Vauxhall Cavalier
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The Vauxhall Cavalier was a mid-size car sold in the UK by Vauxhall Motors, the British subsidiary of General Motors, from 1976 to 1994.
Mk I (1976-1982)
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 GM's Antwerp plant in Belgium.The original range was available as 2 and 4-door saloons, and a shapely coupe that was essentially 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 3-door hatchback replaced the coupe.
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 coupe also had a front spoiler. 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 coupe 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 the Opel brand in the UK, and merge dealerships with those of Vauxhall.
Mk II (1982-1988)
A front-wheel drive version 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 throughout the 1980s.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 Astra/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 four-door saloon and five-door hatchback. An estate version based on the Holden Camira was also available, and a convertible.
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. 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 was 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.
Mk III (1989-1995)
The last Cavalier was introduced in 1988 for the 1989 model year, being Vauxhall's version of the Opel Vectra A, again as a saloon and 5-door hatchback. There was no estate version in the Opel lineup, and as the Vectra was not going to be sold in Australia, so 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, an objection which did not hold at the end of this model's life.In place of the old model'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 turbo-diesel from 1992. The early SRi's were fitted with the 2.0 8-valve engine from the previous Cavalier model, which produced 130 hp.
Bodystyles were hatchback and saloon, with no estate option. Despite the lack of a load carrier, the Cavalier topped the large-medium family car sales charts in Britain in 1991, ahead of the Ford Sierra.
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. A few variants were made, the 2L 8v, 2L 16v (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 v6 and finally the 2L 16 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 antilock brakes as standard. The exterior design was also freshened up, with a new grille, headlights and rear lights. 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 1995 and was replaced by the Vectra.
External links
- [MK2 Cav Owners Network] - A Mk2 Cavalier owners club.
- [MK3 Cav Owners Network] - A Mk3 Cavalier owners club.
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