Chevrolet Cavalier

shawnc2 · May 2003

ajitknox, Almost any stereo will fit into the cavalier opening. GM uses what is called a DIN and a half size radio. Most of the aftermarket JVC's, Sony, Kenwood, Aiwa, etc. are DIN size. It will be a little smaller and you will require a mounting kit that will center the radio in a black piece of plastic to cover the open space. You can do this yourself, but you will need to do a little wiring work to mate up the new radio with the wiring harness that's in the car. The new radio will not plug directly into the wiring harness that is in the car. You will need to buy an adapter that must be soldered or taped to the wiring harness that is supplied with the radio. And you may need an antenna adapter too, depending on the redio you are looking at. My advice is to check out Crutchfield.com to see if the radio you are interested in will fit. If you order from them, they supply the wiring harness adapter for free and the mounting kit for free. They also give you a schematic specific for your model and year that shows exactly what to do. These extra adapters are about $10-15 each, so Crutchfield is a pretty good deal. Circuit City/Best Buy will charge you extra for this stuff on top of installation fees. You also have another size choice if you want a larger radio. Pioneer and a couple other companies make DIN and a half size AM/FM/CD players that are the same size as the Delco stereo that you want to replace. I had the pioneer and really liked it until it got stolen (hence post #1297), but even with that I needed the wiring harness adapter and antenna adapter. Here's the model #: Pioneer DEH-P47DH. Good luck with your stereo hunting!

ajitknox · May 2003

hey,
thanx a lot for your advice. truly appreciate it. i will look into the website you refered and see what is the best for my needs. i probably would be posting a message again cuz im really dumb at fitting stuff(even though im a mechanical engineer!!).
i am new to american cars btw, so pardon me for the dumb question but is it possible to raise the height of the seats. I am 5'11" but i would like the seats to be a little higher.
Thanks,
AJ

ajitknox · May 2003

hey guys,
sorry but im back with my transmission fluid trouble. My transmission fluid is burnt and i had gone to the mechanic to fix it. Joe had given me advice on how to proceed and when i went to AAMCO transmissions, the guy there was a big talker, he said that right now the best thing to do is nothing but wait when eventually the transmission will go dead. He said not to change the fluid now, and said that after a month or so probably the transmission is gonna give into and then he will rebuild the transmission ($1000). Now i thght that he was just bluffing and wanted the big bucks, but could you tell me if it is a possiblity that i might have to rebuild the transmission. Joe, shall i go ahead and change the pan filter and put new fluid? I do not have any problems when im driving the car with the transmission(automatic). Any help from you guys will be greatly appreciated since i have no clue what to do.
Thanks,
AJ

joe3891 · May 2003

if it was my Cav i would do a pan drop,see how much debris is there,if little or none you will be at ease.I would install a new filter and fluid,i just did mine $16.29 for filter and 7.5 qts fluid.Cost about $25 if you DIY.BTW i own a 00 Cav LS with 34K.

koko164 · May 2003

Hi, I'm looking to buy a 93 Cavalier w/46k miles on it. I hear a loud ticking sound from what I believe is an injector. Behind the valve cover closer to the firewall.

Are these loud normally?

Also, the cars rear bumper is rotting when looking at it from under the car, but the rest of the underneath looks good! Is this a common problem with the bumper or the design?

I'd appreciate any input.
Thanks, Koko

isseyvoo · May 2003

The rear bumper on my '92 was the first thing to succumb to rot. Noticed it about 4 yrs. ago when I slammed the trunk shut and heard something fall to the ground. Turned out to be a chunk of rusted metal from the bumper! The bottom of the driver door was next. Haven't noticed any other trouble spots so far, although the paint is almost gone on the hood, roof and trunk. Will have 100K in another 400 mi. Ugly as hell, but it still keep truckin' along.

koko164 · May 2003

Thanks issey, I looked at a 94 today..bumper rotted too but the injector was quiet.

Koko

hoyahenry · May 2003

Just put new plugs and wires on our 97LS with 47K miles. Wow! What a difference. The $25 was well worth it. I didn't realize how overdue that was. Already seeing improved gas mileage numbers - 170 miles with 3/4 tank remaining.

Have the pioneer 47DH mentioned earlier too. Will heed the theft warning. Car radio theft appears to be on the rise in this economy - hadn't really heard of it in a while, but then my brother-in-law had a Clariion stolen out of his 95 Cav a couple weeks ago.

vocus · June 2003

I saw a used 98 Cavalier base coupe this past weekend, with 47K miles on it and the price was $4995. That seems like a good deal if my current car's totalled (see the VW Jetta discussion for info on that fiasco), but I had a bad experience with a 96 Cavalier a couple years ago. I wonder if the 98 would be any better? Cons. Reports recommended the 98-01, but not the 96 and 02 models.

dindak · June 2003

http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?port_code=autoweek&cat- _code=carnews&loc_code=index&content_code=03523456

vcjumper · June 2003

I hope the hatch is closer to this than the current astra (though this looks like a 2 seater)
Geneve

dindak · June 2003

If thats the Cobalt it will sell like hotcakes based on looks alone.

townha11 · June 2003

Advertising types often can't see the forest for the trees. Does GM really want to manufacture a Cavalier follow-on that will immediately be dubbed "The Cobalt Bomb?" The Columbia Encyclopedia quotes physicist Leo Szilard as calling the Cobalt Bomb a "doomsday device" capable of wiping out all life on earth!

Then again, maybe that's a pretty fair description of the Cavalier after all.

regfootball · June 2003

that opel is hot, but the butchers in detroit will find a way to make it NOT look near as good as that thing.

Vectra to malibu is all the proof you need.

vcjumper · June 2003

read a review of it on topgear and you would think it is the blandest thing on 4 wheels.

regfootball · June 2003

yeah, but that's because its GM vs. the Mondeo and Mazda 6. The Mondeo is Fords all-star and the IDIOTS in Dearborn didn't bring it over.

rae52 · June 2003

I have an '02 Cav LS coupe. When the temp is 75 or warmer and my car is fully warmed up and idling in traffic, the temp gauge sometimes reads one line over the middle which is 195 degrees, and occasionally the temp needle will climb 2 lines over the mid range when idling in traffic. I don't know if the radiator fan is turning on when it should; however when I switch on the A/C the radiator fan immediately switches on.Is this normal, does dexcool have less heat dissapating properties then the green coolant? When I mentioned this condition to my dealers' service dept. their response was "as long as the temp gauge doesn't go into the RED zone, it's normal--IS IT?

hoyahenry · June 2003

I've noticed the same temp readings recently in my 97 LS. I had the coolant changed last year just after its fifth birthday. I hadn't noticed those readings before. I wonder if the new Dexcool is a different formula?

Anyway, I think as long as the temp gauge is "in the green", we're fine. I saw the temp oscillate between 1 and 3 over 195 sitting at the light, so the fan was coming on at about 200 or so.

joe3891 · June 2003

Maybe the fact that the fan is set to go on at 223*F might explain your readings.My temp reads one line over 195* most of the time.Of course you can turn on the fan any time with the a/c.

rae52 · June 2003

Thanks for the quick replies; the situation is more understandable now. I guess I don't have to have my dealers' service dept 'attempt' to fix what ain't broke!

bottgers · June 2003

I had the oppotunity to directly compare a Cavalier to a Honda Civic by test driving them today. Frankly, I don't know how Chevy sells any of these cars. They simply don't compare to the Civic in any way, shape, or form, and they cost just as much. If you consider the fact that it's fairly common for a Civic to last several hundred thousands of miles with normal maintenance, while it's not uncommon for a Cavalier to die with less than 50K, it's a wonder the Cavaliers sell at all.

hoyahenry · June 2003

Please take the blinded by Honda moniker, inflammatory drivel elsewhere.

Good day.

bottgers · June 2003

Sounds like a post from a jealous Chevy owner

dindak · June 2003

You are right and wrong. Civic is a better car hands down, Cavalier is 8 years old and counting. That said, they are no where near the same price when current discounts are factored in. The difference is in the thousands.

vcjumper · June 2003

is on design iteration 3 since the current Cav appeared, no doubt one can't hold the other's jock strap but as dindak stated, the Cav is a lot cheaper to buy. A reliable cavalier kept for 5 years plus is a lot cheaper. I would ante up extra for a Protege but not everyone can do that.

vocus · June 2003

They might not be as good as a Civic, but they are roomier and have more features per dollar. They also feel a little larger in the driver compartment, to me anyway.

bottgers · June 2003

Here's what I think and mind you, this is just my educated opinion. The big 3 are only concerned with building their pickups and SUV's because that's where all the profit is. The only reason they build cars at all is to keep their overall fleet fuel economy average low enough to meet EPA standards. They could care less about their cars and the build quality of their cars reflects this. Honda on the other hand has built their empire by building small to medium sized cars with impeccable build quality. They build, and always have built their vehicles with the same level of quality from their least expensive models to their most expensive. The big 3 can't seem to grasp this concept, or they simply choose not to.

vocus · June 2003

That is somewhat true, according to an article I read some time ago. I read that Ford lost money on every Escort they told, and so does Chevy on the Cavaliers. Now more than ever, with all the rebates and incentives...

dindak · June 2003

Some truth to that but it's changing. All new compact coming in a year or so to replace the Cavalier. All new Malibu is coming in about 2-3 months. GM has actually tilted spending towards cars now so expect to see a lot of new, more competitive product. That all said, keep in mind 1/2 of the market is light trucks.

bottgers · June 2003

So who has any confidence anything new from GM will be built any better. New car, same ol' crappy build quality.

rae52 · June 2003

Incidentally, I own a '99 civic hatch 5spd; and a '02 cav thatis loaded w/ every option. I bought the Cav in order to reduce the reduce the rate at which I was putting mileage on the honda. While the build quality on the chevy is certainly somewhat below par for this day and age, MY accumulated GM card earnings and GM's 3K rebate and dealer discount made the deal too good to refuse.
The civic is defintely more of a "driver's car", and the cav is more of a laid-back cruiser, especially with the 4 spd auto, CD and sunroof.

Those are my feelings regarding the two vehicles==for whatever it's worth to my fellow posters.

dindak · June 2003

What you believe is up to you. Cavalier is an old design, but the car is reliable, more so now with the Ecotec engine. We leased a 99 and it had zero issues through the 3 years. Reason we got the car, we needed cheap reliable transportation with zero down. It delivered. We replaced it with an Alero last year and it's been nearly flawless also, just a cracked headlight cover so far.

bottgers · June 2003

But how will the Cavaleir and the Alero look and drive when they get 100K miles on them? I'd say it would be miracle if the Cavalier was even able to make it that far, and neither car would compare to a Civic with the same amount of miles, given the same amount of care and maintenance. I've seen plenty of Hondas with 100K+ miles that still look and drive like new cars. I don't recall ever seeing a GM car with that many miles holding up that good.

hoyahenry · June 2003

"The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it."

-- George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

dindak · June 2003

I had over 100K on my 91 Cavalier when I traded it in in 98. I had 1 issue with a leaky fuel line over that period. The cars have improved a lot since then.

Our close friends also have a Cavalier (96 or 97) with 144K Kms on it now and still running fine.

You obviously have your mind made up so what's the point in arguing further.

bottgers · June 2003

But that isn't what I asked. How do those cars look and drive? Is the paint still nice and shiney? Does the fabric in the interior look nice? Do they still drive nice without any squeeks or rattles? I hope the next thing you're going to tell me isn't that they'll last just as long as a Honda or Toyota. That's about the only thing you haven't come right out and said so far.

dindak · June 2003

My 91 Cavalier looked great with no major rattles, but I took car of it and waxed it every year also. See lots of rusted out 10 yr old Hondas. Our old Civic was a big rust bucket (it was my wife's car).

Want me to say it, YES. If I didn't think my Alero would last, I wouldn't have bought it.

joe3891 · June 2003

of people knock Cavaliers but they are everywhere,strange.

vocus · June 2003

Friend has one with 135K on it right now. It's on its second 3-speed auto tranny, the AC died and was fixed (fuse went bad), and it has been in 4 accidents thus far. Still going strong, rattling down the road.

luci45 · June 2003

I am looking for a newer car to replace my reliable but 1993 Corsica. Have driven the 2002 Cavalier (Sony edition) and it was really 'nice' Just wondering if anyone has any experience with these. I'm 'older' and take my cars in for service every 3000 miles but also spend a lot of time driving from OKC to St. L. and need something dependable. Any comments would be appreciated.

luci45 · June 2003

I keep seeing comments about noises. Is this serious noise or only heard by those of you who know cars well? If lots of noise then how does one know if the noise is serious or not? WOuld hate to be a repeat visitor to the mechanic.

vinnyny · June 2003

Have you ever wondered why Japan is so good at making small economy cars like your beloved Civic? One word answer: NECESSITY.

The Japanese domestic market is the perfect breeding ground for small cars. With narrow roads, outrageous fuel prices, million dollar parking spots, and unbearable taxes on larger vehicles, the Japanese have NO CHOICE but to make good small cars if they are to survive.

While the Japanese cars we see here in America are thought to be of high quality, what about all those Japanese cars that we Americans don't get to see? Are you aware of the fact that many "new" Japanese models are at least a year or two old before they arrive in the US? Most Japanese cars are introduced in their home market before they are sold here (this includes the Civic). The most recent examples of this phenomenon are the upcoming Toyota Scions which have been sold in Japan for years. Other recent "new" models that come to mind are the new 4-Runner, Infiniti M45, Rav-4, and CR-V. Japanese cars SHOULD have better initial quality given the fact that most "new" Japanese car models have actually been tested and improved upon for years before they reach the US. Also consider the fact that only the BEST Japanese models ever make it to our shores. As someone who visits Japan often, I promise you that you wouldn't want to drive most of the HUNDREDS of Japanese domestic models that AREN'T GOOD ENOUGH to be sold here. So, only the cream of the crop ever make it here--they should be good.

Have you ever wondered why American car makers are so good at making the large, pick-up trucks and SUVs that you disdain? One word: FREEDOM.

In America, we have the freedom to drive the vehicles that please us. We aren't forced by our government to drive the miniature tin cans that the Japanese people are compelled by law and taxes to endure.

Ask yourself this question: "If the Japanese had the choice of selling 1 million small cars at $2000 profit per unit or selling half-a-million large pick-ups and SUVs at a profit of $8,000 per unit, which would they choose?" Logic tells us the Japanese would choose to sell the high-profit large vehicles just like US manufacturers. So, why don't Japanese manufacturers (whom you obviously believe are superior) sell more large pick-ups/SUVs than American manufacturers? The answer is simple: THEY CAN'T!

Show me ONE full-size pick-up or SUV built in Japan and I'll show you TWO American examples that outsell it by at least 2 to 1. There must be some reason I'm able to do that...could it be that Americans excel at something that matters to them?

You may be correct in saying that Japanese car makers build better small cars than we Americans, but that's only because we have the freedom to build and buy what we like. We clearly don't like small cars, so we don't build them. It's that simple...

By the way, the Cavalier that you obviously hate is sold in Japan as a TOYOTA.

vocus · June 2003

HAHA! I forgot about the fact that they sell the Cavalier in Japan as a Toyota. Could you imagine the Toyota dealers getting a Cavalier to sell beside their Corolla here?

venus537 · June 2003

you're priceless.

who makes the best midsize cars? heard of the accord, altima, camry and mazda6. there's the passat, but that's not american. fifteen years ago the japanese were non existent in this market.

who makes the best near luxury cars? the japanese and germans dominate this market. luxury cars. heard of lexus and infinity? cadillac is more competitive in this market than the cavalier is in its market though. fifteen years ago a luxury japanese car was laughable.

minivans. heard of the odyssey and the new sienna? they may not dominate the market, but those minivans are considered among the best.

SUVs. again the japanese entries are among the cream of the crop in this market. the buick rendezvous may out sell the acura mdx handily but the mdx is much better.

Full size Trucks. yuck. but i suppose the domestic entries will eventually have competition from japan.

your argument that japan "tests" their cars in the home market first is flawed and inaccurate. they for the most part develop cars for our market specifically. hell, the accord as we know it only exists in north america.

profits. i guess you haven't kept up with the sales figures from toyota and honda lately, the only thing THEY CAN'T do is build enough minivans and SUVs to keep up with demand.

what the japanese has done in our auto market since the mid eighties is nothing sort of remarkable. former gm head honcho roger smith once made your argument that the japanese are pretty good at small cars but don't have the know how to move into the larger markets. at the time when roger smith made his argument the japanese were pretty much only in the small economy car market. What's your excuse?

vinnyny · June 2003

Excuse me, but where did you hear me mention mid-size cars, near-luxury cars, or minivans? I didn't mention these cars because I was specifically responding to Bottgers' comments on small cars and the fact that the US concentrates on full-size pick-ups and SUVs. Once again, I'll respond to the subject areas...

"your argument that japan "tests" their cars in the home market first is flawed and inaccurate. they for the most part develop cars for our market specifically. hell, the accord as we know it only exists in north america."

My only response to this is that you simply have NO IDEA what you're talking about. While it is true that some cars like the Accord, Odyssey, Pilot and a few others are North America-only designs, virtually every small Japanese car model sold in the US is available in Japan or Europe for at least one model year before it comes to the US. They usually aren't called by their US-market names, but they are substantially the same cars. I recommend that you visit Honda's, Toyota's, and Nissan's Japanese websites and look at the cars there. If you can't recognize the Nissan Cedric/Gloria (which has been available in Japan for years) as the 2003 Infiniti M45, then you're not looking close enough. Try going to Toyota's site and see if you can find the newly-available Scion Xa and Xb (which have also been available for at least two years there). While you're there, check out the precursor to the new 4Runner (aka Prado). Finally, if you want to see the next Honda CR-V, look at Honda's site where you'll see that the CR-V adds body-colored bumpers and lower cladding (it might not come in 2004, but you can bet it will be here in 2005).

" SUVs. again the japanese entries are among the cream of the crop in this market. the buick rendezvous may out sell the acura mdx handily but the mdx is much better."

How do you determine what makes a vehicle the "cream of the crop?" In 2002, Ford sold more Explorers than ALL TOYOTA SUV MODELS COMBINED. Chevy sold as many TrailBlazers as ALL HONDA/ACURA SUV MODELS COMBINED (that doesn't take into account for the 110,000 GMC Envoys that GM sold as well). Chrysler sold more Jeep Grand Cherokees than ALL NISSAN/INFINITI MODELS COMBINED.

I'm not saying that popularity makes one vehicle superior to another, but unless you assume that all ONE MILLION or so people who bought American SUVs rather than any comparable Japanese model are idiots who got taken when they bought an inferior product, then your argument that Japanese SUVs are the "cream of the crop" doesn't hold water.

"Full size Trucks. yuck. but i suppose the domestic entries will eventually have competition from japan." Ford sold more F-series than ALL JAPANESE PICK-UPS COMBINED. Ford must be doing something right...Oh yeah, the same goes for the Silverado/Sierra.

"profits. i guess you haven't kept up with the sales figures from toyota and honda lately, the only thing THEY CAN'T do is build enough minivans and SUVs to keep up with demand".

Are you kidding me? Do you really believe that the only factor limiting the number of Japanese minivans and SUVs sold in the US is production capacity? If so, you must be one of those geniuses who paid more than MSRP for a Pilot the day it came out! If Honda could sell every Pilot it could build for 3 times the profit of an Accord, why wouldn't they? Are you telling me that there's no land available in Canada to build a new Pilot manufacturing plant? Does Honda have a problem raising capital that 10,000 US bankers wouldn't be fighting one another to help solve? Perhaps Honda is just going for exclusivity? Or is it possible they CAN'T actually sell every SUV and minivan that they could possibly make?

OK, you brought up the mid-size car thing so I might as well talk about it. The same PROFIT argument that applies to small cars applies to mid-size cars. Even huge companies have some limits on their resources. ONE of their primary reponsibilities is to maximize shareholder wealth. The Big 3 have determined that they can't do this by selling relatively low profit small and mid-size cars when they could be dedicating their resources to building and selling higher profit full-size pick-ups and SUVs. It's all a matter of economics.

While this might be a poor strategy in the long term, the Big 3 have to pay the bills and keep shareholders relatively happy today and selling primarily large vehicles allows them to do so. That said, I think you'll find that US manufacturers are actually beginning to concentrate more on the smaller cars and the near-luxury cars you cite. You may be surprised by some of the new Cadillacs, Fords, etc.

By the way, I am "PRICELESS". I don't own any of the vehicles we're talking about so I don't have a vested interest in talking up any of these cars.

venus537 · June 2003

i don't own none of these cars either.

given more time you'll see honda and toyota gain more and more market share of the SUV market. especially the upmarket portion of it. right now they don't even come close to having the capacity to build them in the numbers that ford, gm and dodge can. but what is available from honda and toyota ARE among the best rated vehicles.

Honda is a relatively small car company with limited resources compared to GM and Ford and can't magically pump out tons of SUVs. They are under capacity when it comes to their SUVs and minvans. Honda's record profits and market share growth has come from their SUVs and minivans. So yes, Honda is probably hard at work planning new plants.

Your assertion that Honda and Toyota CAN'T build SUVs in larger numbers is mind boggling. If you're talking about the home (japan's) market, you have a point. There's nothing magical about an explorer compared to a Pilot. To the contrary.

Pick up trucks may be difficult for japan. i can't see the average joe who buys a truck buying a japanese one no matter how good it may be. ford, gm and dodge do have lots of experience in trucks, but it's not like the engineering needed is beyond japan's scope.

bottgers · June 2003

I think you may have missed my point. Although I was comparing the Cavalier to the Civic, my basic statement was that Honda and Toyota build better vehicles, in many cases much better vehicles, than the those of the big 3. If you look at reliability data, which is plastered all over the internet, it doesn't take long to find out that ANY vehicle made by Honda or Toyota has been more reliable than ANY vehicle produced by the big 3. As you probably know, reliability is a direct result of build quality. As we're starting to see now, Honda and Toyota are building larger vehicles because that's what Americans want. There's no doubt in my mind that whatever Honda and Toyota decided to build, big or small, it will be more reliable than the big 3 vehicles their competing against. Who cares if they have vehicles in Japan that are complete failures? The important thing is that they're dam good vehicles by the time they sell them to us. What do you think the big 3 does? They sell all their crap to the consumers and then worry about trying to improve vehicle problems as the model years move on. In the meantime, thousands of consumers get stuck with their garbage vehicles. Everyone but me, that is. I've owned enough vehicles from the big 3 to know they will probably never build vehicles as good as the Japanese. The sad thing is it isn't because they can't or don't have the know how, it's because they choose not to.

vinnyny · June 2003

I agree that, in general, the small Japanese cars sold in America have superior quality to comparable American cars. However, I disagree with the concept that all Japanese cars are better. We Americans only see the very best that Japan has to offer and in most cases we only see them after they have been proven in other markets. You only see the BEST Japanese cars, but you see ALL of the American cars. My point is that it isn't fair to compare one company's weakest product to another company's strongest. Saying that Honda is better than Chevrolet because Honda makes better small cars is analogous to saying that since my wife is better at needlepoint than I, she's better at everything. While needlepoint may be very important to her, I couldn't give a rat's butt about it. On the other hand, if she starts earning more money than I do then I might have a problem. The same goes for SUVs and pick-ups--if Honda and Toyota start making full-size light trucks that sell as well as those from GM and Ford, then the Americans should be truly concerned. Of course, it might be too late by then. However, as of 2002, no Japanese full-size SUV has even made it into the top 20.

As I said earlier, you guys might be surprised by the Big 3 in the next few years. It's been a long time coming, but I think they're about to turn the corner. Look for Cadillac to lead the way...

venus537 · June 2003

i hear what you're saying, just don't agree. the criteria for vehicles being sent (or just designed in some cases) over here is not that these cars are the "best" or been "tested", but what is suited for our market and needs.

this is the same with europe too. There are plenty of european vehicles not sold in our market too.

for whatever reason you seem to have in your head that the Japanese are only good in small cars. whatever. they concentrate a lot more on the midsize car segment.

i'll stick with Honda because i'm know them best.

Civic. they're not tested in the home market first. they're essentially released at the same time as the japan version. and the current generation civic had plenty of "bugs" in its first year. by honda's standards i would say the latest civic is a loser. this car really didn't push the envelope for small economy cars when it was released.

CRV. the first generation CRV was really a vehicle designed for the japan market. honda saw the runaway success of the RAV and had to something. The current CRV was designed with our market in mind and seems to be doing quite well.

Accord. as mentioned before, the accord as we know it only exists here. a shame really because i preferred the european accord over ours. but now you can get an european accord too, it's called the acura tsx.

Odyssey. the first minivan was too small and under powered. the current odyssey is a runaway success. they still can't build enough of these. the new sienna is suppose to be even better. Japan was non existent in this market just a few years ago. Along with Chrylser, honda and toyota offer the most "appealing" minivans in the market.

Pilot. this is where honda really got caught with its pants down as evidence by selling the passport for all those years. But the current pilot is consumer reports top rated SUV. its highly rated by other sources too. oddly enough the more expensive MDX sells better. the biggest problem for honda is that they don't have the capacity to build more of them. as of now.

brings me back to the civic. i don't think this car line is really a high priority to them any more. the civic is not what honda does best (that would be the accord and the more expensive accord based tl). not in our market anyway. the england built hybrid civic is a nice piece of engineering though.

venus537 · June 2003

as far as reliability goes, i don't think the gap between japan and the big 3 is that big. in some cases some of gm cars are very good in problems per car. some of this is due to eventually getting the "bugs" worked out on an aging platform. i would say the quality gap that still exists is in brilliant engineering. how the car drives and feels. the buick century in terms of problems per car is better than a passat, but the passat is in a different league in terms of having a high quality feel in the way it drives.

the cavalier is not that much more problematic than a civic (in the short term, gm falls off in jd powers long term reliability surveys). but in the way the car drives and feels i would say the civic has a big leg up on the cavalier.

Chevrolet Cavalier

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