Chevrolet Vega

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The Chevrolet Vega was a subcompact car sold from 1971 through 1977. Available in coupe, hatchback and station wagon body styles (referred to as the Notchback, Hatchback and Kammback, respectively, in the brochures), it was based on the GM H platform. It was followed by the 1975 to 1980 Chevrolet Monza. The similar Pontiac Astre was available in Canada from 1973 through 1977, and in the U.S. from 1975 through 1977. The Vega was Motor Trend's Car of the Year for 1971.

When the Vega was introduced, Detroit's Big Three (GM, Ford, Chrysler), along with American Motors, were entering the compact car market to compete with the Volkswagen Beetle along with Japanese imports from Toyota and Datsun.

All standard Vegas and Astres were equipped with a 2.3 L "2300" SOHC I4. The standard engine used either a single-barrel carburetor which produced about 70 hp, or a 2-barrel option which boosted output to 85 hp. These engines had cast iron heads with aluminum-silicon cylinder blocks without iron sleeves; a wear surface for the piston was created by etching the cylinder bore with an electrochemical process. Early models overheated due to poor cooling channel design. Vega engines (except for the Cosworth) typically burned oil not due to cylinder wear (which was the rumor) but instead due to poorly designed valve stem seals.

One exception was the limited-edition 1975 to 1976 Cosworth Vega, which used a fuel-injected DOHC 2.0L 16-valve version of the engine designed by Cosworth Engineering in England and built by Chevrolet at its Tonawanda engine plant.

Another exception was that 1977 model Astres were equipped with the well-regarded 2.5 L Iron Duke engine.

The Vega was the first automobile that GM produced that offered front wheel disc brakes as standard equipment. It was also the first car that GM produced that used extensive use of robotic welding equipment.

Contents

1 Problems
2 Production
3 Popular game show prize
4 Trivia
5 See also
6 External links

Problems

Forgotten today is that the Vega was a strong seller, especially in the wake of the Arab Oil Embargo, which drove Americans away from traditional large cars in favor of smaller compacts such as Vega, Ford Pinto, AMC Gremlin, and especially foreign imports. Although Chevrolet sold over two million Vegas during its lifetime, the car was plagued with poor reliability and several highly publicized design problems including carburetor fires, engine overheating problems, and premature body rust, which began to affect sales after 1974. The Vega was later dubbed as "the car that began rusting on the showroom floor". Labor/management strife at its Lordstown, Ohio production plant added to the car's woes. Its rival counterpart, the Ford Pinto, was known for ruptured fuel tanks, where the Vega's own defects were the oil-burning engine and body corrosion. To dispel the Vega's sagging sales and reputation, Chevrolet made many internal improvements to the 140 in³ four-cylinder engine for the 1976 model and backed this engine with an unprecedented "5-year, 60,000-mile warranty" at a time when most new cars and their drivelines were backed by one-year, 12,000-mile warranties. By that time, the Vega's sales were sagging further due to new competition from two new small Chevrolet models, including the sportier Vega-derived Monza and the smaller Chevette, which essentially replaced the Vega as Chevy's entry-level model and import-fighter.

In a book later published by John DeLorean who was then president of Chevrolet, he indicated that the prototype car literally fell apart just eight miles into its first road test. Delorean claimed that the car had been designed by GM engineers rather than Chevrolet engineers and said that the car had been forced upon Chevrolet by GM management. He also criticized the engine saying that it, "looked like it had been taken off a 1920 farm tractor."

All these well publicized problems combined with a string of recalls hurt public perception and sales. Forbes Magazine included the Vega on its list of the worst cars of all time.

Production

Vegas sold very well despite their problems, many of which were eventually corrected. In total, 2,154,434 Vegas and Astres were built from 1971 through 1977. A large majority of these were produced at the Lordstown Assembly plant, but some were also built at Saint Therese Assembly in Quebec.

Year Vega Cosworth Astre Total Notes
1971 277,700

277,700 All 1971 models known as "Vega 2300"
1972 394,592

394,592 "2300" portion of name dropped.
1973 395,792

395,792 New front bumper and emissions equipment. First year for Canadian Astre.
1974 452,887

452,887 New nose, taillights and bumpers.
1975 204,178 2,062 64,601 270,841 First year of the U.S. Astre and Cosworth Vega; Chevrolet Monza introduced.
1976 159,077 1,446 50,384 210,907 Pontiac Sunbird and Chevrolet Chevette introduced. New grille and taillights.
1977 78,402
32,788 111,190 Last year for Vega and Astre.
Total 1,962,628 3,508 147,773 2,113,909

Year	Vega	Cosworth	Astre	Total	Notes
1971	277,700
277,700	All 1971 models known as "Vega 2300"
1972	394,592
394,592	"2300" portion of name dropped.
1973	395,792
395,792	New front bumper and emissions equipment. First year for Canadian Astre.
1974	452,887
452,887	New nose, taillights and bumpers.
1975	204,178	2,062	64,601	270,841	First year of the U.S. Astre and Cosworth Vega; Chevrolet Monza introduced.
1976	159,077	1,446	50,384	210,907	Pontiac Sunbird and Chevrolet Chevette introduced. New grille and taillights.
1977	78,402
32,788	111,190	Last year for Vega and Astre.
Total	1,962,628	3,508	147,773	2,113,909

The Vega wagon body continued through 1978 and 1979 as the Monza wagon. About 29,000 additional vehicles were sold under this name. The hatchback body continued briefly in 1978 as the "Monza S", presumably to use up surplus supply of 1977 bodies.

Popular game show prize

The Vega was one of the most popular car prizes given away on TV game shows in the U.S. during the 1970s. Some game shows that gave away Vegas as prizes included Let's Make A Deal, The Hollywood Squares, Wheel of Fortune, The Joker's Wild, Gambit, Truth or Consequences and many others. On the first broadcast of The Price Is Right to be hosted by Bob Barker, which aired September 4, 1972 on CBS, the first new car to be given away as a prize was a blue 1972 Chevrolet Vega Kammback wagon.

Trivia

When the car was still in development, it was code-named "XP-887" within General Motors.
To better position the Vega as an automobile that was inexpensive both to purchase and to maintain, Chevrolet published a do-it-yourself maintenance manual for owners.

External links