(first posted 1/21/2016) Two Road Tests from R&T’s 1983 July Issue; These cars might be similar in size, but could not be anymore different from each other in every other respect.
First, the Cavalier road test:
And now for the BMW:
Vintage R&T Road Tests: 1983 Chevrolet Cavalier CS & BMW 318i
– Posted on January 21, 2022
The test weight of the Cavalier reflects 430 lbs of a driver, passenger, measurement instruments, whatever. Was there a guy sitting in the passenger seat with a stop watch? The BMW test weight was only 145 lbs more than its curb weight, suggesting a light driver and nothing else. 285 lbs could make the difference in acceleration times and braking distances.
Also, check out the BMW’s speedometer ‘accuracy.’ This is a German TUV law that heavily penalizes car makers who have speedometers that understate speed no matter how large tires are fitted. 9% overstatement is the norm. It’s funny that it has paid off for them, as I’ve read Car and Driver comparison tests where they talk about BMWs being so composed that they regularly glance at the speedometer to find they’re traveling faster than they thought, or faster than they were going in competitive vehicles. No doubt. That’s what a speedometer that adds 10% to your real speed will do.
You’re making assumptions that almost certainly aren’t true. Curb weights are a number given out by manufacturers, and are notorious for understating the actual weight of the car, as it does not include any fluids, etc.. “Shipping weight” at least has some provision for water, oil and gasoline, and is usually some 150 lbs higher. But different manufacturers may have different criteria for determining curb weight.
There’s no way that R/T used different criteria. As a matter of fact, I strongly suspect that their test weight was without any driver/passenger.
The Cavalier was very heavily optioned; it’s possible those didn’t get accounted for in the curb weight. or Chevy gave them a bad number.
The only comparison relevant are the test weights. Curb weights are unreliable and not a reflection of reality as a car is used.
I’ve been reading these magazines since 1978 and they’ve discussed their testing procedures at various times. This tier of magazine doesn’t report claimed curbed weights without a footnote explaining that it is a claimed curb weight. Some manufacturers claim absurd curb weights right up to today, as noted in a recent CandD article about the disagreement between their scale and Ford’s when it comes to Mustangs. If Road & Track has to go with manufacturer supplied numbers because they don’t have access to a scale, they reflect the assumed dishonesty of the car makers by saying weights are estimated.
The 2.0 was OHV, not SOHC as published in the Cavalier stats.
I had never seen this review and I have collected a lot of Cavalier/J Car material. Thanks for posting this.
Nicely trimmed interior, good visibility, small console that doesn’t eat up room, the right size.
I loved my 99 and the fact that the platform and engine had it’s basis in the first of the Cavaliers. It was a simple, honest, inexpensive, easily maintained car.
Interesting (?), that even more than 30 years ago car magazines questioned whether the newest BMW with it’s “improvements” was worth the “premium” over the outgoing model.
When I was shopping for my J2000 (Cavalier-clone), I wouldn’t have considered the Stanza or Camry as it’s competition. I would have cross-shopped the Cavalier with a Sentra and maybe, a Corolla. I think there were even print ads at some point during it’s long life when GM/Chevy compared the Cav to the smaller 90s Sentra.
GM’s benchmark for the Js was the 1st Gen Accord. Tells you how much smaller it was back then.
I would never have cross shopped a Stanza or a Camry with a Cavalier, either, but the Sentra or Corolla. A Camry would have been a Citation/ Celebrity competitor.
The old Corona hatch was compared to the Citation 5 door in an early test when the X Bodies were introduced, along with the Fairmont IIRC.
The Camry was a lot more expensive (probably reflecting the devalued $, as did the Bimmer’s price), but weighed less & accelerated better despite having an automatic. Also note braking performance, though slalom speed was slower. My wife’s reached 40mpg hwy, which I doubt the heavy J-cars could equal. Overall, with its high quality control as well, no wonder Toyota starting eating Detroit’s lunch with this car.
They’re also comparing a top-trim Camry LE against a mid-spec Stanza XE and a base Cavalier.
Quote: “We mean a seriously loaded automobile.” So I was mistaken; the price “as tested” was more than the Camry LE; their comparison table is misleading about that.
My wife had an ’86 base Camry, & even it included the goodies common with Japanese cars of the time. I just wish it had a tach.
Stanza XE was top available trim for its first year and a half in the U.S., and remained the top trip level for hatchbacks. The top-trim GL was a mid-83 intro and notch sedan only. Main GL upgrades were power windows and locks, full-length front armrests, and fancier stereo.
I vividly remember drooling over the 318i. Until I saw the 325. But as a new grad, the 325, with its silky smooth inline six, was hopelessly out of my price range. The 318 was out of my price range, but not hopelessly so. The problem was that in exchange for rwd and the BMW logo, I would get a car that performed right about with the 85 Golf GTI but cost $5k more, similarly equipped. I bought the VW.
There is still a part of me after all these years that wonders if I made the right decision.
85 GTI vs 85 318i— you made the right choice. I had an 8V GTI and a 91 318i 16v. While not as quick in a straight line, the VW was more fun, and more reliable. Easy choice for me
I always liked the crisp styling of the early 1980’s Cavaliers with two large headlights and half-height grille. The styling was reminiscent of a contemporary Opel Ascona, especially in two door form. It’s funny to see an Arizona license plate mounted on the front; I always thought Arizona was a one-license plate state.
Yoshi: it was at one time. My 63 Valiant had two when I purchased it in 1980. When I moved to AZ in 2010, I was surprised it only required one.
The styling was reminiscent of a contemporary Opel Ascona,
You do know that they shared the same body? And the styling details were most similar at the beginning of their lives.
The Ascona and Cavalier bodies looked similar. But the Cavalier was overweight (and underpowered). I suspect the Ascona weighed 200-300 lbs less.
Perhaps it was the US safety/emissions specs.
Also, the Cavalier was pricey–for most people. In 1980, one could by a nice Citation with auto, ps, pb for $6000. Just a few years later, a base Cavalier costs $6500….closer to $8000 with options, yikes!
And speaking of prices, how about that 318i–lotta dough for 1983, yet it’s 0-60 time with a few seconds of Cavalier. Maybe THAT is what GM was thinking–people will read Road and Track and see how close our Cav is to BMW 🙂
Not exactly the most glowing of reviews for a BMW that has become a near-legend since those days.
The only exposure I had to an early 3series was dating someone who drove an ’84 318i back in the late 80’s. It felt solid and hefty for its size, was rock steady at high speed, but to me felt very light in the rear and rather sketchy on wet curvy roads. At the time it was the “it” car (1987), so I can remember really critiquing the few driving experiences I had in it, so as to see what all the fuss was about. I liked the car but never felt it was the best thing since sliced bread.
I really think it was the release of the more powerful 325i, and subsequent M3, that “made” the rep of the E30.
+1 That’s the lasting effect of a halo model. They don’t just get people in the showrooms(who inevitably buy a more affordable 318) but human nostalgia tends to remember the best of something, rather than the average.
The US market M10 powered 318i was killed in 1986. The 325e was available from 1984-1986, after which the high performance 325i engine replaced the eta 6 in the luxury and sport models. For ’87 and ’88, the base model was the 325 with no suffix. It had 318i equipment levels combined with a six cylinder engine. In 1989, the model line was simplified with one engine, the highest performing 2.5 liter injected engine. For 1991, the 318i returned, this time with the dreaded M42 16valve engine, which added almost 40 hp over the old M10 318i, but at the cost of introducing the term profile gasket to the automotive repair world.
If anything, the 318i had a larger than accurate impact on diminishing the E30 because it was first. Most of the cars sold here were actually strong performers.
The 325e was proof that BMW had become a status symbol, and Americans would pay more for less, with the right hood emblem.
The ‘eta’ engine had a redline of 4750 rpm, and 120 horsepower. No self-respecting German (or European) would buy one…only us Americans.
I didn’t know about the ‘dreaded’ M42 engine “profile gasket”. Is that a gasket that comes out of a tube?
I do know that I like my 91 318is, which I bought used in 1993 with 35k miles on it. Before the warranty ran out, I had it inspected by an indep garage. He found a small leak at rear end, and small coolant leak. “Nothing major sir, but have them (dealer) check it out)”
Turned out that my car needed….a head gasket, and seal for the rear end. Other than the inconvenience (no loaner, dealer was in Raleigh NC, 65 miles away), dealer was polite and fixed everything.
I remember thinking, “if this was a Cavalier or an Escort, I’d be ripping on the automakers–what kind of a crappy car needs a head gasket at 49k miles?”
So, I guess I wasn’t the only one?
Had an ’87 325es that I bought for $4000 around 1996. Had at least 120,000 miles when I got it and sold it in 2007 with a lot more. I used to joke that it was the all show, no go 3 series BMW. The es had all the sporty/handling tidbits of the is, but had the e engine. In actuality the 325e engine was more than fine. That car revved up nicely, had the best 5-speed I have ever driven, and handled outstanding. Fun to toss around in Wisconsin winters. Sold it for $1000 to get something newer and supposedly reliable… a 2003 Audi A6. The guy who bought the BMW had far fewer problems over the next 5+ years than I had with the Audi. Who knew?
TomLU86,
The best selling E28 in Europe was the 525e, which had the same 121 hp 2.7 liter, low bearing count engine that our 325e and 528e did. Your insecurities about being American are down to you.
Really? In Greece, one of Europe’s poorer markets, in the 80s, I saw 518s, 520s, and the rare 525i. They were all “i”, not “e”.
121 hp out of an expensive six with a 4750 rpm redline tuned for low end torque is not meant for hi speed cruising on the autobahn, or autoroute. But it’s great for automatic trans and 55 mph speed limits.
I’d like to see your sales data and source
CJinSD: I don’t believe it. Proof?
The E30 still looks good. The design has aged well.
Agree with the uncluttered design holding up well over the years; there was even a more poverty-spec 316 model in Europe with cloth seats, no passenger side mirror and steel wheels. Now that’s my kind of BMW!
Benz likewise offered more Spartan models in Europe, maybe the European posters can elaborate.
Euro-spec E21 BMWs had only two headlights, like the earlier 2002.
I lived in the Netherlands in 1984 with a BMW dealer in my neighborhood. Wikipedia says that most E21s sold in Europe with under 2 liter engines had single headlights, but the only E21s I ever saw with single headlights were all 315 models; which was a special poverty-spec runout model introduced in 1981 and continuing after the E30 arrived. They had 1.6 liter, single carburetor M10s with 75 hp. Even the 316s I saw had quad lights. Maybe it was a popular option or something that the NL importer requested, but I suspect Wikipedia is just wrong. They have all sorts of errors and omissions in their E30 page.
Thanks, I was thinking only of German-market cars I saw firsthand. I don’t know what BMW had in mind here, was it just a means of stylistic model differentiation (“cheapskates get only 2”)? If so, it was unusual for European makes to do.
Big Fords from ’69-’79 were American examples of this practice, & before this, big Chevy taillights were a function of trim level.
I don’t know, but if you go back another decade, Mercedes-Benz used US-style quad headlights to differentiate their premium V8 SEL cars from their inline 6s with the W108 bodied cars.The 6 cylinder cars suffered from pod style headlights instead of dedicated round lenses for high and low beams.
I was working for a BMW dealer at the time. The 318i’s were bought by young yuppie (remember them?) status seekers, who did not really care about things like cornering and acceleration. For true car enthusiasts, there were greener pastures elsewhere.
When the 325 came out, the 318 was promptly forgotten about. BMW soon dropped the model (to some years later return in a much improved version).
I think many BMWs (most with monster engines now) are still bought by status-seekers, judging from the apathetic way they’re driven. There are more important things than driving, like fiddling with smart-phones.
In any case, where the heck is an enthusiast going to wring out a BMW’s abilities here, besides outlying rural & mountain routes relatively few people have a reason to use? That’s why I’m skeptical of German car propaganda, it makes little difference given most American roads & timid American drivers who slow down at even modest curves. They do have nice fat brake discs, I’ll give ’em that.
I cannot imagine any real life human being ponying up 10,400 for a Cavalier, no matter how plushy. I do think that, based on my reading of many old reviews, car companies supplied auto magazines with cars that had every option possible to lard onto whatever was being evaluated; I’ve seen vintage reviews of Fairmonts and such with power windows which I know was not how the vast majority of Fairmonts were equipped off the line. The price for the Cavalier makes the Cimarron- or, anything else in the GM stable- look like a good deal. The vast majority of these came with power steering, brakes, a kind of tweedy cloth upholstery which was an upgrade from the decent vinyl that was standard, and if you were lucky, an AM radio, air, and automatic.
Certainly if I had 10 grand in 1983 to spend – that would buy a very nice 88 or Cutlass Supreme, or even something like a Toyota Celica Supra.
GM built the J-cars because they had to, not because they wanted to, and it showed. Which is a shame because the basic design was pretty good, nicely styled in the early years (I also liked the twin headlamp and half-grill look) with a roomy interior, decent seats and great visibility. Too bad the engines were somewhat thrashy and build quality spotty at best. These cars could have been so much more.
The BMW looks very nice, but based on my negative experience with my VW Jetta I wouldn’t touch a German car period.
In that case, stay far away from a Buick Regal.
Those two cars? That’s a grand juxtaposition! Hofmeister kink notwithstanding.
In ’83, I bought my first car with my own money after being out on my own for 3 years. We had Cavaliers as pool cars at work and I was never happy to be assigned one. That’s why I went with a Cutlass Supreme. Not fast and more expensive,
but a hell of a lot nicer than the GM J cars.
The Nissan Stanza looks like the hot pick from this group of cars. Its engine performed slightly better than the BMW’s while the Nissan was priced like the Cavalier, once you allow for equipment anyway. The Cavalier they tested was loaded, but I bet most of them had those ‘misc. options’ that weren’t worth listing while adding almost a grand to the price. The Camry accelerated very well for a four-cylinder sedan with an automatic.
Were BMW of the era good cars? Probably. But in my circles they were derided as “yuppie-mobiles” and I would have chosen either a Volvo 242 Turbo or a SAAB 900 Turbo.
Interesting I test drove a 320 and 318 used back to back over the same course because I like the styling I didnt like the lack of turn in on roundabouts at reasonable speed bith however had aftermarket alloy wheels and low profile tyres, maybe that was the problem, however neither steered as well as the 93 Amon Corona I was seeking to replace or the TDI 306 Pug I drove next which has serious alignment issues and suspiciously fresh paint, 300,000kms and not a stonechip to be found, really, I think not.
I know we bash GM for deadly sins, but credit must be give to GM Rochester for TBI implementation.
As stated in the Cavalier article, drivability (stalling, hesitation, etc) virtually disappeared with TBI. A similar statement was made in an earlier CC article when Consumers Union tested the X-Cars. Horse power and torque gained in increments as well. One of the few times that GM got it right.
Not sure if TBI has been cover in CC, but sure worth an article.
A longtime BMW fan here, though not of the E30 chassis discussed here, nor the eta engine. And it’s hard to defend the 121HP eta engine which is dismissed here, but, this isn’t very far removed from the era of 120HP domestic V8s, albeit with substantially less torque. But do the math and you get ~.75HP, net, per cubic inch, German HP, which is rated very conservatively. Except that engine is noted for it’s extreme longevity, often in excess of 300K miles. Not a lot of Cavaliers with that kind of mileage on them. Not to mention (and I don’t get it, again, I’m not an E30 fan) the absolutely absurd resale values E30s currently have.
At the end of the day, both cars were built for different markets, sold well and likely made money for the carmakers. The more expensive one lasted longer. Big surprise.
Remember seeing first Cavalier; a co-worker (whom I didn’t know well) had a pretty early one in 1982. For some reason what stood out to me was the “rubber” panel between the tail lights holding the rear plate…it didn’t look bad to me, just distinctive, maybe the first time I saw that treatment…now might be considered “cheap” but in 1982, for me it didn’t yet have that connotation.
My Dad didn’t get a Cavalier, but (after my sister had bought hers new…her only new car thus far) a new 1984 Pontiac Sunbird. Though my sister had pretty good luck with hers (it eventually died from rust, something not unusual up in Vermont) my Dad’s (which had regular service at the dealership he bought it from per schedule) in Texas was terrible; it was certainly the worst car he ever owned…and maybe the most expensive (on a per year basis).
The car needed a new timing belt at less than 1k miles. It wasn’t an interference engine, so though an inconvenience, it didn’t cause any damage, but that should have given us pause (not sure why it went so quickly…we didn’t check since we had no idea at the time the car would end up to be such problem. It went through 2 engines in less than 80k miles, after the 2nd it was junked at age 5.
The Pontiac wasn’t loaded, but I wonder if it might have actually been less expensive total ownership cost had he gotten something like the BMW. It had basic options like automatic and air conditioning, but no power windows nor locks, probably a pretty common configuration, and I think it stickered about $9400. At 80k miles (ignoring maintenance costs..GM paid for the first engine, but I don’t know how much my Dad had in it otherwise including financing) that would be about $156.67/month or $.1175/mile. By today’s standards of course that seems cheap; of course it ignores the inconvenience of having to own a car you couldn’t trust to go very far…it was mostly used locally (for commuting) with almost no long trips. My Dad gave it to my (now departed) youngest sister probably 1988 or so (that’s the year she graduated from high school; though I think she might have been using it pretty exclusively a year or two earlier)…and it had other issues like leaking power steering, cracked plastics on light switch, and other issues.
It probably drove her away from domestics…she had a 200SX and then a 240SX after that…then a Camry. My Dad wasn’t quite the same, he owned plenty of imports (all of them 2nd cars) starting with his ’59 Beetle, but he stayed with domestics buying a 1986 Dodge 600, then 3 Mercury Sables in a row afterward. He did eventually return to GM for his last 2 cars, 2 Chevy Impalas in a row (the last is still owned by my family, though he’s also gone now, like my youngest sister.