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The Vauxhall Cavalier is a large family car sold primarily in the UK by Vauxhall from 1975 to 1995. It was based on a succession of Opel designs throughout its production life, during which it was built in three incarnations. The first generation of Cavalier, launched in 1975 and produced until 1981, was based on the existing Opel Ascona with a few minor visual differences. The second generation of Cavalier, launched in 1981 and produced until 1988, was launched simultaneously with the identical new generation of Opel Ascona, which was sold across the world in various guises on the General Motors "J-car". The third and final generation of Cavalier, launched in 1988 and produced until 1995, was based on the first generation of Opel Vectra with the same production span. ==Mark I (1975–1981)== Launched with a 1,896 cc engine as a 1976 model in November 1975, the Cavalier was a restyled version of the second generation German Opel Ascona. The Ascona/Cavalier was built on what GM called the U-car platform, and the Cavalier was originally intended to have its own bodywork. It ended up with the front of an Opel Manta B model and the rearend of an Opel Ascona b model. In the end to keep costs down a different nose, designed by Wayne Cherry, was the only obvious styling feature to set the Vauxhall apart.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.cavalierandchevetteclub.co.uk/aboutme.htm )〕 Van, pick-up and estate versions were also on the drawing board, but in the event customers wishing to choose an estate version of the Vauxhall Cavalier would have to await the arrival in 1983 of a Cavalier estate based on the Cavalier Mark II.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.cavalierandchevetteclub.co.uk/proto-types.htm )〕 The Mark I Cavalier was produced principally alongside the Ascona at the newly refurbished Opel plant in Antwerp, Belgium.〔Oswald, pp 271 & 272: Vauxhall Cavalier production at Antwerp between 1975 and 1981 consisted of 19,972 two door cars and 196,512 four door cars. 161,540 of these 216,484 Belgian built Cavaliers were fitted with the manufacturer's "1.6 S" 1584cc engine.〕 The first Vauxhall Cavalier to be assembled at Vauxhall's Luton plant was driven off the production line by Eric Fountain, Vauxhall's manufacturing director, on 26 August 1977, after which the 1,256 cc version, assembled at Luton and using engine and transmission already familiar to Viva 1300 owners, broadened the range. At that stage the 1,584 cc Cavalier and the 1,897 cc which had joined it were still being imported from Belgium, but in due course these, too, started to emerge from the Luton production plant.〔 In Vauxhall's line-up the Cavalier initially complemented and then replaced the Victor, which by this time was falling a long way behind the hugely successful Ford Cortina in the British car sales charts, and was being overtaken by the Morris Marina and Austin Maxi. However, the top-of-the-range versions of the Victor remained in production until 1978, as the VX1800/VX2000, before being replaced by the larger Carlton. The timing of the Cavalier's UK launch was well judged. The UK tax system meant that sales to company car fleets comprised a larger proportion of the overall market - especially for middle-weight saloons - than elsewhere in Europe: the Ford Cortina Mk II had been replaced by the Ford Cortina Mk III in 1970, but in the eyes of the all important company car fleet managers the newer Cortina never quite matched the earlier car for reliability, notably in respect of problems with its cable clutch and with camshaft wear in the 1.6 and 2.0 litre ohc units. The traditionally very conservative fleet market was therefore particularly receptive to Vauxhall's new Cortina challenger. The original Cavaliers were available as two and four-door saloons, and with a two-door booted (three-box) coupé body as used for the Opel Manta. The cars came with a choice of 1.6 and 1.9 L inline four cylinder Opel CIH engines in the saloon: only the 1.9 L engine was available in the coupé. Vauxhall engineers built Cavalier prototypes using the 2.3 L Vauxhall Slant-4 engine, for use in a future high performance variant, but the proposals did not get past GM Europe management, and as a result the larger engined Cavaliers were exclusively powered by the Opel CIH engine. It was revised in 1978 as the 1.9 L became a 2.0 L engine and the 1.3 L OHV engine from the Vauxhall Viva and Vauxhall Chevette was used to create the entry level Cavalier 1.3 variant. At the same time, a three-door hatchback known as the Sports hatch (also seen on the Manta) was added to the range. There were plans for a five-door hatchback version to be launched, but this bodystyle was never produced on the first generation Cavalier. All Cavalier saloons shared most of their bodywork with the Opel Ascona but had the slanted nose of the Manta to give them the distinct "droop snoot" front end. The coupé also had a front air dam. Despite being the same car mechanically, the Opel Ascona was sold alongside the Cavalier in the UK until 24 July 1981, when GM decided to phase out duplicated models with the Opel brand in the UK, and merge remaining dealerships with those of Vauxhall. The Opel Manta (and Monza) remained available, giving the Opel brand a "sports" position. That the Manta was sold alongside the Mark 2 Cavalier in the 1980s gave rise to the curiosity that the previous generation Ascona/Cavalier was effectively being sold concurrently with its successor, since a coupe/sports hatch version of the Ascona C/Cavalier Mark 2 was never engineered. Vauxhall, from 1978 until 1979, offered the Cavalier coupé in convertible format called the Centaur. Only 118 of these were made and fewer than 30 were believed to have survived by 2007. The cars were developed by Magraw Engineering and sold through Vauxhall dealerships on behalf of Crayford. The Centaur is basically a Cavalier GLS coupé 2-litre with the hard roof replaced with a soft top leaving a T-bar for strength. The floor pan was also strengthened. The ultimate Cavalier Mk1 is the design concept by Wayne Cherry called Silver Aero. “Silver Aero” was a one off Prototype build in 1980 based on the Cavalier MK1 Sportshatch. The car was displayed at the International Car Show at the NEC in October 1980. The plan was to offer existing Sportshatch owners and buyers to upgrade their car to the Silver Aero spec. The car has a 2.4 litre turbocharged engine which produces . Orders were taken but not enough to warrant production, and the car remains a one off. The original Cavalier was a relatively strong seller in Britain, even though it never quite matched the runaway sales success of the Ford Cortina, or even the sales figures attained by British Leyland's Morris Marina (which sold well throughout the 1970s despite an adverse reputation) but it at least managed to help Vauxhall regain lost ground in a market sector where it had declined during the first half of the 1970s as Victor sales slumped. Nearly 250,000 were sold, though by December 2009 just 373 remained. The Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1 was also sold in LHD in some European countries, including Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Poland, Italy and Switzerland. The Coupe was available with the 1.3 engine and in Norway the car came with Manta style headlight wipers. Vauxhalls were at one time sold alongside Opels in Europe but Vauxhall announced they were pulling out of the 11 other countries where they sold cars on 6 December 1979 and sales stopped in 1981.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.cavalierandchevetteclub.co.uk/cavalier_mk1_in_europe.htm )〕 In right hand drive markets such as Ireland, Cyprus and Malta, the Vauxhall brand was also dropped, with Opel becoming the main GM marque. Holden also looked at taking the U-Car but they declined as they found that the prototypes they had tested were not suitable for the roads in the outback without extensive modifications. Trim levels: * L * LS * GL * GLS Special Edition: * Command Performance * Silver Special The higher-end models of the range featured an upgraded dashboard with tachometer, four-spoke steering wheel and Rostyle wheels. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Vauxhall Cavalier」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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