Ex-IMSA Racer: 1988 Chevrolet Cavalier

I like racing, and tried to watch a Formula 1 race the other day, but fell asleep once the first turn was sorted out.  There is something called NASCAR that some folks enjoy, but my own personal preference is for vintage racing, which is really great because you can buy the cars and race them yourself. Unfortunately, the desirable racers from the 50s/60s are monstrously expensive, but you can buy cheap ex-racer 80s econoboxes for next to nothing.  Find this 1988 Chevrolet Cavalier here on eBay bidding for $5,600 reserve-not-met with a few hours to go, located in Farmington, CT.

Grand Am V6 Swapped: 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier

People ask me to explain Daily Turismo to them on a quasi-frequent basis -- usually people I meet at bus terminals, soup kitchens, Dungeons and Dragons conventions, or group therapy -- and I often struggle to explain what the site means...but somehow, some guy managed to build the answer to that question...because there is nothing more DT than this 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier with a 3.4 liter V6 and manual gearbox offered for $2700 in Marysville, WA.  Thanks Cory!

White Porpoise: 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier Wagon

In the recent decades of compact economy car history, a few names have been constant.  Volkswagen Golf, Honda Civic, & Toyota Corolla have all been in production for decades and with each new generation they get better, but somehow maintain a sense of history.  General Motors compact offering however, has seen a number of name changes in that same time period: Nova, Citation, Cavalier, Cobalt, Cruze. While VW/Honda/Toyota are building on decades of reputation, it would appear that GM wants the buyer to forget that miserable econobox they purchased a few years prior and step up into the new and improved econobox that is probably better, but equally forgettable in a few years.  Of course that doesn't mean that there isn't a butt for every seat, and you will find fanboys for any make/model, even the 2nd generation Cavalier has its following.  Find this 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier Wagon offered for $2,400 in Ft Myers, FL. Tip from Dascpcu.

3k: Nostalgic Already: Custom 1996 Chevy Cavalier

What's the distillation time between passe and relic? Are we there yet? Just when you thought all the speed-needy adolescents were all taking dirt naps with bits of chrome-gilded Chinese plastic lodged in their skulls, this Cavalier unearths itself with all the hallmarks of The Fast and The Furious customizing trend. It's spotlight-worthy for three reasons: No rust. Quality execution (in the way that Michael Bay has truly perfected the special effects explosion) and plenty of go to match the show kudos to a T3/T4 turbo and intercooler. Find this custom 1996 Chevy Cavalier in Rochester, NY for $3,200 via craigslist.

5k: Trikealier: 1995ish Chevrolet Cavalier Trike

The Chevrolet Cavalier was launched in 1988 as Chevrolet's compact economy car, following in the footsteps of the Monza, Nova, Corvair, etc.  It is telling that Chevrolet has renamed its compact car twice since the Cavalier bowed out of the market in 2005 (first Cobalt and then Cruze) as opposed to a company like Honda that continues to proudly produce Civics for decades.  Chevrolet management seems to want to sweet the performance/reliability/public-perception of their previous generation compact under the rug like it has a bad case of scabies and introduce an all new model that won't have the same perception of being a total pile of crap. It is somewhat a rigged game as years of bad product released during the 70s/80s (when the Japanese were putting out cars that did last 300k miles) have given a bad stigma to GM's recent compacts which aren't that bad compared to their competition.  Meandering tangent aside, it was thought that the strangest Cavalier custom was the '84 Cavalier Boat featured a few months back...until this 1990 1995 to 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier Trike offered for $4,500 in Springfield, MO showed up as a tip from slowcarSLOW-MPGlol, updated model year info from Zach.

2k: 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24, w/ 3.5L V6 Swap

The second generation Chevrolet Cavalier was launched in 1988 as Chevrolet's compact economy car, following in the footsteps of the Monza, Nova, Corvair, etc.  It isn't old enough to be collectible and its front-drive chassis was built more for economy than for performance, but at least the Z24 version had pretensions of being sporty.  Fortunately, the builder of today's feature fixed the performance issue with a 3.5 liter V6 swap from a 2005 Malibu.  Find this 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 w/ 3.5L V6 swap for sale in Suffolk County, NY for $2,200 via craigslist.  Tip from Cory.

5k: Wave Runner: 1984 Chevrolet Cavalier Car Boat

The terms land yacht and boat are used to describe big heavy American cars, typically those from the  1970s with huge hoods and under-damped suspension. They are known for handling like aquatic vehicles, where turning is an imprecise art involving the width of a shipping lane, but they typically don't look much like actual boats. The seller of today's featured land yacht decided to build an actual boat look-a-like.  Find this 1984 Chevy Cavalier based boat car for sale in Caldwell, NJ currently bidding on ebay for $1,825 reserve-not-met with 2 days to go.