1992 Chevrolet Cavalier RS | Retro Review 

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Some Motorweek viewers may be too young to remember the Cavalier was once high in the sales charts.

Though we've come a long way, I must say sometimes I miss simpler times

The Cavalier was everywhere back in the 90s. I remember my Mom's '87 Cavalier being in the shop for a few days and we had a '92 Cavalier V6 coupe rental car. It seemed so much nicer than hers.

My aunt had a purple one, my cousins and I used to sing "Were gonna die in a purple cavalier, a purple cavalier, a purple cavalier" to the tune of "yellow submarine"

I have a 1992 Cavalier Z24. All original with 62k miles and been in my family since new. Don’t see many on the road these days

You really pulled this one out of nowhere. Again as usual, thank you for posting this GM footage. This car was a hot seller back in the day.

My first car was a '94 Cavalier. That was a great car. I bought it with 15,000 miles on it in 1995 and had it until 2002, when I traded it in at 70,000+ miles. A few years later, I saw it in the parking lot of the Starbucks across from where I worked at the time! It was good to see it was still going.

I had a red 93 5spd 2 door like the thumbnail. That car got me all the way through Denver during a record snowfall back in 97! Forgot about the pull out cup holder.

I remember this one was a staple at the AVIS rental counter 😂😂 they made a lot of money by having it on their fleet

My father had one of these, 1991 a grey coupe with the automatic. It was one of the most reliable cars he ever owned until it got totalled in 2004. I miss it.

Neat video. I still drive a 92 red Cavalier RS two door. I bought it in 2006 wrecked in the front for $500 with only 76,000 original miles and fixed it. It now has 247,000 miles on it. I also have another 92 red Cavalier two door with the five speed manual that a friend gave me in 2006 with a blown motor. Put a junkyard engine in it and it still runs. It's just a spare car that rarely gets driven. I just had to replace the shift cable for the second time because the ends broke. My fiancé drives a 94 blue Cavalier two door that she drives to work for the gas mileage. She has been driving it since 2014. We both have newer vehicles but none get as good gas mileage as these Cavaliers so we just keep driving them. We have a wrecked 93 out in the field for parts that still ran when we got it five years ago.

Kudos to MW for finding a manual-shift 4-door Cavalier. I think I've only ever seen one, and it was an early-'80s model.

There are literally hundreds of these at every street light back in the early 90's.

110 horsepower and 130 lb torque not bad numbers from a 92 Cavalier coming from a 2.2 L inline 4 always loved these boxy shape Cavaliers from 1982 to 1994 and the Pontiac Sunbird as well. But the Pontiac Sunbird body style was more sportier

These things were absolutely everywhere when I was a kid, well into the early 2000's. The cheapest box on 4 wheels that was readily available lol

Rented a few back then. Surprisingly it drove well, front leg room was great too! 👍

You NEVER see cars with the front plate on the right or left now! Miss that quirky feature!

I'm 38 and had like 3 Z24's in my 20's. They were surprisingly quick and fun.

4:14 John: For a family car, the Cavalier 4 door is best suited to a still growing clan. Rear seat space is tight for adults! LOL I’m 5” 3 1/2 and I can still fit back there, and I’m almost 28.

dude wearing a helmet in a cavalier..priceless!

The late 80s early 90s Z24 convertibles were usually driven by cute college aged girls back in my day.

Ive had a 94, an 01, an 03 cavalier and its replacement an 05 cobalt. I've loved all of them. People like to talk crap on cavaliers but they're great cars! They were as reliable as hondas in my experiences.

Cavalier, Stanza, if someone mentions Cressida and Prelude my nostalgia quota will be met for today.

When I was in the Air Force in the early 90's, these cars where all over the base, along with Escorts and the mentioned Sentra. All good little cars for young families.

I much preferred the 1989 - 1994 Chevy Cavalier/Pontiac Sunbird to the 1995 - 2005 versions. These cars were everywhere in Canada, many families owned more than one. They were cheap and reliable. My Mom had a 1994 Pontiac Sunbird SE in purple with the V6 and all options including a sunroof. That car had some power to go with the growly exhaust. She loved that car and kept it until 2007. She says it is one of the best cars she every had. Other than regular routine maintenance the only problem she had was the seal around the front windshield cracked and she had a minor water leak.

I’m a Toyota and Honda guy, but I had a 1986 Cav in the 90’s and rented this generation once or twice. I was impressed. It was comfortable, good basic transportation.

that's very good acceleration times for a 4 cylinder compact sedan.

While this was a right car for the times I really think the sales success of the Cavalier shows just how important and strong the GM dealer network was. The dealers moved and marketed the heck out of a very average car.

Had a 92 Pontiac Sunbird with the 3.1, It was great car..I put a Hypertec chip in in, exhaust and homemade CAI, i was ahead of my time...

I had a s/w rs model with the 3.1 v6.... That thing flew!!!!

My parents had a wagon version. It was the "EXTRA" car that hauled the family's German Shepherds and was driven in winter weather and Chicago traffic while the "GOOD" cars stayed in the suburbs and were driven only in good weather. Provided years and tens of thousands of miles of trouble free and economical driving. My parents eventually sold it to their housekeeper's brother for $350.00 when it had 185k miles and pretty significant rust. He drove it from Chicago to Fairbanks Alaska. He drove it for a few more years until he took down a rough road and managed to puncture the oil pan and ran the engine out of oil.

My father had a 1987 Cavalier, which he bought new and kept until 1993. It was both comfortable and reliable.

Chevrolet 1992: ABS standard on all Cavaliers! Nissan 14 years later: You're buying a high trim-level Sentra? Haha, no, ABS will still cost you extra. I had a '94 Cavalier wagon and was quite fond of it. Great little car. Later drove an '06 Sentra and learned it didn't have ABS... the hard way. Almost got into an accident with that thing.

The ultimate box Cavalier would be an RS V6 FE3 wagon. Probably all automatic, manual wagons were explicitly special order only even with the four and to get one with all the good stuff you'd probably have to find a dealer willing to do a COPO for you.

Manual transmission, air conditioning and cup holders is all I need. This would make a great family car today.

My mate had a European Vauxhall Cavalier and everything inside the car was green. It was overpowering. Dash, carpet, headliner, seatbelts, seats...

My former stepfather used to have a 1999 Cavalier VL sedan in white with the 2.2L engine with 3speed auto since 2000. It had daytime running lamps plus standard ABS although the top part of the dash would crack from time to time.

That was my first new car in 1989! A red burgundy z24. I used to love that car! I was 27 years old!

I got a '91 Cavalier as my first car last year. It's giving me some problems right now, but all in all I'm very happy with it. The fact that its gorgeous red and a convertible is also awesome

Wow...blast from the past. My wife was driving this car in ‘92 when I met her. Cheap-ass interior but a reliable car.

Grandpa had a navy blue one he bought brand new......brought back memories 🙏🏾

I had a 1994 Cavalier RS sedan. Only two complaints. First is the door mounted front seatbelts. If in a crash and the door pops open then you’re no longer held down on the seat. Second is the transmission lockup solenoid. After a bit more than 4 years the solenoid can overheat and lock up the transmission shutting down the car. Car would not restart until after the solenoid cooled down. An honest transmission shop charged me a bit over $100 to replace the solenoid. I had the 3 speed auto transmission and shift were smooth. It was fuel efficient depending on how hard you drove. The fuel filter was easy to reach and replace and it could be reached without lifting the car nor removing parts to access. Drove it long distance (about 8 hours) without problems from ride comfort but far from a smooth luxury midsize sedan. Was incredibly easy to replace the speakers myself and the headunit made for an easy shop replacement to an aftermarket head unit.

Those wheel covers were so distinctive, as I kid I always knew it was a Cavalier by just looking at the wheels. I really liked the boxy design of this car. Still do!

I love the standard antilock brakes on the 1992 Chevy Cavalier/Pontiac Sunbird.

Hold on, let me crawl underneath the seatbelt.

Is this the pinnacle of what the Regular Car is? I think so!

This video brings me back to my 1st car: a 1994 Cavalier Z24 in 2006. I used to spin the hell out the front tires at lights lol

Mother still rocks a 84 cavalier convertible. 67k on the clock, just looked and unhooked battery tender and checked the fluids. Never seen winter, amazing how clean the car is.

I'm 38. I grew up with these garbage boxes, but I feel like they were pretty durable for what they were.

Took my driving test in one, my mom's car,,down south I still see them, good little cars

That red 92 base Cavalier RS coupe was my first car, pretty much down to every detail. I remember the "ABS" badge in the back.

I just saw one of these today and I wondered how its still on the road.

It's been years since I saw one on the road. My grandparents' neighbors had a red Cavalier convertible that sat outside for many years. I think it may have even been a Z24 as well.

In Europe, this is Opel Ascona.

I Remember this cars in 1992 Correctly, Have a Single mom raising 3 kids in a 92 Blue 4 door Cavalier, Seeing other kids Riding in Loaded Mazda Protege, Maxima's, Accord EX, 89 Camry LE , 90 to 92 Acura Integra GS with sunroofs open, As a Kid they were having more Fun than Me

In my high school days these were everywhere. I haven't seen one now for as long as I can remember now.

I remember when cavaliers, corsicas, and berettas were everywhere.

Used to love these cars. Those Cavaliers from that generation were some reliable cars they did last forever. I like the two door version along wagon version loved the styling of them. I haven't seen one of those since early 2010s now they are rare even equipped with a V6.

I had a '91 convertible 3.1 , and a '94 coupe 2.2 - both were cheap to buy/insure, fun, reliable 👍

I always like seeing these kids that have never been near an American car bash them while those old enough to have driven and owned them remember them fondly.

I had a '91 Cavalier 4 cyl 5-speed and even though I like modern cars, the simplicity of that car would be welcome now. Never had a single problem with it in the 7 years I owned it and traded it off with ~150k miles on the clock.

Had a 88 RS WAGON with the v6. It was pretty peppy except for the water leaks, paint flaking off misaligned interior parts. This car was bought brand new.

My mom had a 91 4dr sedan silver with the blue trim charcoal interior beautiful car brought used in 1995 kept it until 2004 had around 600,000 miles on it at the end the car was regular maintenance and garage kept

My drivers Ed car back in 1997 LOL! Surprisingly not bad performance for with the five speed for this one.

I love the Cavalier they made the super are 2 tone colour paint with 2 or 3 tone colour interiors as well, there was one in silver in the town where I'm from if you look at my thumbnail when ever I saw it I knew I was going to have a great day, If I had a bad day seeing it made all the bad feelings go away, my grandma had one when I was a kid I miss that car.

The 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunbird are cars I would love to have right now. The Cavalier wagon and the Cavalier/Sunbird convertibles are the most desirable.

Excelente trabajo, muchas gracias. Saludos.

I remember my Aunt Brenda having one of these. My cousins used to pile into it singing "We're gonna die in a purple Cavalier, a purple Cavalier, a purple Cavalier!!!"

These were good looking cars....

Another nostalgic car from my childhood thank you

When I was a teenager I worked a summer in the Walmart garage and one day a beat up early 2000s Cavalier came in. It had over 200k miles and really showed its age. I assumed it would be a piece of junk but when I drove it I was pretty impressed with the amount of power it had and how good it ran (for driving it around the garage.) Since then I’ve always hoped I could find a low mileage mint condition one just to have as a cheap and easy to repair second car but unfortunately the few left around me are always trashed.

Used my 1988 Pontiac Sunbird until I sold it for 400.00 in 2005 with 278,000 km's. It just kept going and going even in -30 Celsius temps.

I own a 94 V6 Z24. It will be nice to see the video in the channel.

A casualty of junkyards, I remember seeing these Cavaliers occupy space for decades.

My sister had a 1993 Cavalier 5 speed manual as her first car back in 1997. Bright red.

Guys the 90s cavileers and sunfires will be worth a ton in the future. They are iconic and none of them were cared for.

I like that all of the doors lock when the car is put into motion. We have a car that has that feature.

I had a '94 RS coupe with 5 speed and the 3.1L. It was a reliable car the year I owned it only needed the ac condenser cleaned (DIY in 1 hour) and the water pump gasket (10 dollar part, 1 hour of time). Decent engine noise for its time, didn't handle great on the lackluster tires that were on it though. Pretty decent car overall.

Please a review of the ... Naaa you know by now what I wanna see 😂

I've got 4 of them. Had 5, but stripped a 94 RS convertible V6 Auto to put the drivetrain, dash and wiring in an 88 Wagon. Also have an 88 5spd Z24 Coupe, a 92 Z24 Convertible Auto (will be swapping in a 5 spd someday) and a 94 Z24 Coupe 5spd (which is getting a 3400 engine very soon). All 4 are southern rust free cars. I love these cars. All the features I want, without all the fluff new cars have, that I don't want.

This was the first model year where Lordstown was the lone assembly plant for the J Body, they kept on with them until the start of Cobalt production in late 2004. Quite a long life for the J body.

At my first job in DC a coworker drove me home after we were in the office past the cut off for me to take a bus home. I would guess she made $60-80k/year which was pretty good at the time and she had a manual Cavalier. The first thing she said when she pulled up at the garage, before I even got in, was "I know it's a POS, but I could leave it in NE, unlocked with the key in the ignition for a week an nobody would steal it." So true and I had a beater Corolla the whole time I lived in the DMV for the same reason.

In Europe this car was Opel Ascona C, with different front, rear and interior styling.

I remember ours. It had the 3.1 V-6, and had gobs of torque. That engine in the Cavalier really moved that car quick.

The Cavalier was a top seller because Chevy had a large dealer network and GMAC would finance. These cars were marginal in quality and durability at best.

a really cool "what if" econocar: a Cavalier wagon with a Z24 drivetrain and a Cimarron front clip and interior.

I had a white 3.1 liter RS convertible. Loved that car! Wish I still had it.

Arguably, one of the most dependable, best cars GM has ever built 🥂

The Good Ol Days when you could get a V6 in a Compact Car!

Approved by officer McNulty

Had an 84 Z24 2.8 ... great car, always got me where I needed to go. Comfy seats

"LIKE A COMFORTABLE PAIR OF SLIPPERS."

Bought a new ‘94 Cavalier RS 2 door in May of that year with a V-6. Pretty peppy little car. I sticker was just over $13,000. Traded it for a new truck 15 months later and wish I hadn’t when I look back now. The truck was junk!

I know people bagged on these cars, but looking back, the performance was at par or better than many competitors. 9.0 seconds to 60 with only 120hp was pretty good, as was a 118ft 60-0 braking on such terrible tires. The GM 2.2 was a fairly decent engine. I remember my high school librarian had a deep blue Z24 convertible with a white top. I thought so highly of her for getting the top of the line Cavalier!😂😂 It got totalled and she moved up to a plum colored Z26 Beretta. Ah, early 90s Chevys!

Was my first brand new, off the showroom floor, car. With a manual transmission, this thing was excellent.

The V6 coupes were sleepers, unusually fast, blast to drive.

An "aerodynamic" brick with "expensive" ABS and a 9 second 0-60. Man we've come so far

I had a 1992 RS Cavalier coupe in "Maui Blue Metallic" that I put 110,000+ miles on. That car rescued me via trade in from my actual first car, a 1989 Plymouth Sundance with lots of gremlins related to those pain in the ass automated front shoulder belts.

I had a brand new red 1993 Cavalier 5-speed 2-door like the one in the thumbnail. I really wanted a Honda Accord but couldn’t afford one, so I bought the Cavalier. My Cavalier got me through high school and college, but not without problems. I had to replace the alternator five times - yes - 5 times. I did it myself every time. I had to replace the starter once, and change out the shifter cables once because they got so tight I could not shift at all. By the time I got rid of that car the defroster no longer worked. I had to drive from New Mexico to Fort Worth, Texas on Christmas day back in 2000 during a freak snow storm. I had to pull over every few minutes to scrape the windshield. They shut down the Interstate for 11 hours about 100 miles outside of Fort Worth and I had to sleep in the car in the middle of the highway overnight. I set the alarm for every hour on the new Palm Pilot I got for Christmas to wake up and start the car to get warm. That car saw me through some interesting times! I traded it in 2001 for a used 1999 Honda Accord which was a great car!