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The Chevrolet Cavalier was Chevrolet 's version of the Compact GM J Platform . The book American Automobile 1983-1993 notes that the Cavalier was aimed at quality imports such as the Honda Accord . It was one of the most popular cars in the United States and Canada from its introduction in early 1981 as a 1982 model. Even in the 2000s, it was GM's best selling car and trailed only the Ford Taurus , Toyota Camry , and Honda 's Accord and Civic in total sales. {Link without Title} The Cavalier was a compact Chevrolet produced from 1982 to 2005. The Cavalier is widely cited as the most successful of Chevrolet's long line of cars aimed at combatting the influx of compact imported vehicles, starting with the Cavalier would change this. It was not the only J-car to use the Cavalier name; it was also used in the United Kingdom on the Vauxhall -badged version of the Opel Ascona C, and indeed the badge had been used by Vauxhall since 1976. The J-cars were offered by all five US divisions of General Motors, as well as GM in Britain, Germany and Australia . PREDECESSORS The Cavalier replaced the Monza , which was available as a 2-door Coupe , a 3-door Hatchback and a 3-door Wagon (using the same body as the discontinued Vega wagon, the model it replaced). The inexpensive Chevette was retained even as sales declined, and was formally replaced by even smaller captive imports. Both platforms had conventional rear-drive layouts which suffered in comparison with more efficient front wheel drive offerings such as the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord . Ford and Chrysler also introduced new front drive compacts. The largely successful mission of capturing the bulk of domestic compact sales would fall on the Cavalier's 2-door Coupe , 4-door Sedan and 4-door Station Wagon , the relatively short-lived Accord-like 3-door Hatchback (which replaced the stylish Monza 2+2 Sport 3-door hatchback) and, in later years, a 2-door Convertible . The small Cavalier even helped fill in lagging sales of the Mid-size Citation (a Nova replacement). CRITICISMS The Cavalier had a major restyling in 1988 (growing it to the size of the Ford Tempo ) and was redesigned for 1995. Despite strong sales, the car was widely criticized by automotive journalists for its aging platform, interior design and quality control. The Cavalier would have poor crash test ratings, most notably the high risk of pelvic injury in the third generation model (according to the NHTSA ). The 1995-2005 model received a rating of "Poor" from the IIHS . The Cavalier would retire as an affordable compact comparable to, but usually sold for less than, the Honda Civic . PRODUCTION Cavaliers were built in Lordstown, Ohio , although they have also been produced in Lansing, Michigan , Janesville, Wisconsin , and Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila , Mexico . Production of the Cavalier ended in October 2004, with the very last 2005 model year Cavalier rolling off the Lordstown Assembly Plant line on October 6 , and the last Cavalier off the Ramos Arizpe Assembly Plant line on September 1 . The Cavalier was replaced by the 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt in the United States and Canada, and Chevrolet Optra in Mexico. UNITED STATES SALES FIGURES
Sources: Edmunds.com (1992-98), Autoworld.com (1999 estimate) "Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 - Two Times the Fun" , S Osborn, Autoworld.com --> GENERATIONS
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