When I went to buy my first car in 1982 .. I considered a J car but they wanted $8000 ...they looked good and got good reviews in Car magazines ..I could only afford $6000 .. and also looked at 80-81 used rental cars .. I ended up buying a 82 Civic ..glad I did. It was a very small store next door to the Chevy dealer .. and they only had one car in stock ,,, sitting in the showroom was a Silver Civic DX, 5 speed. I salesman told me it was the only Honda car they had in stock and the very last 82 model they had... he told me that the 83 Honda were coming in a few more weeks but will be $1000 increase in prices .. I said I take the Civic - $5800 plus tax, tags. The car lasted for well over 300,000 trouble free miles and got 45-50 mpg...with a fun peppy engine.
@325xitgrocgetter
Жыл бұрын
I was a freshman in high school when they came out. And every car review was essentially saying, "wait until next year when we think better engines will be available."
@nathangordillo5869
Жыл бұрын
How was high school back then ?
@TheBrokenLife
Жыл бұрын
@@nathangordillo5869 Watch the documentary film _Fast Times at Ridgemont High._
@sableminer8133
Жыл бұрын
I was about same era and had a sub to Motor Trend and remember being shocked at how shitty they looked. And highschool back then? I already had a beard by then and long hair plus u could smoke on campus with zero hassle! Good times
@DanEBoyd
Жыл бұрын
@@nathangordillo5869 Surely much less intolerable than today. I was there from '80 to '84 in a half suburban and half agricultural township. You definitely saw long guns in the back windows of pickup trucks in that parking lot during hunting season from what I've heard, in the '60s and maybe into the '70s, but I'm pretty sure that that was no longer an acceptable thing by the time I came along. The faculty there, in my day, definitely had a contingent of younger, city-slick, left-leaning types. But many of the rest were still rural folks.
@markrushtongallery
Жыл бұрын
@@nathangordillo5869 It was like Heavy Metal Parking Lot.
@Erik_Swiger
Жыл бұрын
We're always told that car manufacturers test their vehicles as they're being developed, but honestly, sometimes it seems like they just throw something out there and let the buying public do the testing for them.
@bloqk16
Жыл бұрын
Over the past 50 years it's always been my contention to never buy a first-year model car coming from Detroit; as invariably, quality issues arises.
@marcusdamberger
Жыл бұрын
@@bloqk16 I've heard that too. But I had good luck with a 1st year model 6th gen Honda Accord, 98' that was a 2 door model only made for north American market, to (eventually) replace the Prelude. Had it tell 265k and 21 years before it went to junkyard. (transmission done, typical failure at that milage for that transmission type..) Nothing unusual about it's maintenance, mostly just usual oil and milage related items. The inside never creaked or rattled, no electrical gremlins either. I think it only ever had one recall related to shifter interlock that I never experienced. Great car overall for a first redesigned model year. P.S. I realized you stipulated Detroit vehicle, so this might not be best comparison.
@patricknesbitt4003
Жыл бұрын
Microsoft must have learned from them. Every O.S. from Windows 95 on seems to have been a beta version.
@Bloodcurling
Жыл бұрын
That's software
@bloqk16
Жыл бұрын
@@marcusdamberger Sounds like your '98 Civic served you better than my '91 model, which, after 21 years and 235K miles, something in the drivetrain broke and could only power one wheel. I was on a road-trip at the time, where, coincidentally, was visiting my old neighborhood, and managed to muddle the car to the service department of the same dealership I bought the car from 21 years before. I suspected the car was on its last legs when doing the road-trip, so I carried the owner's certificate and blank bill-of-sale with me; along with a list of car rental agencies. It wasn't worth saving the vehicle, as there were many worn items with the car that were going to need service/replacement in the near future; so I signed it over to a Honda dealership mechanic and I went to a nearby car rental place to complete my road trip. Upon returning home, my second vehicle, a Toyota pickup truck, became my daily driver. A year later I was back in the area and visited the same Honda dealership. The mechanic had moved-on, but the service manager remembered me, saying the mechanic sunk thousands of dollars in parts alone to get the car back up to decent running condition, as the transmission, valve-train, and steering were on the end of their service lives. But, while the parts of the Civic were worn out, the fit-and-finish of the car stayed intact, such as with the door mechanisms and the interior; with all knobs and switches functioning well. Which contrasted with late '60s and '70s Chevys/Olds I owned, where the fit/finish; interiors; knobs; and switches deteriorated badly in 10 years time.
@michaelkehm3663
Жыл бұрын
Was Service Manager at the local Pontiac dealership when the J car came out. The anemic 1.8 carburetor engine wouldn't start when it was bitter cold. Remember having to push new cars into the shop and replace spark plugs and make carb adjustments per a service bulletin, things still didn't start a few days later. I had a loaded J2000 coupe with a 5 speed for a demo. At 500 miles developed an oil leak at the head gasket. Thought we had gone back to early Vega (Astre) days with those early J cars.
@DanEBoyd
Жыл бұрын
At least you could get an Iron Duke in an Astre.
@chriscatarcio2983
Жыл бұрын
I take a vega over any of that GM f.w.d. GARBAGE. I have a 79 monza now. With 200k miles on it.
@davidd6812
Жыл бұрын
My Cimarron would refuse to start in the bitter St. Paul winters. Loved the car, but hated the engine.
@jamesrecknor6752
Жыл бұрын
Oh the good old days... over at the Volkswagen store in the early 80s I had job security in the parts department because of the Rabbit/Scirocco. Plastic radiator tank separation, catalytic converters, EGR valves, etc. My favorite was rubber suspenders that held the exhaust system, until they broke and dumped it all on the road. What a market share gift to Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, Isuzu, even Mazda and Mitsubishi.
@frisco-2.0
Жыл бұрын
The j-car started in 1981 in Germany as the Opel Ascona C. The Ascona was a very popular and robust car! Its reputation is still strong today. Engines were from 1.3 to 2.0 litres, output from 60bhp up to 130bhp. Alle european build j-cars (Opel and Vauxhall) had completely different engines (all OHC) and transmissions. The Ascona was build from 1981-1988 and was successed by the Opel Vectra A.
@Randy.E.R
Жыл бұрын
I can't judge too harshly. I started work as a mechanic at a Ford dealership when this line up of cars came out. (i stayed working there until 2006). It isn't like Ford was selling anything much better than this. Remember the early Escort? I never understood why it was so wildly popular. The original 1.6L used in the early Escort had about as much horsepower as my lawn mower. To be fair, none of the US automakers had much to work with. Faced with competition from Japanese imports, tougher emission standards, increased CAFE requiements, and tighter crash standards, it was hard to turn a profit. US automakers had to cut costs somewhere which meant quality suffered. Most of the warranty work at the time involved NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) and drivability complaints due to malfunctioning emission components. After going through the 1980s I never dreamed I would live long enough to see cars like today that put out 500+ Horsepower while capable of 20+ mpg with nearly zero emissions.
@bloqk16
Жыл бұрын
It's remarkable that in the second decade of the 21st Century, that Detroit sedans, such as the Chevy Impala [rented them twice over the past 10 years], with V6 engines, are on-par in performance with the mid-range muscle cars from the 1960s; and those 21st Century sedans can do it on regular gasoline; get double the fuel mileage of the 1960s cars; and ride in comfort exceeding that of high-end luxury cars of the 1960s.
@ronaldjones743
Жыл бұрын
Now they want to say CO2 is a major pollutant and get rid of all gas cars no matter if that's the only thing coming out of the tailpipe.
@jamesrecknor6752
Жыл бұрын
@@bloqk16 True, but 1960s cars were far better than cars of decades past too, and it took decades to catch up to 1960s horsepower again.
@redneck4528
Жыл бұрын
A 1981 Ford Escort SS (pre GT) was a total joke, the 1991 Escort GT with the 1.8 DOHC is still better than most new economy cars Versa, Accent, Rio, etc. That decade made all the difference Chrysler had the Neon and everyone was chasing Ford's Taurus and yes GM was still confused 😕
@DSP1968
Жыл бұрын
You're right on the mark here as usual, Adam. I drove a 1.8/AT CS coupe when new. Let's just say it had a nice green velour interior and leave it at that.
@gideondingle9363
Жыл бұрын
Green velour interior!?Yech!
@DSP1968
Жыл бұрын
@@gideondingle9363 It matched the green exterior, so it wasn't so bad.
@sableminer8133
Жыл бұрын
Kermit say 🎵 it's hard 2B green 💚
@nasserrafek9579
Жыл бұрын
Ahhh....GM's " mousefur" velour strikes again 😒
@missingremote4388
Жыл бұрын
Took my 1st D.L 1984: in cavalier 1982 gold paint sedan
@christopherconard2831
Жыл бұрын
One of the few good points about the Cadillac Cimarron was the fact the devaluation rate went off a cliff. So it gave some people a chance to pick up a fully optioned out compact/midsize car for a good price.
@bloqk16
Жыл бұрын
And those ppl could legitimately claim to own a Cadillac; as it was a status symbol among sedan owners back then.
@chriscatarcio2983
Жыл бұрын
Junk. Junk and more junk. All the front weel drive cars GARBAGE on wheels.
@robertdragoff6909
Жыл бұрын
Until it was discovered that it was a Cimarron….
@averyparticularsetofskills
Жыл бұрын
I mean yeah BUT the cost was still relative to all other used compacts with similar equipment, so it wasn't so much of the "steal" some assume it was.
@robertdragoff6909
Жыл бұрын
@@averyparticularsetofskills But it was for a Cadillac
@felipewdb
Жыл бұрын
Great video Adam! Here in Brazil we had the J car, it was called Chevrolet Monza, 1.6L (early 80's), 1.8L and 2.0L. It was known as "the middle class dream" during the 80's and it was the best selling car in 84, 85 and 86. We had also a face lifted version, fromn1991 to 1996, who was known as "Monza tubarão" ("shark Monza", due it's font end resemblance with a shark head), made to extend it's life until the Chevrolet Vectra B launch. My father had a 1984 Chevrolet Monza sedan 1.8, fully loaded, and I had a 1994 Chevrolet Monza GLS 2.0 (ethanol engine), great cars. They are cherished in Brazil even today and there are many on the road!
@drippinglass
Жыл бұрын
I like Tainá Bergamaschi from Brazil. So pretty! 🥰
@johna.4334
Жыл бұрын
@@drippinglass And Sonia Braga.
@pablobarbizan9463
Жыл бұрын
Bom encontrar outro br que acompanha esse canal 🇧🇷
@felipewdb
Жыл бұрын
@@pablobarbizan9463 opa, tmj 🇧🇷👍🏻
@oleo007
Жыл бұрын
Nice explanation, you got it !
@bondjamesbond9041
Жыл бұрын
Hi from the UK. I have a Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 OHC. It was a very reliable car and for the day handled and performed very well.
@WorksOnMyComputer
Жыл бұрын
We had them in Australia as the Holden Camira. They had cosmetic changes to give them a more european look and more inline with the bigger car in the stable the Holden Commodore whose styling and platform had been originally based on the Opel Omega. They launched with much fanfare and some sales success, before quickly earning themselves a reputation as a dog of a car. The later fuel injected cars were better, but by then the damage was done. It could be argued they were the start of the decline and eventual end of GM in Australia. The greatest crime wasn't just that the J cars was launched as a ready made fail in the US market, but GM thought it would be a good idea to export that same flawed car design to the entire planet. Thus ensuring every GM division around the world had a terrible car in its lineup, that took a lot of time and money to tool up for.
@danieltillett1526
Жыл бұрын
This must be the worst car ever sold in Australia.
@RyanMoran1992
Жыл бұрын
I was born after the Camira ended production, but even I know how horrendous they were. It’s almost legendary. I remember my non-car knowing mum telling me Camira’s are lemons. I think it really damaged Holden’s reputation
@markbehr88
Жыл бұрын
@@danieltillett1526 I’d give that award to the Holden Sunbird Torana.
@siwynjones
Жыл бұрын
Yet here in Europe, the Cavalier and Ascona were well thought of and pretty successful; nice to drive, comfortable, economical, reliable, easy to work on, and the engines were really perky compared to some of the opposition. Even the 1.3 could get out of its own way. I owned several 80s Cavaliers in the 90s and they were all great. Maybe they were better suited to European conditions (and manual gearboxes).
@markbehr88
Жыл бұрын
@@siwynjones the 1.6 JB Camira (first model) was gutless but the 1.8 and 2 litre JD and JE models were much better and designer Leo Pruneau did a great job making them look quite different as well as copying the Citroen GS on the wagon so the rear bumper was part of the tail gate.
@tonyflorio3269
Жыл бұрын
Great details I've never heard before. Never knew the 2.8 V6 and this engine family shared parts! Too bad they didn't take it one step further: creating a compact, 3.6, 176 HP V8. That would have been quite competitive in the early 1980s!
@B0xlife1
Жыл бұрын
I don't know how compact they could make it to shoving these little cars.
@DanEBoyd
Жыл бұрын
That would've been cool!
@tonyflorio3269
Жыл бұрын
@@B0xlife1 Not for the compacts but it may have worked for X-body and larger FWD vehicles. Not that it would have made sense given the 3.8 V6 (and larger 3.1/3.4 V6s) but it's fun to imagine.
@judethaddaeus9742
Жыл бұрын
A 60° V8 would have required a lot of engineering work to run smoothly compared to a 90°, however.
@Bloodcurling
Жыл бұрын
No idea where you came up with this idea. 1.8L > 2.8L > 3.6? Also what cars have a spectrum of 2L or 4 cylinders?
@ernestdesoto1906
Жыл бұрын
My parents bought a cavalier and I remember thinking the name was appropriate: zero to 60 in a cavalier fashion. Not sure why it had four doors. If you added people it only slowed the acceleration.
@InTeCredo
Жыл бұрын
At least, Cadillac got its first-ever taillamps with amber-colour turn signal indicators for the domestic market. Not to mention the first four-cylinder engine fitted to Cadillac since 1914 and manual gearbox since 1950s. By the way, we hired a 1982 Opel Ascona, which is more or less European version of J-Car, and we thought it was better designed and built than American J-Cars.
@sableminer8133
Жыл бұрын
Yeah but Amerikans be like " Amber taillights? We don't want no stinkin' amber in our taillights"! 😆
@Jack_Stafford
Жыл бұрын
Weren't the X cars/Citation GM's first compact front wheel drive cars?
@BruisersBeaters
Жыл бұрын
Feel free to poke around my page, but I actively and exclusively drive 80's Cavaliers. I have a wagon, sedan and a Cimarron. All have the same LQ5 2.0L engine, I'd say mine are the third revision to this engine family. It got aluminum heads in 1987, and then was punched out to 2.2L which the later Cavaliers are famous for. I can confirm that spark knock sound, is very close to sounding like rods, but the thing is, all three of them make the noise in that certain rev range which means they never really resolved it even when they punched it out to 2.0. I've been able to almost entirely eliminate it by finding the right configuration of modern plugs, stronger ignition coils and a minor tweak to the timing. The displacement change to 2.0L also came with the addition of TBI Fuel injection for the US Market. Canada Cavaliers still ran a carb until 1984. Ever year J body has blatantly different changes year to year. Some are so subtle that they only reveal themselves during refurbishment of the cars, trust me, it's annoying. The 1.8L is the least desirable engine in J bodies and I kinda do mean both. The OHC 1.8L did not like neglect and was also pretty sluggish. The OHV 1.8L is basically just 1982 crap. Front drive GM stuff for the 1982 year model is always wildly slapped together and rushed to market highly unrefined. As a rule personally I avoid 1982 GM's for this reason of it just being such a rough year for the. I drive nothing else but vintage J Bodies. I just can't figure out how to make content for my page about it but I've been doing this since 2020. They're nice cars for what they are; Honest, simple and reliable. They're not offensively slow or miserable to drive for long stretches at a time, they drive on modern highways at modern speeds fine, with good mpg, parts aren't impossible to find cause the J body lasted until 2005, and yes many core components never changed from 1982-2005.
@jfruser
4 ай бұрын
Dude, you are like a modern-day flagellant. I am not sure if I ought to be admiring or appalled. Good luck with your J-platforms.
@kurtvanluven9351
Ай бұрын
The local salvage yard has an intact 1982 Cimarron. He wants $800. I think I'm going to get it. I'll check out your page. I would like to know what you did as far as ignition, as that would help.
@ctranger
Жыл бұрын
We had an '87 Sunbird Safari wagon. By 1987, the OHC 1.8 was enlarged to a 2.0 with 96hp. Still unreliable. Example was that at 50,000 miles, the steering wheel started becoming very loose where you could wobble it all over the place. The dealer needed to re-tighten the tilt-wheel mechanism. The oil pressure gauge would frequently register off the dial and then go back to normal oil pressure readings. Those were just a couple of the quirks. The engine was a whole another story. soon after delivery we get a note in the mail from Pontiac asking that we bring the car back for the dealer to install a lead shield around the distributor. Speaking of the distributor, the cap needed to be changed every 8-10k miles, or else the car would run poorly if at all. Oh yeah, first summer, the a/c compressor exploded (really) and dumped oil all over the place. This was in May and the new compressor finally came in - in October. Got rid of it a couple of years later and started buying Nissans (when Nissan was still making outstanding vehicles).
@NorlandBoxcar
Жыл бұрын
Nice. My mother had an 83 Sunbird and just loved it. It was a blessing for her after driving my father's 74' Parisienne which was an incredibly large car. My father was delighted to see my mother's happiness driving the Sunbird..
@darknessislight3689
Жыл бұрын
My mom had a 1982 Buick Skyhawk custom (4dr beige) never had any problems with it. Then she bought a 1986 Skyhawk T-type (2dr two tone ) no trouble with that car either. She keep the 4dr until late 90’s .The couple was rear ended 🥺 I loved that little car 😊
@davidcobb2693
Жыл бұрын
I had a friend whose mother won a Chevy Cavalier in a church raffle and the car they awarded to her was as bare bones as possible, it had a manual transmission and NO air conditioning, we lived in South Florida and the no a/c was brutal!
@jkusrbetter9519
Жыл бұрын
While in highschool I had a Olds Firenza while my girlfriend drove an 83 Cavalier. How I survived all that early GM drama is still a mystery. (Drove that Cavalier to Florida for a Spring break trip. Spent 2 weeks prior to the trip throwing as many parts as I could afford at it. Some how it made it, only overheated once.)
@rylinrei
Жыл бұрын
Very good video only one small info mistake it was the Isuzu Aska that was built on the J platform not the Isuzu Florian. Would love to see a video on the Isuzu / Lotus / GM partnership that created some very interesting things like the Canadian exclusive "Asüna" car brand.
@rferguson3719
Жыл бұрын
Very interesting insight into the internal decisions that are made when designing a platform!
@errorsofmodernism7331
Жыл бұрын
I bought JP cars exclusively during this time period. The JP cars were smooth and high reeving with tight steering and nice gearboxes while the US vehicles driving sensation felt more like farm implements adapted for road use. Also the JP cars had firmer suspension that could be driven harder in corners while the US cars seemed more like scaled down large cars and with softer suspensions more optimized for driving straight lines on an interstate for example
@averyparticularsetofskills
Жыл бұрын
Adam; LOVE the " _History of Powertrain_ " type vid. & wouldn't mind at all for many more like it! Be Well ✌🏽 Stay Safe
@htimsid
Жыл бұрын
And to think that Opel had good CIH 4-cylinder engines since 1965.
@compu85
Жыл бұрын
Hehe, did you get the demo video from my channel? That LD is quite something. "Enough power for today's traffic!" "From GM to America with Quality!"
@firehawk6188
Жыл бұрын
Oh yes. My first car. 1982 Cavalier 1.8L 4 speed. Holy crap that thing was SLOOOWWW but it did always run.
@kevinbarry71
Жыл бұрын
"It was cheaper" that was all you had to say
@theobillings8930
Жыл бұрын
I had an 82 J2000, with the TBI option, I remember replacing that rubber tbi base plate several times. The heat and vibration would cause the rubber to split from the mounting plates and then it had a huge vacuum leak. It was an pretty expensive part too if I remember right. I did like the interior, nice buckets and the dash was cool. Also rockers and door bottoms rusted out.
@jst7714
Жыл бұрын
The announcer man in the dealer film so popular back then. I’ve heard his voice in everything for Chevrolet to Sears productions.
@guillermojimenezcastelblan8456
Жыл бұрын
Well done for GM when got involved in the planning, design and production programs for all 4 J`s cars, even, to the Cimarron sample, in a particular area where they were masters that I`d discover when selling spare parts: A community within the cars and its parts related, bringing down costs for tooling and training stuff. I love this fact over the Euro and Asia products as well. Once again, Colombia had its own J World Car, the brazilian Opel Ascona unit, bumper to bumper, 4 door sedan only, and the rebadged name known as Chevrolet Monza, from 1985/1991, 5 speed manual, an auto 3 shifts, 1.8 liter 4 in line engine, one barrel carb, replaced for mid 86 model with a two barrel unit, rising the HP from 83 to 93, and last engine, the 2.0 liter, same carb but reaching 100 HP. The better ones were the SL/E trim and the upscale top line Classic, but qith the 5 speed trans for better mileage and overall highway performance. In my opinion,all J Cars family were excellent, right for the people and the time when launched.
@runoflife87
9 ай бұрын
Your neighbours from Chilie aslo got "Chevrolet" Aska - the LHD Isuzu actually.
@markbehr88
Жыл бұрын
Interesting info on the development of the 1.8.
@mgbgtguy
9 ай бұрын
My first car was an 82 hatchback with the 1.8 carb engine. Bought with 100k miles on it and a blown engine due to excessively overheating it when the cooling fan switch went bad. Tossed in a used engine and beat the crap out if it through high school, sold it to another kid who beat the crap out of it (until he caught it on fire working on it), he sold it to another kid who got it back running and continued to use it. That thing just wouldn’t die… my dad used to say it didn’t have enough horsepower to kill itself 😜
@joemazzola7387
Жыл бұрын
Our friends had a j 2000 station wagon version with a stick I was impressed with it in a good way I think it was a later model as it was quiet inside and roomy
@HamJamming
Жыл бұрын
So Adam, given General Motors's longstanding anti-consumer business practices and their repeated release of absolutely terrible vehicles, how can anyone buy a G.M. car anymore with any assurance whatsoever that it will be reasonably high-quality or long-lasting? I know that I would never buy another car from G.M., and I think many other people agree with me. G.M. has simply pooped on its customer base and everyone realizes it.
@christopherconard2831
Жыл бұрын
Their trucks have a good reputation. But this is the "New GM". They've learned from past mistakes. Of course they said that in the 1990's too. They made sure to emphasize that they may share a name with old GM, but were a different company when post bailout GM was sued for old GM issues. The courts didn't buy that argument.
@HamJamming
Жыл бұрын
@@christopherconard2831 No, it's not the new G.M., it's the same old one. They lied to Congress in 2008 when they said they were going to change their business model. Just more lies from The General. What a terrible company. It simply has no shame.
@DTD110865
Жыл бұрын
Luckily I had a GM from the 1980's that was better than any of this. It was a 1985 Chevy Caprice with a 4.3 EFI engine. The thing had room to spare and a front bench seat that was always stuck way back. I never got that problem fixed though, since I'm tall enough to reach the pedals. Even with the persistent leak, and not always matching tires, it was better than a J car.
@bloqk16
Жыл бұрын
I drove a rental Chevy Cavalier, where I aptly referred to it as the Chevy _Cadaver._
@TheHelado36
Жыл бұрын
Like the boxy style of this model Cavalier. As mediocre as they were I still look at them as an important past of automobile history !
@2006gtobob
Жыл бұрын
Oh wow, I totally forgot about the wagons!
@greggc8088
Жыл бұрын
The 1.8 OHC problems-Oil leaking valve cover, flywheel teeth stripped, starters that were tough to access, and crazy timing belt set up. The timing belt set up with the crank pulley at 10 degrees rather than 0 so at the dealer we spent a lot of time repairing a lack of power because someone else replaced it. Then there was the crazy use of the water pump as the timing belt tensioner and a special wrench to turn it on an eccentric. I hated that motor. Couldn't believe it when they threw a turbo on that design later on.
@markkeller8915
Жыл бұрын
such a difficult engine to repair!!
@j.markkrzystofiak9907
Жыл бұрын
Made the 2.2l in the k cars seem smooth and refined
@TylerDurden-oy2hm
Жыл бұрын
Here in New Zealand the first Camira was a 1.6, the advert on TV said it had the power of a 2 litre.We got a larger engine but it wasnt enough to save the car it was dead on arrival.
@johnhutchinson9714
Жыл бұрын
Yep a heap of crap. I w As given a 1.8l Camira work vehicle. Turn the AC on it was like hitting a brick wall. The later 2.0l was not much better.
@christopherbero3388
Жыл бұрын
“The viewer should not confuse…” that line in your script made me laugh Adam. 😊
@rscamarolover
Жыл бұрын
My dad and mom both had 4 door cavalier 1st gens and I had an 87 sedan and my sisters all had wagons all of the 1st Gen cavis and we liked them. My dad and mom and myself all had Cimarrons and loved them . I'm very fond of 1st Gen cavi's I prefer them with 2.2's from the 95-99 cavi's. .
@adamtrombino106
Жыл бұрын
My best friend had an early 83 Skyhawk. Brakes were horrid! His 1.8 had tbi. Yes, It WAS a 1.8, not the trusty 2.0. Yes it did have tbi, not a carb! I forget the 8th VIN as it's been nearly 35 yrs since he had it. Anyhow, it managed to somehow back fire through the tbi and started a fire. The injector, harness, and lots of vacuum hoses and plastic tubes got melted. He junked the car. Luckily things got better as time went on for the J cars. The Z24s with the 2.8 and 5 speed were actually kinda fun to drive!
@Alan-lv9rw
Жыл бұрын
At that time I was in college and had a 1979 Honda Accord hatchback. I was very happy with it. No problems at all.
@67marlins
Жыл бұрын
As a young teenage car enthusiast back in the early 80s, I remember reading in Motor Trend, Consumer Reports, etc, that the only real bad point of the J was their curb weight - it was too close to 3,000#, whereas I think the goal was under 2,500#. Other than that fault causing disappointing gas mileage, I thought generally they were a good car coming out of the 1982 landscape, correct....? I'm a Ford guy, but I respect GM for staying with the J, such that by the early 90s those cars were ubiquitous and well-liked. The Cavalier and J2000 also offered convertibles, I think. My Dad drove an '83 Skyhawk, and was surprised how peppy it was. I also thought the wagons, particularly the Olds Firenza, was beautiful. Good for GM offering wagons! Good, thorough post as always, Adam.
@Henry_Jones
Жыл бұрын
Good cars? We called them crapaliers for a reason.
@67marlins
Жыл бұрын
@@Henry_Jones They sold in huge numbers for even better reasons.
@Henry_Jones
Жыл бұрын
@@67marlins cuz they were cheap. They also a big fleet car. I test drove an 01 and every interior part you put your hand on felt like it would break, the dash shook, and the seats were the worst ive ever sar in. No way
@biastv1234
Жыл бұрын
The Holden Camira in Australia suffered early plastics issues, but by the end of the series, the JE , with the quite powerful 2.0 Family 2 engine, was a fantastic car .
@robertdiehl9003
Жыл бұрын
Never knew these were global cars. Adam is Awesome !
@andysaunders3708
Жыл бұрын
The mighty Isuzu Florian was sold in NZ in 1.8 and 2.0 litre forms. Badged as a Holden Camira, it meant we didn't get the JE Camira. Likely a blessing. It was also sold as the Isuzu Aska, (JDM only). A later version of the Aska was a rebadged version of the Subaru Legacy/Liberty. The 1.8 was a bloody good car, except it rusted as you watched. BTW, I believe the first iteration of the Camira had a 1.6 engine, and was horrendously underpowered. It also leaked oil, both externally and internally. Talk about smoke!
@Gudi102
Жыл бұрын
You forgot to mention the Chevrolet Monza built in Brazil from 82 to 96. It sold 900.000 units.
@Zneedsmore
Жыл бұрын
I drove a 1982 Chevrolet Cavalier Type 10 hatchback during high school that was nearly new - had the 1.8L and a 4-speed manual, and the unique soft nose front end. The car was surprisingly well optioned - just about every option except power windows. The 1.8 was anemic, even with the 4-spd. And it's odd how the passenger car door had different color trim than the driver's door (was an assembly error). The car wasn't bad - it was a 'new' car to drive during high school, but it was certainly not built to last.
@DTD110865
Жыл бұрын
The Cavalier CL Hatchback looked like the kind of car that a single person could use to take cross country trips with. They were clearly marketing it towards "those who drive with enthusiasm." Granted a crummy Plymouth Horizon TC3 would slaughter the thing at the track, to say nothing of the early Pontiac Fiero, but it seemed to be the kind of car that an apparently eternal bachelor ot bachelorette would use to throw some bags and gear in the hatch and take some trip to anywhere they feel like going for a day or two.
@Zneedsmore
Жыл бұрын
@@DTD110865 Thanks, that’s probably accurate and Chevrolet’s marketing sold the car that way. It was intended to be an alternative to a Honda Accord hatchback which like other Japanese models had a strong list of standard features. Ironically, many dealers charged well over sticker though. The original owner (not me) paid 11k for it, which was extraordinarily high for this market of car. It was indeed a very livable car to drive in the city or a smaller town, but it was not at all a ‘performance’ car. It was a comfortable cruiser. The engine was indeed anemic and the 4-speed shifter was very awkward compared to the Accord at that time. GM missed the intended mark on the J-car early on both in engineering and marketing.
@ozzstars_cars
Жыл бұрын
The 1.8L was marketed for good fuel efficiency, not power. It really wasn't a bad engine if properly maintained. Way better than the later Quad 4. I replaced many head gaskets on those paperweights. They all went to the junkyard sooner than later.
@spod2998
9 ай бұрын
This. From my experience with J cars, primarily 1st gen Sunbirds, was that if you were handy enough, a few tweaks to toe, camber, and boost (if you had the 1.8 turbo) were all you really needed
@johnjohnston9661
Жыл бұрын
I owned a 1983 Skyhawk. It had the Brazilian 1.8L OHC engine and a Korean made 5 speed manual. It was the worst car I ever owned. The timing belt broke twice before it hid 40K miles. The shift linkage felt like it was made of rubber bands. The AC and heat often failed. The rack and pinion steering failed. Again, all of this happened before it reached 40K miles! The car replaced a '72 Ford Maverick that had over 100K miles and had almost no issues except a propensity to rust.
@mark_osborne
Жыл бұрын
worked on a boat load of them back in the day !
@dmandman9
Жыл бұрын
I remember those isolation bushings would wear on the alternator, and the belt would then become misaligned. That was a nightmare
@Zickcermacity
Жыл бұрын
0:47 That Isuzu variant, up front at least, strongly resembles a contemporary Renault Allliance!
@maxr4448
Жыл бұрын
Hello Adam. hope your doing well. I have been moving so I haven't kept up will your Excellent tech on GM and brands . I rented a gold Cavalier from Hertz in 1982, for one week. I took it with my mother and my two nephews to St. Louis from KC, too the St. Louis Zoo and the arch. That car couldn't keep up with traffic. Top speed was 70 going down hill in central Missouri on I-70. That Monday I took that death trap back to Hertz and demanded a different car, which they did. I got a 6 cylinder Ford 4 door Fairmont. A MUCH better driving car, not by much thou....
@mdmarko
Жыл бұрын
Owned an 86 S-10 blazer with the 2.8 liter V-6. Ran well, adequate pep. Also owned an 87 Cavalier, ran well.
@christopherconard2831
Жыл бұрын
I had one too. It wasn't exactly bad, but there were better choices. One of the best decisions Jeep made was to dump the GM V-6 and go with the AMC straight 6 as soon as they could. If you ever had the chance to drive a Cherokee with a GM them the AMC engine the difference was very noticeable. More torque in the low end and smoother at highway speeds.
@TheBrokenLife
Жыл бұрын
@@christopherconard2831 Too bad you didn't wait a bit longer to get the 4.0 Jeep motor. Makes the 258 feel like a relic.
@vicp8772
Жыл бұрын
Our j2000 wagon introduced us to Toyota/Honda. Super thx.
@TheBrokenLife
Жыл бұрын
Perhaps a rocky start, but wow did they ever sell a bazillion and 5 of them in due time.
@dekelanson5280
Жыл бұрын
I owned an 82 that I bought in 88. I can testify to it's lack of power. When I was on the highway at the top of a hill, I'd have to floor it going down so I could get up the next hill.
@elplata7224
Жыл бұрын
Might be good to review the foam cast blocks, allegedly some of the best engines out there. Like in the saturns
@manthony225
Жыл бұрын
I knew people who had a loaded, Cavalier, Firenza wagon and a Skyhawk. They had pretty nice interiors when they were optioned out.
@Low760
Жыл бұрын
The family ii motor was great, ran out to 2.2l and had 16v and di in the end.
@pcno2832
Жыл бұрын
9:18 There they said it "four passenger, four cylinder, fuel efficient ..." . That's because GM deliberately put an open bin in the middle of the back seat (the same thing they did to the front of the X-cars) to make it intolerable for a person in the middle; even in the Cimarron, there was no money in the budget for a lid, although that model did have a fold-down armrest. Apparently, GM had to beef up the brakes before offering 5 passenger seating in these cars in the 1983 or was it the 1984 model year. I wonder if that was intended all along, or if customer complaints and/or rejections drove the change.
@loopy4517
Жыл бұрын
I bought a 82 coupe that was loaded to the gills. One problem I had with it was the check engine light would come on when the wind was blowing real hard. Also, the honeycomb wheel covers would never stay on. I lost them all one by one. I finally put a set of nice wheels on it. It was a good car for me. I sold it to my brother with 160,000 miles on it. He had it for another year or so until his kid totaled it. I will say the newer engine was better.
@judgedread-q4t
Жыл бұрын
GM designed a real lemon with this one, the most nondescript and underdeveloped car of the eighties, although at least the Cavalier hatchback looked cool. The later 2.0 EFI was much better but way too late.
@highbrass7563
Жыл бұрын
I own a 1994 Pontiac Sunbird Coupe with the 2.0 Engine. It has 91,000km on it and runs like a clock. I also daily drive a 1997 Pontiac Sunfire Coupe with 128,250km on it and it also runs like clock, it has the 2.2 LN2, not the Ecotec engines later used in the sunfires and cavaliers.
@randallstewart1224
Жыл бұрын
The 1.8 liter engine discussed in the video was originally made by GM in Brazil to use in a tractor. They had a lot of torque but a high end rev limit of about 4200, which is ridiculous for an automotive 4 cyl. engine. After used in tractors, it was shipped to Germany to use in little Opel coupe and sedans, as GM had just bought Opel. I had the dubious honor of driving the engine for several years, as a slightly bored out version was used in my Opel GT. At that time, it's technical limitations were less apparent, as 4 cylinder engines in cars sold in the US were mostly limited to imports, most of which were pretty low tech anyway. The idea that GM would use the same engine again more than a decade later in the lines of small cars it was then newly introducing says a lot about GM, which is why I've never owned one since I sold the Opel GT. My business partner later bought a Buick Skylark V-6, and my employee bought a Pontiac J2000 with that 1.8 liter engine, both new. They both paid a heavy price for break-downs, repairs and upkeep, and both cars started falling apart as they rolled off the dealer's lot. Like the Chrysler K cars - total junk.
@DTD110865
Жыл бұрын
GM bought Opel in 1931.
@middleclassretiree
Жыл бұрын
What people that didn’t live through this period don’t understand is we were more interested in mpg than performance as we were still suffering the energy crunch so these cars sold pretty well
@coyote50585
Жыл бұрын
I had a 1986 Cavalier RT Hatchback and although it wasnrt a hi preformace car, I actually likes the look of it . I think that was the last year of a Cavalier Hatchback
@emeyer6963
Жыл бұрын
1987 was final year
@wingsley
Жыл бұрын
Very slight, nit-picky correction: the J-cars were incorrectly identified in this video as compacts; actually, the J-cars were sub-compacts. The problems with J-cars make it look like the right-hand didn't know what the left-hand was doing at GM in the "Malaise Era" (late 1970s, thru the 1980s). It made no sense for GM to begin a billion-dollar "downsizing" program to switch so many car product lines for smaller engines and front-wheel-drive and yet not have adequate engines and transmissions ready for the program at the same time. GM's management seriously damaged the corporation's public reputation with such colossal misteps. When introducing substantially new car lines and an all-new drive system like this, a car manufacturer needs to put its best foot forward and get it right the first time. Imagine what GM's image would be like if the 1982 J-cars had been introduced with a fuel-injected, well-tuned, balance-shaft-equipped four--cylinder and a better emphasis and higher-quality car bodies...
@GrotrianSeiler
Жыл бұрын
My mom had an 85 Coupe for several years. It never gave her any problems, just routine maintenance. She thought it was a good car. It did make a constant whining sound. I don’t know if it was the steering pump or the transmission, but the car ran fine. Never garaged and it always started.
@r.hill.2369
Жыл бұрын
For reference, I turned 20 in '83. I found all these cars abhorrent. Drove my '73 Riviera around with pride back then,
@moochincrawdad
Жыл бұрын
Vauxhall Cavalier in the UK, really popular cars.
@michaelmihalis9057
Жыл бұрын
Adam, I remember these cars pulling into the gas station I worked at in high school sounding like there was no oil in the motors. I would check all the fluids and they were good and I thought to myself,What a piece of junk.Mike the Greek
@DrGingerHamster
Жыл бұрын
I had an 84 Cavalier with a 2.0 Manual. Thing lasted almost 200K. No issues, until the ECM went out. ) Engine was great, lovely little runner, plenty of zip, and great mileage. GM quality was peeees poor, but it was good enough.
@lordwalker71
Жыл бұрын
My mom had a 1983 Pontiac 2000 and for the first couple years it was constantly in the shop because it never seemed to run right, she did end up having it for ten years though.
@rafaelfiallo4123
Жыл бұрын
16 seconds was par for an automatic economy car in the early 80's, this was a Vega replacement not the next Corvette. I'm assuming we'll get video on the Escort and it issue at launch next?
@CPTDoom
Жыл бұрын
My parents had a '82 or '83 Skyhawk, so I don't remember which engine version it had, but it was hands down the worst car I've ever had the misfortune of driving. It was a 5-speed, so I learned how to drive stick on it, and the car literally fell apart as we drove it. The day we picked it up - in January - the heater broke. Took two weeks to get the proper part and the repair done. Then we had continuing problems with clutch, which would just failed randomly, so you had to pull over, shut the car off and physically yank up on the clutch to get it to work. The gear shift also came off in your hands, leaving a piece of metal with which to shift, and the horn would go off if the temperature dropped below 20. We lived in Massachusetts. The car was so bad it drove my "American only" parents to a Japanese model a year and a half later, when we got a Mazda 626 that was a dream.
@AbcDef-iq4no
Жыл бұрын
Buzzy engines were the least of these dubious J-cars' problems. These cars were just plain flimsy in every way. The early 80s were dark years for GM. I had two friends who bought these J-car clunkers brand new. One bought a 1983 Cavalier four-door and another friend bought a 1982 J-2000 hatchback. Both friends had these cars for less than two years before trading them in (at a big loss just to get rid of them). The J-car hatchbacks like my friend's J-2000 had large and extremely heavy rear hatch doors which were way too easy to slam hard and shatter the hatch glass.
@johna.4334
Жыл бұрын
Those two door coupe hatchbacks in good condition are probably worth some money today.
@kellybanning2013
Жыл бұрын
Especially the Z24
@desertmodern7638
Жыл бұрын
To this day I remain disappointed that the Oldsmobile limousine variant never made it to production - the Firenza Extenza.
@Paul1958R
Жыл бұрын
Roger Smith - the beginning of the end.
@derrickzenner9300
Жыл бұрын
My grandmother bought a new 84 firenza with the 2.0. It was a trouble free car to 180k when it was sold.
@DanEBoyd
Жыл бұрын
Wow, I never really saw an Ascona before! I'm also a little surprised to hear that the Cimarron was apparently slated for the X platform - what a visual turd that would've surely been... Never knew of the proposed V4 either! I know V4s were used outside of the USA, by Saab and Ford - think you could get a V4 in a European Mk1 Capri!
@THROTTLEPOWER
Жыл бұрын
Great vid!! 👍👍
@aaronerskine3401
Жыл бұрын
these had a secret horsepower boost button that would immediately double its horsepower and acceleration. it was called the off switch on the air conditioner
@ShowMeWhatINeedToKnow
Жыл бұрын
We had an 82, 83, 89 Cavalier and a 1990 Sunbird in my family. They were not too bad.
@gideondingle9363
Жыл бұрын
They were'nt bad.They were terrible!
@ShowMeWhatINeedToKnow
Жыл бұрын
@@gideondingle9363 everything back then was terrible. You can't compare 80's garbage to modern-day cars.
@gradyj3827
Жыл бұрын
My parents had a J2000 with the 5 speed. The engine developed a slapping sound. Dealership said " That's just the way it is".. Fairly reliable otherwise as I remember..
@stevefletcher2334
Жыл бұрын
my sister had an 82 coupe. Nice looking car but the SLOWEST thing on the road! It was hazardous to try to enter an Interstate on ramp. The other problem with the '82's? The first really cold day in winter...none of them would start.
@mrspandel5737
Жыл бұрын
Interesting that GM evaluated the possibility of a V4 engine based off the V6 design, because Ford did the same thing in the 60s with the Essex and Cologne engine families, both of which featured 60° V4 and V6 designs. Unlike GM however Ford put their designs in Production.
@sableminer8133
Жыл бұрын
The announcer sez "80s styling" at the end of that wretched promo vid! He means "lack of" and these little Corp s-boxes were a huge GM blunder. At least they kept the Seventies 2 toning option! 😆
@davidbroughall3782
Жыл бұрын
I had a cavalier for several years, plagued with problems. Windshield washer jets, A/C, radiator, blown head gasket.
@michaelwitas9482
Жыл бұрын
People bought the J cars primarily because they were cheap. While in college, I did auto test reviews for local newspapers and tested a Buick Skyhawk, a 1987 or 1988 model. It was nicer than the Cavalier, and had the newer engine, but still felt crude compared to the Japanese small cars. The X car had its problems too, but at least had some roominess and greater comfort.
@70sleftover
Жыл бұрын
Exactly - people bought these GM compacts (mainly Cavaliers) because they were cheap - and they were American-made. I definitely remember seeing quite a few of the later Cavaliers on the road for years after, so they certainly sold a few.
@michaelwitas9482
Жыл бұрын
@@70sleftover The Cavalier toward the end of its span was built in Janesville WI and I remember local Milwaukee area ads mentioning that. They were good basic transportation cars.
@bernardogaetani
Жыл бұрын
Have u had later 2.0 OHC Brazilian engines? Or only 2.0 OHV were available in north america?
@Michelle-Eden
Жыл бұрын
GM took a very cavalier attitude towards engine design in 1982.
@chuckt4465
Жыл бұрын
An 82 coupe was my first car as a teen. (1995) I bought it from my aunt who only put 28k in 13 years on it. This car was dangerously slow, no exaggeration, I could not get to highway speeds fast enough and often had people behind me blowing their horns at me out of frustration. It would also struggle mightily to get up steep hills at anything other than a laboring crawl. It was a very unreliable vehicle over all. This car made me hate, and avoid GM vehicle my entire life. First impressions matter.
@komradkolonel
Жыл бұрын
GM's Iron Duke 4 cylinder engine was probably the best one they ever built. Most of the rest of them were more or less junk. They either blew head gaskets like clock work or they started burning oil by the barrel around 50,000 miles, or even less. If you had a car with the turbo 2.0 you got the worst of both worlds.
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