The Chevrolet Cavalier is back, but you won't be able to buy one
Unless you live in China, that is. But based on my experiences with the badge, not being able to buy a Cavalier is probably a good thing.
If you want a good example of how little Chevrolet used to care for bargain-basement buyers, look no further than the late-'90s Cavalier. Its replacement, the Cruze (I'm ignoring the Cobalt), is quite a lovely car, so there's really no need to pine for the fjords, so to speak. Yet the Cavalier is about to make a comeback...far away from America, thankfully.
Only China will be able to purchase the new Cavalier, debuting at the Chengdu Auto Show this September. Chevrolet already sells the Cruze compact sedan over there, so the Cavvy will stand as a complement to that. Forward motion comes from a 1.5-liter inline-four engine, with the buyer's choice of a six-speed automatic or a five-speed manual.
While Chevrolet didn't furnish a picture of the interior, based on the very-tiny-resolution copy we've seen, the interior largely resembles that of the Cruze, with a two-tone, layered dashboard and a floating MyLink infotainment touchscreen. It also features Baidu Carlife, which is a Chinese analog to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
Since it's being sold in China, the press release is keen to point out that the HVAC system features a PM2.5 air particulate filter that filters out particulate smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter. It's always interesting to see what features are highlighted in various regions.
If you're a sadist, hoping that Chevrolet will bring this car to the US, you're out of luck. Chevrolet already has two cars smaller than the Cruze in this market, the Sonic and Spark. Introducing a new Cavalier would only cannibalize Cruze and Sonic sales, and that name doesn't exactly carry a lot of cachet with it.
