Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, And 1994 Chevy Cavalier vs 2012 Chevy Captiva

Welcome to another edition of Shitbox Showdown! We’re doing one make per day this week, and since we started out with Ford, it’s only fair that we give Chevrolet its turn. We’ve got a drop-top version of a once-common everyman’s car, and a modern crossover that I actually don’t know much about.

Yesterday’s make was Honda, and it was one of those matchups where I knew going in which one would win. Sometimes, I pick a car just to feed it to the wolves, and that Civic yesterday was a prime example. I really like the Civic of that era, but that one is not a good example. I don’t think the auction paperwork in lieu of a title is a huge deal in Washington State, but it’s about double the price it ought to be.

That Accord, on the other hand, is just about an ideal cheap used car. It’s known to be reliable, it has been cared for by the same family its whole life, and its only obvious flaws are cosmetic. You could probably get another hundred thousand miles out of that car without too much trouble.

Chevrolet has been a part of the American landscape since 1911, and it’s hard to think of a more quintessentially American car brand. And whether you love Chevys, hate them, or don’t care about them one way or the other, you can’t avoid them. I imagine it would be difficult to find a parking lot anywhere in this country that didn’t have at least one Chevy in it. Have they all been brilliant cars? Well, no, of course not. Have they all been memorable? Nope, can’t say that either. But I can say with some confidence that just about everyone who pays attention to cars has a story about a Chevy. I know I have many. Let’s see what story these two have to tell.

Engine/drivetrain: 3.1-liter overhead valve V6, three-speed automatic, FWD

Location: State College, PA

Odometer reading: 127,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Yes, I’m making you look at another J-body. It’s been a while, and I thought this one was worth checking out, especially for the price. This is a post-facelift second-generation Cavalier Z24 convertible, the fanciest and most expensive Cavalier you could get in 1994. Though admittedly, that’s not unlike the fanciest and most expensive item on Taco Bell’s menu; it’s all pretty much the same stuff, just arranged differently.

To create the Z24, Chevy resorted to the tried-and-true method of factory hot-rodding: put the bigger engine in the smaller car, give it bigger wheels and a spoiler, and sell it for more money. The Z24’s drivetrain – a 3.1 liter V6 backed by a TH125C automatic – was Chevy’s version of Frank’s Red Hot sauce; they put that shit in everything. You could find the exact same engine under the hoods of everything from sporty coupes to family sedans to minivans in 1994. It’s not exciting, but it has proved pretty reliable over the years.

I always really liked the white seats available in the Cavalier and Pontiac Sunbird convertibles of this era. I imagine they’re a pain to keep clean, but they sure do look sharp, and they’re comfortable, too. This one looks well-maintained inside, especially for 127,000 miles. The convertible top needs a little attention, though; it goes up and down, but it’s a little stiff and moves slowly. Some careful application of spray lithium grease on the pivot points should put it right.

The good news is the top is nice and watertight when it’s up, so there’s no need to replace it, which is always a worry with cheap convertibles. The paint is faded, but it isn’t rusty, or at least not obviously. It’s a Pennsylvania car, though, so it’s worth a peek underneath to make sure the floors are still there.

Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, six-speed automatic, FWD

Location: Port St. Lucie, FL

Odometer reading: 170,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

We all know that as you age, you stop caring about the current pop music. You’re still aware of current hits, but they just don’t mean as much to you as the stuff that was on the radio when you were younger. As it turns out, cars are the same way. That Cavalier above is well-known to me, and I have fond memories of cars like it. The Chevy Captiva, however, I had completely forgotten existed until I saw this one for sale. I probably see them all the time, but they’re just too new to notice.

This car was better known as the second-generation Saturn Vue here in the US, and as the Opel/Vauxhall Antara in Europe and the UK. If I’m understanding it right, the Captiva was only available here to fleet customers, meaning this car was probably originally a rental. It features pretty typical GM running gear for the time: a 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine and a six-speed automatic. The seller isn’t specific about its mechanical condition, other than to note that it has “ice cold A/C,” but they couldn’t know that if it wasn’t running and driving, right?

It sure looks like a rental car inside: straightforward and forgettable. You don’t want a fleet car of any sort to be confusing to operate; the whole point is that anyone can hop in and drive off. This Captiva has covered 170,000 miles, with who knows how many people behind the wheel, and it still looks pretty good. I guess GM stepped up its interior quality game a bit after the bankruptcy fiasco; the older ones didn’t usually hold up this well.

Outside, it’s another bland crossover, but at least it’s not gray. I can see why cars of this style have become popular; it does look very practical. I guess what it took to sell small hatchbacks in America was to just make them taller. The ad says it has “normal wear and tear,” but honestly, I don’t see anything wrong with it at all in the photos.

So those are your choices for today: a fancy Cavalier and an ex-rental crossover. They were both built for daily use, and they both could still serve that purpose, if you wanted. Granted, one makes more sense, but the other looks like a lot more fun. The choice is yours.

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