Definitely! I'm, in all honesty, not concerned about the 4-6 cylinder market. I want a reasonable priced performance car. (of course: wish in one hand, sh$t in the other...) i like gm performance, but not enough to have to settle for a riced out cavalier. if i wanted a compact, i'd be on another site looking for super spoilers and stick on hood scoops. it seems to me that gm is just suffering from a case of headupassa. i love my TA, but am still dissapointed in the GM performance department.

 

The whole "Look, Cavalier is selling great!" mentality is killing GM, I agree.

I don't know anyone who has a Cavalier that's actually happy with it, or proud of it. They'll sell one, but they sure as hell won't sell two...It's only selling because of price, right now.

I can only think of two different styles of Cavalier, ever...the car suffers from never being updated, like every GM car.

But the broke *** young people say hey, I can get this car dirt cheap and possibly get a rebate or cheap financing, and viola, a Cavalier is sold.

Selling people crap is going to kill the company's image to that person, and the Cavalier is crap. Is the average Cavalier owner going to upgrade to a Malibu or a Monte SS? I don't think so. The average young person would rather have a VW, Honda, or Toyota, and the Cavalier isn't the car to change their mind.

 

Lets see, GM offered a Z-28 at about a $23k starting price, and with special deals, tlking te dealer down, it is not hard to get one under $20k.HELLO a brand freakin new LS1 Z for that price, how much cheaper should they have gone??? The market IS NOT THERE!!!!!

 

Let me throw this out:

The (much improved) replacement Cavalier is about 2 years out. You just inherited a terrific mess at GM's automotive side, yet being a business, your job depends on sales volume &/or profit. The Cavalier is the best selling car, not just at one division, but the whole company. Your bosses (the board of directors & company chairmen) top goal is to gain market share before the new improved models come out. Beyound not having a Neon SR/T-fast car, and the lack of aftermarket support the way Honda does, what would you do differently, and why is seeing the Cavalier outselling everyone but Honda bad?

Being that Cavalier's competition is no quicker as a group, costs up to $5000 more ($14K Cavalier base vs Honda's $19K), meanwhile outselling the $12,000 Focus, I really don't see where the problem is.

Mustang isn't better than Camaro, but more people wanted them, therefore, no Camaro. Cavalier isn't better than all of the competition (but far & away better then that Korean car mentioned earlier), but more people want one.

Just because it isn't one's particular taste doesn't mean Cavalier is a bad car, just a cheap, dependable, unexciting one. I can't name one current competitor beyound the new Civic or upcomming SR/T Neon that has "street credibility" without having to resort to the aftermarket, but then we start talking about used cars and a different group of people (no one is going to buy a car, then go void the warranty by adding aftermarket parts on the engine).

So as far as Cavalier's 90% sales increase I say: !

 

I agree with the others. When a car like that is your best seller, that should be enough right there to tell you things ain't right.

They are actually helping people get into those types of cars rather than musclecars and making the market for other cars bigger in that buyer age. The Camaro has to be affordable for people in their like mid 20's that want to buy a new car like that and make them faster or go to the track and whatever. That is suppossed to be their thing and their scene, thats what should start it off for lots more years of fun with real cars. What they had and have now doesn't do any of that. Of course there is many that like previous Gen's or cars from way back and only want the used 1's they don't make anymore, but still. Make it affordable and interesting and you'll get the sales, and we all know a Camaro can be that.

 

hrrmm....a base z, no, as in zero options, started at 23xxx in 02. that is assuming you found a zero optioned z sitting on a dealer lot, so you would have a chance to talk him down. $3k in discounts, not uncommon toward the end of the model year...once again if you find a base model which has been sitting for a bit The odds of that happening are not that good... i'd like to see a show of hands of people who bought 02 z's for under 20 g's...

The market is not there???? mustang ring a bell? GTO, 350z, g35, possible upcoming supra, rx8, possible rx7... no market?

i know that gm has alienated me.... i have no desire to own any current gm vehicle other than a vette... why? i always answer that question with the redundent answer of "its a vette" <insert cheez d*ck statement like 'nuff said here> but what college kid has $45g's to drop on a new one...i'll give 'em props for their current truck line, but what the hell do i need w/ a truck? caddy, finally a gm division who has boldy gone where no other divison has gone before, CTS, Escalade(bling bling), Evoq, etc...hrrm...i'd rather have a bimmer tho. buick? nah, i still have a pulse. pontiac? it seems their current selling strategy is force-feeding...blah blah blah

imo, buyers my age(teens-20something) want performance and more importantly, they want it cheap. and quite frankly, gm has nothing to offer potential buyers of that segment. and to top it off, other than full size trucks and the vette, the competition always has something better(IMO)

bleh, im done, i good you bid evening

 

The cavi may sell allot, but what does it say about performance or image? it has "NONE". Other then the Vibe (a toyota basically), what other performance sport compact is GM offering? Just look at the below list. While i'm not a big fan of sport compacts, i respect everyone of the cars listed below. Unlike the cavi, these other manufacturers actually offer high performance versions of their sport compacts. By high performance, i don't mean the 10hp difference between the z24 and the cavalier Ls. That is something GM needs to do. The least they could do is offer a S/c version of the ecotec 2.2 as an option. I don't see how that'd hurt sales. If anything, it'll increase sales and possibly pull in Gm faithfuls who'd have gone over to Ford/chrysler/Import for their sporty sport compact. The current 2.4L z24 is just weak.

Vw GTi 1.8T/vr6
Neon SRT-4
Turbo PT cruiser
Lancer Evo
Svt focus (possible turbo version)
WRX and WRX Sti
Civic Si (Type R offered in other countries)
RSX & RSX-S
Sentra Spec-V
Mazda Protege Turbo
Celica and celica GT
Tibourne GT(sp??)
and the list goes on......

Gm/chevy needs to learn to capitalize on current market trends.

 

Cavalier (and this whole market) isn't about performance, it's about basic transportation. Of course, at a site named CamaroZ28.com we are inclined to desire affordable cars with a little more juice. At this moment, that means Monte Carlo SS.

Focus I feel is no better than Cavalier. It has cool styling. But with the recalls that car has had, and Ford's recent record in quality, I wouldn't say it's a well made car. Neon isn't exactly the top dog quality or performance-wise either. Korean cars? Fergitaboutit. Japaneese cars, high in quality, but you're going to pay for it.

All the mystique in competing small cars involves either a specialty division (ie: SVO or Chysler's PVO) or the used car/after market areas. If GM did a performance version of Cavalier that ran with Neons SR/T, I KNOW you same people who are complaining about Cavalier would do a flip-flop, and suddenly Cavalier would be the greatest FWD car on earth, and that's my point.

Cavalier is doing what it's supposed to be doing in a market it's supposed to be doing it in. It's not a bad car, and for the price & what you get, it really is a steal compared to the cars it's competing against. But at the same time, GM desparately needs to create a performance version (I think the coupe is the best looking in this segment), and they shouldn't wait till the next version to do it.

I think a performance Cavalier coupe would have a greater impact than a turbo Impala SS would.

 

I'm not saying that chevy should turn the cavalier into some hotrod. I'm just saying they should follow suit and do what the other manufacturers have been doing. That being offering some high performance variant of their economy car. Keep the base models the same to bolster sales but offer a high performance model for the enthusiasts (cavi owners can be enthusiasts too). Something like a S/c option on the z24 would do wonders for the cars image as a potential performance sport compact. The upcoming neon Srt-4 has completely changed my image and thoughts on the neon. From pos (imo) to a legitimate contender. From not getting any respect to getting plenty. The car sounds like it'll "almost" hang with Lt-1's.

These little hot economy based cars are to the current generation what the the mustang/camaro were to the previous generations. Their popularity has soared tremendously. I just think it's odd that chevy isn't really taking advantage of this. Every other manufacturer is.

And do something about the styling PLEASE. Have you guys seen the upcoming versions (BARF).

 

I am glad to see Cavalier sales up. Why wouldn't you be? They help GM's CAFE averages, which could have a huge impact on whether the F-body comes back with a V8 (or at all for that matter). Are you in the market to buy a car such as the Cavi? If not, why do you care?? The car serves its purpose very well in my opinion. It is drastically boosting GM's market share, which at the moment is GM's 2nd highest goal (behind making $$$). So IMHO some of you guys need to calm down and stop letting out your F-body frustrations on the poor little pathetic Cavi.

 

Today's youth are tomarrows buyers. With that said, it's not a good idea to instill the "POS but cheap" image in their head for General Motors products. Give a kid a Cavalier and he will definatly develop that negative image of Chevy. He will envy his friends who drive more expensive, but much nicer, honda's, acuras, VW, toyotas, ect. Right now, chevy has nothing that the younger generation envys. They develop an image of chevy as the POS brand that they wouldn't ever buy if they had the money. GM needs to come out with something (preferrably a cheap muscle car) even if its just a upscale cavalier that sells very poorly but has the halo effect over the rest of the brand. If not, this generation will grow up never giving GM a second look.

 

"Japanese cars, high in quality, but you're going to pay for it."

Honda Civic BASE MSRP $12,810.00.

Cavalier Coupe Starting at $14,590.

Even if the Honda cost more, I would much rather pay the difference. Why? you might ask. Reputation. Quality. Reliability.

I would much rather invest $14k in a $14k car than $14k in a $7k car.

If gm would really like to impress me, put out a cavalier w/ a 10yr/100k mile warranty. Impractical? Why? Because after the 36k miles and stuff starts falling apart, gm would lose profits for after warranty repairs? Not impractical to me. Simply because if gm is backing their car with a 10yr/100k mile warranty, I tend to believe that they are putting out a quality product. And if its not... theyll fix it for free. They would make up the profit in new and returned customers.

Ive had a '97 TransAm for two years now. I paid $17k (keep in mind that brand new, they ran for roughly $30k) for that car. Obviously I'm going to take care of that car the best I can. Was it run hard? Sometimes. Its a Trans Am. But by no means was it ever ragged out. It has almost 80k miles on it. With a four year loan, I've paid more money in repairs alone for that car than I have actually paid on the loan itself. Possibly a lemon? Who knows? I love the car. Its just that I would definitely like to see a little more reliability in a $30k car.

You want sales? Put out a reasonable priced performance car that is quality! My TWO cents.
dave

 

I really don't understand the point you are making. "Give a kid a Cavalier & he will definantly develop that negative image of Chevy"?? This isn't a case of mom & pop buying (or forcing feeding) a 16 year old boy a car here. If mom & dad have the cash to buy teenagers brand new cars, I suspect they are spoiled enough to get the type of cars they want, not what they don't want. They tend to buy a used car for a kid in that case, usually what he wants (within the confines of insuring it).

This group includes young people, early to mid-20s, (and some older) on a budget who don't want to take a risk buying a used car, but want a car that's cheap, has a warranty, has a lot of standard equipment on it, any they can trade in on something else when they move up. Acuras aren't in this class, and all the others can't keep up with Cavalier in sales. Obviously they chose this car over the others. Regardless as to our opinion of them, it's what's selling. As they say, you can't argue with success.

Silverbullet, you are right about the price differences, I mistakenly went off the Civic Si ($19 grand). But consider that with Cavalier you get Air Conditioning, anti theft AM/FM stereo
with a CD player and tachometer which costs extra on Honda. You also get ABS on Cavalier which isn't even available on Honda, so it's a tradeoff.

But Honda Civic is still #1 (just ahead of Cavalier) in this automotive class. What's the other competetor's excuses?

 

Excuse the grammer & spelling lapses, I've been up since 3 this morning.

 

I agree with that statement. Parents often don't give their kids a choice when they buy them a new vehicle. All parents care about is cheap, reliable, safe transportation - which the Cavi certainly is.

They (parents) don't give a crap whether the vehicle is "cool" or appeals to the younger generation. It is simply a tool to get their little Johnny or Sally from point A to point B. That said, its easy to see why teens don't aspire to own GM vehicles. After owning a plain Cavi that you beat on for years in your teens, and with nothing really exiting on the upscale side (reasonably priced) to move up to, why would they give GM a second look?