Think back on all the time you’ve spent in “penalty boxes”: Cavaliers, Citations, Escorts, and the like. You probably have some fond memories of those old days, but just as likely, you wouldn’t want to go back. CC’s canadiancatgreen has captured many of those old “disposables” in the environment where, sadly, you always knew they’d end up.
We might as well take this walk around the yard chronologically, starting with what is perhaps the biggest punchline of them all, the 1980 Chevy Citation. Being that over 800,000 were built in 1980, it’s unsurprising to find one even today, even in salty Canada. Unlike the reliable but thresher-like Iron Duke, this “4-Door Hatchback Sedan” has the 115-horsepower 2.8-liter V6, the first of that long-lived 60-degree engine series.
Like many Citations, this one was probably originally painted the boringly named “Light Blue Metallic,” and unless the glare is playing games with us, it has a blue interior. Upon an initial glance, the poor little Citation doesn’t look so bad, but it has the classic GM rotten rear bumper and some rust down low. Still, not bad for 46 years.
A 1980-model anything is an outlier in most salvage yards, so the next car skips an entire generation of Chevrolet compacts and lands at the (at the time) recently revised 1996 Cavalier. Cavaliers seemed to be ubiquitous for decades, and our memories are accurate: 277,122 of them were sold in 1996, although the vast majority of them were coupes. This one is “Medium Bright Blue Metallic” and has the old 120-horsepower, 2.2 liter pushrod four-cylinder.
Whether the peeling clearcoat is factory-standard or based on collision repair, I don’t know, but there’s enough rust and dents on this one for us to be unsurprised that it’s sitting next to that old Citation. Be that as it may, the 1996 Cavalier IS a 30-year-old car at this point. Not a bad run, little fella.
While my Cavalier experiences are limited to my wife’s ’92 model, both of us have plenty of Escort experience, having owned five of them between the two of us. All have certainly ended up in the salvage yard, because they were all about one owner from the salvage yard once we sold them. The 1996 model was the end of the line for the “second-generation” American Escort, although the third-generation car was merely a facelift on the same platform.
The Escort LX still used the miserable (sorry, fans) 1.9-liter single-overhead-cam four that produced 88 horsepower. It might have been OK with the five-speed manual, but my automatic-equipped ’93 wagon was simply underpowered. The gas mileage wasn’t what you’d expect either; mine averaged around 28-30, mostly highway. This three-door hatchback appears to be black, but it also might be “Deep Forest Green Clearcoat Metallic.”
1998 Ford Escort ZX2
Based on the same Mazda platform as the 1996 Escort was the sporty Escort ZX2, released as the 1998 model seen here. The styling was definitely of its era at Ford, which was embracing ovoid themes of all types, but at least the ZX2 backed up its more sporting pretense with a 2.0-liter Zetec 16-valve four, which produced 130 horsepower, a 47-percent increase over the old 1.9 in that ’96 hatchback. This one appears to be “Ash Gold Clearcoat Metallic,” and the rust in the lower quarter panels/rocker panels in front of the rear wheelwell is a common trait.
Not much was changed on the 1999 Cavalier compared to the 1996 model picture earlier: 272,122 were built, the 2.2-liter pushrod four still provided power, and a three-speed automatic was still available. Somebody used this sedan to tow something, and it reminds me of an admonition in my ’93 Escort’s owner’s manual: “We do not recommend towing with your Escort.”
There wasn’t a model year attached to this photo, and although I can almost make out an “04” on the quarter panel, this gold coupe is certainly older than that. I’d say it’s no newer than a 1999 model, based on the emblems and the wheel covers (or what’s left of them).
Some light styling updates (mostly in the front) were made for the 2003 model year, and this coupe now had a standard 140-horsepower ECOTEC 2.2-liter four-cylinder, which at the very least made the Cavalier feel more sporty. Believe it or not, sales were still strong in 2003, at 256,550 units sold. I remember the fire-sale prices Chevy was offering on Cavaliers; at the time, I was not exactly at a place in my life where I had “new car money,” but I still remember considering one of these as an “upgrade” to my Escort wagon. They were that cheap.
Aside from talking to a dealer about a new G6 for my lovely bride back when we were first married, I have no experience with them aside from seeing them everywhere in my GM-centric state of Michigan. It shared its platform with the Chevy Malibu but looked nothing like it, a successful variation of GM’s platform sharing structure. Pontiac, even though it was a few short years from its terminus as a brand, sold a fairly strong 150,001 2007 G6s, almost all of them in Michigan (probably). At least one of them, this “Emerald Green Metallic” example, was sold elsewhere. Engine options were varied, but this sedan probably has the 169-horsepower 2.4-liter DOHC four or (more likely—is that a V6 badge I see on the trunk?) the 224-horsepower 3.5-liter V6. I still see G6s running around my area with the same rocker panel rust that this one has, still working, one tire in the crusher.
I think a majority of Curbside Classic readers have a story or two related to their “throwaway cars,” so at least one of these junkyard dogs must stir a little nostalgia. They certainly make me a little wistful, but I’m satisfied just looking at the pictures. Like I said at the top, I don’t have to go back.
Related Reading
Curbside Classic: 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier RS…Neon Blue Dream Machine? (by me)
COAL: 1993 Ford Escort LX Wagon – Being Ironic (by me)
Curbside Classic Lump Of COAL: 1998 Ford Escort ZX2 (by me)
I had an 88 Ford Tempo as a company car.. I’m always on the lookout for one for nostalgia purposes. That and a 90 Acclaim.
Haha, that Citation could have been my brother in law’s light metallic blue example, except he had his in the late 1990’s and it looked worse than that one.
I was thinking about Cavaliers the other day, they have pretty much disappeared in the last couple of years. Everywhere, then gone…
The taupe Cavalier has pre-2000 tail lamps. 1995-1999 had the tail lamps as shown, 2000-2002 had faint round elements in the reflectors, and 2003-2004 had the positively awful full width bar with the raised round elements and for some reason the outline of the original tail lamp shape in the bar.
Of all of GMs mid-cycle revisions the 2003 Cavalier is probably my least favorite ever and they’ve had some real dogs. It’s a shame because I thought the 1995 Cavalier was actually a really good looking car from the outside. The 2000 model was worse for every change but not terrible but those late Cavs were so ugly and EVERYWHERE.
Was at my annual spring dust off Rhinebeck car show/flea market/car corral this past weekend. In the corral was a mint gorgeous red zx2 with a 5sp. Think they were asking $3700… Nice little unique entry level hobby car.. Had the twin cam and 120k miles.. An area guy I know is a is a cavalier nut, has a few in his hoard.. A driveway full… To each his own
In 1986 I was given a 1980 brown citation that stunk like oil. I drove it from NYC to DC one day for the hell of it and it ran good except the heater core wasn’t too happy so on the NJ turnpike I had to bypass it.
The next day the car got stuck in gear in Union NJ (at The Money Store) and it never moved again except for being dragged onto the back of a flatbed. Lmao
My throw away car, which was fortunately a free company car for one year, was an 1973 Audi Fox with automatic. After that for 1974, was another throw away car for some and others not, a Plymouth Duster. After that a 1975 Chevrolet Nova. I guess throw away depends on one’s generation.
And also your location!
Man, the Cavalier. I graduated high school in 2006, and I remember the ’95-03? Cavaliers were EVERYWHERE in our student parking. These and Sunfires and Sunbirds. I grew up in Kansas and the most successful dealers were had in my hometown were both GM-centric, so the J-bodies were plentiful. I also remember driving a few of them as a kid getting a permit, and riding in several of friends’ cars. The interiors on these felt cheap-cheap-cheap, and I distinctly remember cutting my thumb on a piece of door-card plastic. :/
Thank you for the nostalgia trip.
You’re welcome…you are absolutely right about Cavaliers being everywhere, for decades! I still see a surprising number of them on the roads.
The City got a whole fleet of then new first gen. Cavaliers, all white four doors .
GM sent an “engineer” to show us shop rats how the diagnose the sure to fail ignition systems using a bit of vacuum hose .
They went away faster than the Chevy Vegas ! .
Hair shirt cars, they’re always going to be a thing I think .
All these years (decades) later I still love driving my ’59 VW Beetle survivor .
I had many good times in psycho-bitches ’82 Ford Escort GL two door stripper .
-Nate
Nice shots, but no love for the Rendezvous? Most likely there due to severe underside rust or a head gasket failure.
I’ve seen more than a few G6’s with 250K on the odo, one with 321!
Reading the list of cars and then a G6, I was thinking “which of these is not like the other? …” Then seeing that the Citation is over a decade older than the rest. Good shape still, all things considered. Wonder what did it in, at this point it would probably go forever without catastrophic failure. Maybe someone finally got tired of keeping it going. I’ve noticed when fixing up my 89 Cutlass Cruiser, in 2019 Autozone had everything in stock. Now nobody has anything in stock locally. Everything online.
I stlll see Gen 1 J bodies for sale and plentiful at 80s shows, and occasionally on the road. But Gen 1 Escorts seem to have essentially disappeared a long time ago. Out of 400-500 cars each year for 5 years, I’ve only seen one at the 80s show in Minnesota. A white 86-88 GT, one year. Last time I saw one on the road was 15-20 years ago, a baby blue wagon.
My only throw away car was a 1974 Caprice sedan that I inherited. It was a great running car but the tin worm caused it to be way more than I wanted to repair. So I drove it until one day the flywheel teeth began breaking. This was in the Fort Lauderdale area.
A friend wanted the 400 engine for a boat he was redoing and he offered $300 for the car.
Last I heard, the boat ran great and some of our canned goods are previously a Caprice!
Man maybe its a Canadian thing but this whole lot felt like taking a peek at the high school parking lot back in the mid 00s.
I do believe i spied an Olds Alero coupe sitting back in the “1999 Chevy Cavalier” picture. I remember wanting one brand new that had long been sitting in the showroom of Paul Sadlon Motors after i graduated high school. Black on black, fully loaded GLS trim. Was a beauty. They wanted $20k which I was willing to do. Unfortunately the insurance company wanted $8k/year which was what killed that deal for me. Still bitter about it.
The 03 Cav really got me going. around 15 years ago i bought my now wife’s 2005 Sunfire GT when she bought a new car. Everyone I know would tease me on it because those Sunfires and Cavs were always known as cheap disposable cars. by man that was a blast to drive. Big sunroof that felt like a targa top, tight handling that felt like i was driving a go kart and the Ecotech was always responsive and snappy. Traded it on a brand new Mustang in 2014 because despite oiling it annually (It was mint under the car), the exhaust did not get the message and rusted out. Evidentially no one made dual exhausts to replace the stock duals for these cars and it would cost more than the car was worth to have one hand crafted (granted i could go with a stock single but that looked tacky IMO). I still get chills driving the Mustang to this day but I reallly really miss that Sunfire.