Bought my Vette Diesel new in 1984, $6900.00 Drove it for 270,000 miles, 50 miles per gallon. Never had a problem on the freeway or dirt roads in the mountains. Loved it.
My wife had a Chevette when I met her. Looking back we like to say I was attracted to her because she looked great driving her "Vette" (both were true).
@@h8troodohIt sure was and I still watch it here on RUclips, it brings back a lot of great memories. My Cousin and I loved when the new cars came out.
I bought one as a work car for $95.00 when it was 15 yeats old. It did not start, but I sprayed the contacts for the glow plug system and it was able to stat it with no problem. I drove it back and forth to work with an occational road trip. During that time the only actual repair it needed was having the alternator rebuilt. Of course i took care of it. It had at least 150,000 miles on it when i bought it. I put on about 125,000 more miles.
GM's answer to a question no one asked. I remember production/sales figures being really low, especially for 1986 the final year for the diesel. GM would have probably sold more V6 Chevette's than they did diesels.
Their skunkworks built a 2.8 V6 Chevette but it could never have been greenlit to build because it was faster than not only a Citation X-11 but the malaise Corvette of the time!
The same was true of the gas engine. It had only 10 more horsepower, and with an automatic, was deadly slow. My dad rented one in the early 1980s, and it would barely make it up grades, never mind getting up to speed.
Saw one of these on the road recently which brought me to this video. I wasn't aware of a 1980's GM diesel Chevette before. It was smoking like a chimney.
Great MPG! But LETS BE CLEAR! The Sh*tvette was a rolling , trolling , hellion of a trash heap.. As a mechanic in the late 70s we had a frustrated customer set his 3 yr old Chevette on FIRE on the lot when he was informed the transmission failure wasn't covered under warranty!
Had a girlfriend with a red 85 4 door automatic .when I was a Sophomore in HS. Her moms. It made more sounds than acceleration when I tried to floor it.
I test drove a Chevette Diesel back in 1984. I dropped the keys on the salesman's desk. When I started it, It sounded like it had a thousand tin cans under the hood.
He alluded to it, when nailing the brakes the back end had a tendency to pass the front end. After years of denial GM issued a recall and fit a different proportioning valve with less power to the rear.
I remember a couple years ago I was at a diesel Dyno event watching one of these on the Dyno painted like the General Lee with a turbo and exhaust through the hood.
"At 2,440 lbs, it's no lightweight". Wow... Have times changed. Anything under 3000lbs is considered lightweight, and the benchmark of lightness (the miata) is 2300lbs.
Former Chevette owners who bought them new seem to remember them much less fondly than those who had them as old cheap beaters. But yeah, diesel was an expensive option.
@@nlpnt You got that right lol I walked in the Chevrolet dealership in 1986 a couple months after getting my first job at Burger King completely ready to buy a new Camaro... No dice - Cavalier Z24? Denied - The only thing they approved me for was either a new Chevy Sprint or Chevy Chevette. I didn't want a used car and the Sprint looked even more like a dorky clown car to me so I drove off the lot with a grey 86 Chevette 2-door stick shift with zero options for about $5,300 with tax, abused it for two years and never had to have any warranty repairs done but man that thing felt like poverty on wheels - Traded it in for a new 88 Chevy Beretta GT that my father co-signed with me for and never looked back.
It was actually a well-built diesel it just needed to be turbocharged, and they'd have a much better performance record. Isuzu is well known in the diesel world btw.
If they put this engine in the monza, they’d have a reliable and comfortable fuel efficient car. Chevette had a terrible ride and uncomfortable after about 15 minutes of driving. Back aches and leg aches, it was semi torturous.
$8,000 for this thing in 1982 was bonkers. ($1 might have been to much, though). If I recall correctly, my Mom bought a new 1980 Chrysler LeBaron for $7,000.
Actually, this NA 1.8-litre Diesel I4 was designed for GM from the stout Isuzu 2.2-litre I4 Turbo-Diesel of the time. As usual, GM cheaped out, and turned a good motor into a *SLUG*, by removing displacement, and the Turbo!! These were passable engines with the Manual, but useless with the automatic!!
@@wolfshanze5980to be fair that Pontiac version of this car with a gas engine with an auto and that's like 30 seconds 0-60 so take that into consideration
But without a/c, power windows and locks, cruise control, abs, airbags, roominess, intermittent wipers, ect....I'll keep my 2010 Prius that averages 52 mpg and I'm not afraid to merge onto the freeway due to lack of power
Perhaps.. we had an older couple used to bring their Pontiac Acadian into the dealer I wrenched at.. I've never seen any Chevette/ Acadian so loaded with options. Before summer and before winter. They were like clockwork.. lol... good Ole days..
MAEIIND JAPAN WE GATO MYCAM HER IINAMARECA THEAT A BIG PRAVLAMS THEAT GASTO BE CORACTAD. . WAN WE GAT PRAVLAMS WED THIS CONTRYS THEAN WE WII RELAEIS THE BIG PROBLAMS .
I think GM had a plausible idea bur the execution was kinda thier usual half baked crap. Had they put a turbodiesel version of the same engine with electronic injection (which that engine had a version of), maybe that woulda been a little better. Diesels were far more popular here in Britain, still are. Our version 9f the Chevette by our own branch of GM, Vauxhall, never had a diesel version, though the bogger Cavalier, Senator, Carlton etc plus Ford, Rover, Peugeot/Citroen, Mercedes you name it all were beginning to offer diesels in thier cars round this time early 80s Obv the Oldsmobile 5.7 diesel disaster did diesels or GM no favors over there, well the earlier ones anyway but as modern diesels have shown theres no reason why America couldn't have had more options in the past or even nowadays but the long lasting damage to thier image in the public view by GM had been done for many years. Plus we the push to EVs obv diesels have n to chance these days of catchin 9n m as instream.
I get what GM was trying to do with their poorly executed diesels of the same era in full size cars, to increase mileage without compromising size. However, I don't understand what they were trying to accomplish with this thing. This was already a high mileage car under CAFE regulations of the time. Why would someone want to pay extra for this Bic lighter car in a diesel to get maybe 10 extra mpg and have to put up with performance so low that it was actually dangerous to drive.
Well that diesel was the finedt diesel engine made, too bad , GM ruined the diesel experience for North America with the Olds diesel Fiasco , also the cheap interior , and bad duspension job by GM again when adapting the Opel Rekord to the US roads ,( thats what a Chevette is)
MW tested a 1000 3spd auto the next year and absolutely slammed it. 0-60 in 30 seconds Yes, 30 seconds Maybe you had one and liked it, or had one of these and likes it. Maybe it never served you wrong and good for you, I'm glad to hear it Doesn't make it a good product
Legend has it the test car still accelerating from 0-60mph...
Bought my Vette Diesel new in 1984, $6900.00 Drove it for 270,000 miles, 50 miles per gallon. Never had a problem on the freeway or dirt roads in the mountains. Loved it.
Very nice the Chevette diesel. Economy, solid and great car
My wife had a Chevette when I met her. Looking back we like to say I was attracted to her because she looked great driving her "Vette" (both were true).
I remember watching MotorWeek on Saturday afternoons in the 80s, my Cousin and I never missed an episode.
Was a good show huh..
@@h8troodohIt sure was and I still watch it here on RUclips, it brings back a lot of great memories. My Cousin and I loved when the new cars came out.
I bought one as a work car for $95.00 when it was 15 yeats old.
It did not start, but I sprayed the contacts for the glow plug system and it was able to stat it with no problem.
I drove it back and forth to work with an occational road trip.
During that time the only actual repair it needed was having the alternator rebuilt. Of course i took care of it.
It had at least 150,000 miles on it when i bought it. I put on about 125,000 more miles.
$95? Sheesh.
"About all that can be said for its looks is that they appear efficient."
I had a 83 chevette, fun little car, taught my now wife how to drive a 4 speed with it ! 😂👍
I loved my vette….4 spd gasser… was very reliable… Took a beating, and still drove like a champ
One thing that John said that was incorrect. The chevette had rack and pinion steering, not ball type steering.
GM's answer to a question no one asked. I remember production/sales figures being really low, especially for 1986 the final year for the diesel. GM would have probably sold more V6 Chevette's than they did diesels.
Their skunkworks built a 2.8 V6 Chevette but it could never have been greenlit to build because it was faster than not only a Citation X-11 but the malaise Corvette of the time!
My Band Teacher had one. I thought that was the coolest car on the planet. I was also 13 at the time so ....what did I know.
As if Chevy thought that the gas Chevette wasn't slow enough!!!!!!
This was during the time when many folks were prioritizing fuel economy
0 to 60 could have probably not be achieved. They didn’t tell us what it was. If they even tried.
They probably would have had to measure 0-60 with a sundial rather than a stopwatch, @@b-genspinster7895!!!!!
They tested a gas-powered Pontiac T1000 after this that had a 30 second 0-60 time.
0-60 in 14 seconds
"It might get scary merging into 4 lane highways"
😂😂😂
This is the kind reviews to post! The more horrible the car the better.
Agreed!!
Might as well had fitted a 16hp twin Briggs..
The same was true of the gas engine. It had only 10 more horsepower, and with an automatic, was deadly slow. My dad rented one in the early 1980s, and it would barely make it up grades, never mind getting up to speed.
Saw one of these on the road recently which brought me to this video. I wasn't aware of a 1980's GM diesel Chevette before. It was smoking like a chimney.
If only a guy could find one of them now a days
Looks a lot like the Chevette my mother used to own except hers was a gasser automatic.
My mother also had a Chevette when she worked at the nursing home I think her’s was also a gasser
Great MPG! But LETS BE CLEAR! The Sh*tvette was a rolling , trolling , hellion of a trash heap.. As a mechanic in the late 70s we had a frustrated customer set his 3 yr old Chevette on FIRE on the lot when he was informed the transmission failure wasn't covered under warranty!
Nice arson charge.
@@h8troodoh
Not if he did not claim insurance...
and it was not a danger to any other property on that lot.....
The first stick car I ever drove. I'm willing to bet its owner still drives it today.
Gold, gas 4 speed with a front shock tower that punched through the top of the wheel well into the engine bay. 200 bucks just over 30 years ago.
Interesting. How did that happen? Pot hole? Poor quality steel?
@@jkeelsnc bought it that way. It was being used to carry and haul heavy items on the roof rack and in back. Drove it for like a year
Had a girlfriend with a red 85 4 door automatic .when I was a Sophomore in HS. Her moms. It made more sounds than acceleration when I tried to floor it.
I test drove a Chevette Diesel back in 1984. I dropped the keys on the salesman's desk.
When I started it, It sounded like it had a thousand tin cans under the hood.
He alluded to it, when nailing the brakes the back end had a tendency to pass the front end. After years of denial GM issued a recall and fit a different proportioning valve with less power to the rear.
I remember a couple years ago I was at a diesel Dyno event watching one of these on the Dyno painted like the General Lee with a turbo and exhaust through the hood.
I was shocked when I did the brakes on mine and they were solid rotors! 😂
"At 2,440 lbs, it's no lightweight". Wow... Have times changed. Anything under 3000lbs is considered lightweight, and the benchmark of lightness (the miata) is 2300lbs.
I worked at a small chevy dealer in 83/84. The boss drove a diesel Chevette. Definitely noisy from the outside.
Can you imagine paying an inflation-adjusted $27,000 (!!!) for this turd???
Former Chevette owners who bought them new seem to remember them much less fondly than those who had them as old cheap beaters. But yeah, diesel was an expensive option.
@@nlpnt You got that right lol I walked in the Chevrolet dealership in 1986 a couple months after getting my first job at Burger King completely ready to buy a new Camaro... No dice - Cavalier Z24? Denied - The only thing they approved me for was either a new Chevy Sprint or Chevy Chevette. I didn't want a used car and the Sprint looked even more like a dorky clown car to me so I drove off the lot with a grey 86 Chevette 2-door stick shift with zero options for about $5,300 with tax, abused it for two years and never had to have any warranty repairs done but man that thing felt like poverty on wheels - Traded it in for a new 88 Chevy Beretta GT that my father co-signed with me for and never looked back.
@@Stressless2023
You dont see those anymore either. Love the tail lights.
My pop had a brown one that was a petrol automatic and boy oh boy was it slow AF lol
I got a daily driver diesel, + 13 more diesel Chevettes.
Can’t imagine trying to merge into a busy highway.
For me I thought the Chevette was a much better car than GM's FWD Chevy Citation.
My parents had one, diesel automatic. Was unbelievably slow.
Thanks to Isuzu for the engine.
It was actually a well-built diesel it just needed to be turbocharged, and they'd have a much better performance record. Isuzu is well known in the diesel world btw.
I'd love to have another Chevette
If they put this engine in the monza, they’d have a reliable and comfortable fuel efficient car. Chevette had a terrible ride and uncomfortable after about 15 minutes of driving. Back aches and leg aches, it was semi torturous.
True. My ex had a 1980 Chevette gasser in automatic and the seats were quite hard while the ride was slower than a turtle.
😂 that depended on age,walking or riding also ! 😂✌
They were great little cars both gas and diesel. GM sold these T body cars all over the world for many years.
Sweet ass diesel vette
0-48mph in 11.2 seconds is scary bad.
I guess 0-60 is "eventually"
Over $8000 for a 1982 Chevette? Lord. I got a Ford Escort 2 door in 1986 for about $6000. That Chevette was horribly overpriced.
I didn’t realize that it was a Japaneese engine!
$8,000 for this thing in 1982 was bonkers. ($1 might have been to much, though). If I recall correctly, my Mom bought a new 1980 Chrysler LeBaron for $7,000.
True. You could get the Isuzu for much less, even from Joe Isuzu.
@@misterwhipple2870 You're lying.
That’s almost $27K in today’s money…😳
Before John sounded like a sports announcer.
remember when john "bangledesh" davis used to paint tan his face?
and you mean "anyone UNDER 6 feet"
my first car was a 1981 chevette gas job
Josucarsnews cal you please find the retro review on the 1989-1997 road test the only one i can find is the convertible
I've seen little old ladies with walkers faster than these things
Thanks to Isuzu the diesel chevette was 2nd only to the Volkswagen rabbit diesel when it comes to good fuel mileage.
My aunt had one of these - it was tan and hardly ran.
Wow......
I bet if you stuck a hundred dollar bill on the dash......
You'd lose a hundred bucks.
Actually, this NA 1.8-litre Diesel I4 was designed for GM from the stout Isuzu 2.2-litre I4 Turbo-Diesel of the time. As usual, GM cheaped out, and turned a good motor into a *SLUG*, by removing displacement, and the Turbo!! These were passable engines with the Manual, but useless with the automatic!!
40-55 MPH: 9.1 seconds. LOL
0-48mph in 11.2 seconds is scarier.
I guess 0-60 is "eventually"
@@wolfshanze5980to be fair that Pontiac version of this car with a gas engine with an auto and that's like 30 seconds 0-60 so take that into consideration
This thing has the same gas mileage as modern hybrids
But without a/c, power windows and locks, cruise control, abs, airbags, roominess, intermittent wipers, ect....I'll keep my 2010 Prius that averages 52 mpg and I'm not afraid to merge onto the freeway due to lack of power
Not quite - the EPA highway test numbers were overly optimistic due to the dyno tech.
oh, none of the diesel cars had ac either!
Yes they did...
@@h8troodoh they were aftermarket installed then. not factory.
Perhaps.. we had an older couple used to bring their Pontiac Acadian into the dealer I wrenched at.. I've never seen any Chevette/ Acadian so loaded with options. Before summer and before winter. They were like clockwork.. lol... good Ole days..
46 mpg in '82
P/U trucks get what...15mpg?
Something went wrong
It's not Asian...
It's German, its an Opel Kadett....
Ruined by GM in America. In Europe it was a much better car.
why "Flash to Pass" was on mobility scooters. Reeeeal slow.
Boy Chevy’s engineering blunder! Pure junk they where!
Still is.
MAEIIND JAPAN WE GATO MYCAM HER IINAMARECA THEAT A BIG PRAVLAMS THEAT GASTO BE CORACTAD. . WAN WE GAT PRAVLAMS WED THIS CONTRYS THEAN WE WII RELAEIS THE BIG PROBLAMS .
I like diesel passenger cars but not in this POS
I think GM had a plausible idea bur the execution was kinda thier usual half baked crap.
Had they put a turbodiesel version of the same engine with electronic injection (which that engine had a version of), maybe that woulda been a little better.
Diesels were far more popular here in Britain, still are. Our version 9f the Chevette by our own branch of GM, Vauxhall, never had a diesel version, though the bogger Cavalier, Senator, Carlton etc plus Ford, Rover, Peugeot/Citroen, Mercedes you name it all were beginning to offer diesels in thier cars round this time early 80s
Obv the Oldsmobile 5.7 diesel disaster did diesels or GM no favors over there, well the earlier ones anyway but as modern diesels have shown theres no reason why America couldn't have had more options in the past or even nowadays but the long lasting damage to thier image in the public view by GM had been done for many years.
Plus we the push to EVs obv diesels have n to chance these days of catchin 9n m as instream.
I get what GM was trying to do with their poorly executed diesels of the same era in full size cars, to increase mileage without compromising size. However, I don't understand what they were trying to accomplish with this thing. This was already a high mileage car under CAFE regulations of the time. Why would someone want to pay extra for this Bic lighter car in a diesel to get maybe 10 extra mpg and have to put up with performance so low that it was actually dangerous to drive.
@@kennethsouthard6042
Had they chosen to equip it with the readily available turbo version of the same engine...that may have been a different story?
Well that diesel was the finedt diesel engine made, too bad , GM ruined the diesel experience for North America with the Olds diesel Fiasco , also the cheap interior , and bad duspension job by GM again when adapting the Opel Rekord to the US roads ,( thats what a Chevette is)
I’ve never heard a more “meh” car review in my life.
These were always too slow. If you didn’t killed driving one then well you certainly would get killed driving this tortoise on the highway today.
This guy tried so hard to promote American cars
MW tested a 1000 3spd auto the next year and absolutely slammed it. 0-60 in 30 seconds
Yes, 30 seconds
Maybe you had one and liked it, or had one of these and likes it. Maybe it never served you wrong and good for you, I'm glad to hear it
Doesn't make it a good product