its life cycle, the top of the range version was the powerful 2.0 SRi130, which had 130 hp and could exceed 120 mph. This had the same engine as the Astra GTE 8v (20SEH), though it was more powerful due to a better exhaust route.
For the first time, Vauxhall began exporting cars in left-hand drive to other European countries, badged as Opels, which was a boost to GM's confidence in its once-troubled British subsidiary.[citation needed] When the Cavalier was first introduced, the cars were built at GM's plant in Belgium, but production quickly moved to Luton. The estate version's panels were built by Holden in Australia.
The last Cavalier Mk II to be produced was the Cavalier Calibre. Based on the SRi130 with styling from Aston Martin/Tickford and the bodykit, sports suspension and exhaust being produced by Irmscher, it was a limited production run of only 500 cars. The car came with a very high specification including a trip computer, Recaro seats, power windows and power steering. It cost around £13,000 when released in 1987. It now has classic status, as only 71 are registered with the DVLA, of which less than 20 are thought to be on the road.
Vauxhall sold 807,624 examples of the second generation Cavalier between 1981 and 1988, but it was becoming an increasingly rare sight on British roads as the 21st century dawned. Just how rare MK2 Cavaliers were became clear in August 2006 when Auto Express magazine named it as the country's sixth most scrapped car of all time following an official survey, with just 6,343 still in working order. The only two cars to cease production after the Cavalier Mk 2, and which dissappeared at a greater rate, were the Renault 5 and Skoda Estelle.
Trim levels
- Base (1.3, 1.6 petrol, 1.6 diesel)
- L (1.3, 1.6 petrol, 1.6 diesel)
- Li (1.8i, 2.0i petrol)
- GL (1.3, 1.6 petrol, 1.6 diesel)
- GLS (1.6, 1.8 petrol)
- GLSi (1.8i, 2.0i petrol)
- SR (1.8 petrol)
- SRi (1.8, 2.0i petrol)
- SRi 130 (2.0i petrol)
[edit] Mk. III (1988-1995)
The last Cavalier was introduced in October 1988 for the 1989 model year, being Vauxhall's version of the Opel Vectra "A", again available as a saloon and hatchback. There was no estate version in the Opel lineup, and as the Vectra was not going to be sold in Australia, there was no prospect of Vauxhall turning to Holden for a replacement. The Vectra name was not adopted at this model change as Vauxhall feared reviving memories of the somewhat pedestrian Vauxhall Victor. (This memory was fading, however, and the Vectra name would eventually be revived with the Cavalier's replacement.)
In place of the Mk. II Cavalier's angular exterior was a more rounded appearance. There was also a new economical 1.4 L petrol engine. The biggest changes to the range were the addition of 2.0 L 16-valve engines, better known as the "red top" or XE. This was fitted to the GSi 2000 and later SRi's. Also made available was a four wheel drive system, fitted to a 2.0iL model (8 valve SRi spec) and on a version of the GSi 2000. There were two diesels available: a 1.7 L, 60 hp from launch, and an 82 hp 1.7 Isuzu-engined turbodiesel from 1992. The early SRi's were fitted with the 2.0 8-valve engine from the previous Cavalier model, which produced 130 hp.
Despite the lack of an estate bodystyle, the Cavalier topped the large-medium family car sales charts in Britain in 1991, ahead of the Ford Sierra. Its best year for sales was 1992, when it was Britain's second best selling car behind the Ford Escort.
Vauxhall came up with a new coupe, the Vauxhall Calibra, developed from the Cavalier Mk. III, to replace the discontinued Opel Manta. The Calibra was well received, notably for its sporty although cramped interior (largely based on the interior of the Cavalier) and its streamlined styling which in turn, enabled the Calibra to have the lowest drag coefficient of the period at 0.28.[citation needed] A few variants were made: the 2.0 litre 8-valve, 2.0 L 16-valve (the same engine in the proven Cavalier Gsi2000), the turbo version (again, the same engine used in the very successful Cavalier Turbo), the 2.5 L V6 and finally the 2.0 L 16-valve "Ecotec".
A facelift in the autumn of 1992 saw the Cavalier's 1.4 L engine dropped and a 172 hp 2.5 L V6 added to the range. At this time the GSi 2000 was replaced by a new four-wheel drive version badged simply "Cavalier Turbo" with a turbocharged version of the 16-valve engine producing over 200 hp. Most of the range now had airbags and anti-lock brakes as standard. The exterior design was also freshened up, with a new-look grille, headlights,rear lights and bumper mouldings. Finally for the 1995 model year, the new 2.0L Ecotec engine was launched replacing the previous 16-valve "redtop" engine, with a reduced power output down to 136 hp, compared to the 150 hp of the previous engine. The 2.0 L 8-valve engine in the SRis were replaced in 1992 with a 115 hp engine, due to emission problems when fitted with a catalytic converter.
Production of the Cavalier ceased in late 1995 when it was replaced by the Vectra.
Trim levels were:
1988-1992 range
- Base (1.4, 1.6 petrol, 1.7 diesel)
- L (1.4, 1.6, 1.6i, 1.8, 1.8i, 2.0i petrol, 1.7 diesel, 1.7 turbodiesel)
- GL (1.6, 1.6i, 1.8, 1.8i, 2.0i petrol, 1.7 diesel, 1.7 turbodiesel)
- CD (2.0i petrol)
- SRi (2.0i petrol)
- GSi (2.0i 16v petrol)
1992-1995 range
- Envoy (1.6i petrol, 1.7 diesel, 1.7 turbodiesel)
- LS (1.6i, 1.8i, 2.0i petrol, 1.7 diesel, 1.7 turbodiesel)
- GLS (1.6i, 1.8i, 2.0i, 2.5 V6 petrol, 1.7 diesel, 1.7 turbodiesel)
- CD (2.0i, 2.5 V6 petrol, 1.7 turbodiesel)
- CDX (2.0i, 2.5 V6 petrol, 1.7 turbodiesel)
- SRi (2.0i petrol)
- V6 (2.5i V6 petrol)
- Turbo (2.0 16v 4x4 petrol 6 speed Turbocharged)
[edit] External links
- MK2 Cav Owners Network - A Mk2 Cavalier owners club.
- MK3 Cav Owners Network - A Mk3 Cavalier owners club.
- MK3 Cavalier Turbo Owners Network - The Cavalier Turbo Owners Register.
