Vauxhall Cavalier

The Vauxhall Cavalier is a large family car sold primarily in the UK by Vauxhall Motors, the British division of General Motors (GM), from 1975 to 1995. It was based on a succession of Opel designs throughout its production life, during which it was built in three incarnations.

The first generation of Cavalier, launched in 1975 and produced until 1981, was based on the existing Opel Ascona with a few minor visual differences.

The second generation of Cavalier, launched in 1981 and produced until 1988, was launched simultaneously with the identical new generation of Opel Ascona.

The third and final generation of Cavalier, launched in 1988 and produced until 1995, was based on the first generation of Opel Vectra with the same production span.

Mark I (1975–81)

A new front-wheel drive car was introduced on 26 August 1981,again using the same underpinnings as the Opel Ascona - this time the Ascona C. On its launch, it offered class-leading levels of fuel economy and performance which had previously been unthinkable for this sector of car. This model was part of GM's family of compact "J-cars", along with the Ascona, the Australian Holden Camira, the Brazilian Chevrolet Monza, the Japanese Isuzu Aska, and the North American Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac Sunbird, Buick Skyhawk, Oldsmobile Firenza, and Cadillac Cimarron. In the UK, the new Cavalier was a huge 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 in 1982, the Cavalier overtook the Sierra in sales and outsold the Sierra in 1984 and again in 1985. The Sierra narrowly outsold it in 1986, and a facelift for the Sierra in 1987 helped Ford maintain its regained place at the top of the large family car sector as nearly 140,000 Sierras were sold that year, while Cavalier sales fell below 100,000. By the time the second generation Cavalier was discontinued to make way for the third generation model in October 1988, the Sierra was almost twice as popular.

It was Britain's second best selling car (behind the Ford Escort) in 1984 and 1985, and at its peak, this version of the Cavalier came with the choice of 1.3 or 1.6 L engines derived from the smaller Vauxhall Astra (also sold as the (Opel Kadett), while for 1983 a 1.8 L engine was launched, which had electronic fuel injection. A diesel of 1.6 L was added about the same time, while the 1.8 L was supplemented by a 2.0 L for the 1987 model year.

It was narrowly beaten to the European Car of the Year award by the Renault 9.

This model was produced as a four-door saloon and five-door hatchback. An estate version (based on the Holden Camira wagon with rear body panels imported CKD from Australia) became available in October 1983, but proved a slow seller. The two-door saloon was soon dropped from the Cavalier range, although remained part of the Ascona range in other markets. A convertible, based on the two-door and converted by Hammond and Thiede in Germany, was subsequently offered.

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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.

Over the course of the model's lifetime, there were two facelifts mirroring changes made to the Ascona - firstly for the 1985 model year which saw revised grilles, modified rear lamp clusters, new steering wheels, upgraded equipment, new upholstery options and different instrument graphics - some of these changes came direct from the recently introduced Kadett E/Astra Mark 2. A further update in 1987 saw the grilles and rear lamp clusters revised again in a style similar to the larger Senator model together with further improvements to equipment levels.

In August 2006, Auto Express magazine named it as the country's sixth most scrapped car of the last 30 years, with just 6,343 still in working order. The only car to cease production after the Cavalier Mark II, and which disappeared at a greater rate, was the Skoda Estelle (which was withdrawn from sale in 1990). By December 2009, that figure had fallen to a mere 1,289.

A factor which helped make this the case was the fact that the MK2 Cavalier was one of the most stolen cars of the 1980s and early 1990s and were particularly popular with joyriders because of their better than average performance for a car of its type and the fact it was easy to break into and start forcibly, which brought about the early demise of some. Other factors resulting in demise included corrosion and premature camshaft wear.

Trim levels

The "i" suffix stands for Fuel Injection.

Special editions

Mark III (1988–95)

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 line-up, 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 much-maligned Vauxhall Victor. Early Victors had been viewed in some quarters as excessively corrosion prone, but the Victor was becoming a very distant memory by this stage: the Vectra name would eventually appear on a Vauxhall in 1995, with the Cavalier Mark III's replacement.

In place of the Mark 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 SRis. 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, from launch, and an 1.7 Isuzu-engined turbodiesel from 1992. The early SRis were fitted with the 2.0 8-valve engine from the previous Cavalier model, which produced .

Despite the lack of an estate body style, the Cavalier topped the large-medium family car sales charts in Britain in 1990, ahead of the Ford Sierra, Rover 400 and Rover Montego. Its best year for sales was 1992, when it was Britain's second best selling car behind the Ford Escort. It did not lose top spot in its sector until it was overtaken by the Ford Mondeo in 1994.

Vauxhall came up with a new coupé, the Calibra, developed from the Cavalier Mark 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 0.26 for the 8v model (0.29 for the rest). 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 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 . Most of the range now had airbags and anti-lock brakes as standard (the first car in its class to do so). 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 , compared to the of the previous engine. The 2.0 L 8-valve engine in the SRis were replaced in 1992 with a 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, though stocks continued for about one year afterwards and several P-registered versions (August 1996 to July 1997 period) were sold.

The third and final incarnation of the Cavalier was a big improvement over its predecessors (and most earlier Vauxhalls) in terms of durability, with the rust problems that had plagued Vauxhall for years finally being conquered. This was reflected by the fact that Mark III Cavaliers were still a very common sight on Britain's roads more than 15 years after the end of production.

The passing of the Cavalier marked a significant moment for Vauxhall, as it was the last car to be completely named by the Luton-based company. All future Vauxhalls would be simply rebadged Opels, or in the case of the 2004 Vauxhall Monaro, a rebadged Holden.

This version of the Cavalier shared its mechanicals with the Saab 900 that was produced from 1993 until 1998, and continued until 2002 as the Saab 9-3.

Trim levels were:

;1988–1992 range

;1992-1995 range

Popularity

References

External links

Cavalier Category:Front wheel drive vehicles Category:Rear wheel drive vehicles Category:Mid-size cars Category:Convertibles Category:Coupes Category:Hatchbacks Category:Sedans Category:Station wagons Category:1970s automobiles Category:1980s automobiles Category:1990s automobiles