I've gone over it in my mind many times and I can't figgure out why GM is still building both of these plain jane generic cars.

I understand the Camaro and Firebird since they are enthusiast cars. However Cav and Sunfire are both just grocery econo boxes.

Can anyone explain why they are still two cars?

 

Everyone has to have an entry-level car. Cavalier is going to get a total redesign soon (may not be called Cavalier however).

You'd also probably be surprised to know that Cavalier is actually still one of GM's best selling cars.

 

200,000+ sales a year is why they still sell them

 

They are entry level economy cars.

Not unlike Civic, Corolla, Focus, Neon, and a host of other entry level small cars. GM would be mind numingly dumb if they didn't offer cars in this segment.

 

do you mean "why do they build two separate models of econobox?"

 

Um, I happen to enjoy my plain jane econobox of a Z24. It's more reliable and better built than any of my Camaros, that's for sure. You can criticize it's looks all you want but the fact is that it's heavily influenced by the 4th gen Camaro.

It's my opinion that my Cavalier is: reliable, affordable, quick for it's class, gets good gas milage, and is a very sharp car. Don't take my word for it though, sales speak for themselves.

Here are some pics of my econobox for those who care

http://www.geocities.com/zipperbluez/Z24.html

 

He means why build BOTH CAV and SUNFIRE, and not just have either Cavalier OR Sunfire...

But to answer the question, I don't know.

 

To make things even more muddled, Saturn also offers the Ion. From everything I've heard Pontiac will not be doing a new Sunfire alongside the Cavalier, as entry-level economy cars don't fit into BL's "American BMW" vision for Pontiac.

 

And that is asinine, seeing as how BMW will even have a sub $20k 1 series out at some point...

Lutz can create this BMW halo all he wants, but he still has to realize in this market, Pontiac competes with Honda, not BMW. He can try to throw it upscale, but it still needs to be competitive down low to get the new buyers. Having the Vibe alone will NOT be good enough for Pontiac...the youngest person I have sold a Vibe to this year was in her late 30s, yet the oldest person to buy a Sunfire from me just did...and she's 24.

 

In that case you could also ask that why were they building both Camaro and Firebird, too.

TS

 

Good looking Cavi TBI. When I was living in San Diego, there was someone working in the neighborhood (I lived near Gaslamp downtown) who had a white Z24 Cavi coupe (pre '03) with a nice set of 17s and dual tailpipes and slightly lowered. It looked pretty awesome because it was understated, relying on just enough to bring out the styling of the car itself.

It's pretty baffling that the Cavai is slammed here, being that it's history pretty closely parallels Camaro (20 year chassis) and it's body was redesigned not too long ago in 1995 using influence from the Camaro. Yet Camaro, which had roughly the same reliability rating, is praised. Just goes to show you, if Cavalier had a V8 and RWD, no one here would give a rats a** about it's quality or styling then.

As for building the Cavilier and Sunfire, the same could be asked about building both the Firebird and Camaro, or creating the Ion to take Cavalier's traditional market, or having aboth an Olds Cutless & a Buick Regal. Some things are meant to be mysteries.

 

Thats what I mean. Why build BOTH vehicles. Why not just one?

I understand the Firebird/Camaro thing: They are enthusiast cars and people who buy them want to stand out in the first place.

Yes I know Cav/Sunfire are top selling cars, but I doubt if the sunfire was discontinued they would lose ANY sales.

Especially now since the Cav/Sunfire look identacle untill you see the sunfires horrid front end. At least in the past the sunfires rear end was different then the Cav's.


Come to think of it, the sunbird and 90ish cavs were identical too.

 

Some people want to buy Pontiac and some Chevy. And since they've had them running side by side for quite long, I'm sure they, too, have loyal "followers" for each model.

Just like with the F-body.

And Sunfire at least seems to be usually better equipped than the Cavalier. So, one is a plain-jane econocar and the other one is a bit more "sportier"/well-equipped.

Later!

TS

 

And we can go around and around questioning the wisdom of a 1-series BMW as well. It doesn't seem logical to me that an upscale brand would be expanding downmarket, and that is the opinion of many auto insiders. We will see.

 

Even moreso, why Chevy and Pontiac?

Each has their own history, personality and selling points. Chevy seems to suggest strong value, whereas Pontiac will give you excitement and style for a few more dollars.

Seems the Cavalier/Sunfire, Camaro/Firebird, Impala/Grand Prix all exist (or had) under this pretence. And as a consumer, wouldn't you rather have more variety and choices?