So a chick in my HS class got one of these brand new when she hit 16, her first day going home from school it was raining and she lost control and totaled it into a tree! The FIRST DAY. She didn't get another car for awhile and it was old and used.
+Acc0rd79 Poor Girl! can you imagine the excitement of getting a cool new car on your 16th and crashing it right away? you always hear about that with guys who goto buy big HP RWD cars, crash it on test drive or first day, rough!
+Kingsoupturbo I mean at least she got a car after a while. I'm in my third year of college and have no car. But, I got a unlimited bus pass and a zipcar membership.
+NotBen101 You're actually better off! The biggest mistake I see many people make is buying a car before they're ready. They think "oh i can afford these low monthly payments!" but in the long run they will actually be financially worse off. Focus on the big picture and stay strong :)
What did you have Im 13 one of my teachers bullies aha one in 1995 and she rammed her celebrity into it and blamed the ice on the lot and then she overheard that her parents would not get her another sunfire and so the bulky chick ended up with a 1977 Plymouth duster
Dave Romanyshyn they don’t. I think this one looks really good too, but somehow during production they messed it up. A Lady at my church has one and boy is it ugly
@@jaydenbrockington4525 its always that lady at the church. There's those types of ladies who drive those sport styled economy GM cars from the 90s and 2000s.
You could’ve gotten this or a Miata back in the day. Tbh id rather have a sunfire convertible because of the rear seat and power top. Id be willing to sacrifice handling for the more comfortable ride
Affordable and made with ok quality, good power and torque for the time, I remember they looked pretty good for a cheap car in the mid 90's, my GF had a 3spd 2.2 Cavalier 97, it was a totally fine car, especially for the price, great mid range on those GM 4pots of the period if not sparkling mpg
I still drive an 05 sunfire sedan and i can pull off the line better than my buddy in a 2017 Focus SE hatch. The torq is great. Its not all softened up by the modern day Economy standards.
@@FC3_RIPPER 2.4 or the Eco 2.0? I have a 2012 Focus actually, 1st gear is very slow to engage off the line from the dual clutch, its a big complaint with the car, but you get used to it. A conventional auto like a GM with a torque converter is way faster from a dead stop! Used cars for the win!
I remember driving my 2004 cavalier to college in 2011 and feeling all the bumps rattles and squeaks. Then getting into my friends 2011 mustang and being like wow this is awesome lol
Pontiac Sunfire: The definitive abandon car on the side of the road. Seriously, I see more of these sitting in the shoulder with a notice in the window than any other car.
Your comment was total nonsense. My very first car was a 1995 Pontiac Sunfire that I bought used in late 2000 for $6,000 and it only had around 70,000 miles on it. I drove that car all the way up until 2011 and then sold it to my uncle so he could give it to his stepson as a first car. For the entire decade that I had it I only did one major repair to it. It was a decent working person's car. That's all I used it for it was to drive back and forth to work which is only 2 miles away from my house. Maybe that's the reason why it lasted so long because I wasn't doing any highway or city driving with it. It was the best $6,000 I've ever spent on a vehicle.
@@AK-47ISTHEWAY, they could be reasonable with proper maintenance, like you seem to have given it. However, many owners who couldn't afford maintenance bought them cheap and abandoned them when their lack of maintenance caught up with them. I've seen these abandoned too, same with a Tempo.
I owned a Quad 4 2.3L DOHC motor. They always run hot plus it was a hot day during this review. Some cars perform better hotter. Good example are the two Camaro's I own one being a 97 LT1 that loves 160F and my 99 LS1 performs better hot at around 205-210F while my TBI truck performs better at 160F
I used to want one of these, but the coupe version. it really looked like a baby firebird..can we get a review of the mid 90s dodge Avenger / Chrysler sebring coupe
I just got rid of my Sunfire and I'm very sad about it, the engine was strong, but just minor issues like paint and probably needed a little transmission work, but at 160K miles no other major issues, really miss that car.
never was a fan of these cars. too much plastic inside and the dashboards always cracked. the "quad 4" motors were junk. but overall styling I'd have to give a B+. they were,sporty looking little cars and they,were great on gas. But that crimson red with matching red interior was definitely a bold eye catcher. i loved the 90's era cars and trucks from all of the big 3. those were the cars i grew up seeing throughout my junior high and high school days. All the cars from that era had pretty unique and often times great looks. They didnt all look the same,like they do now days. i really love the Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth/Eagle cars. They always pushed the voundaries of cool designs. Keep loading these retro reviews MotorWeek. I love to watch them and I am pretty sure I have watched them all. I get excited like a kid at Christmas when I see a notification from UA-cam telling me there has been another one added. Please upload some of the 90's era Chrysler and Dodge cars...Especially the Daytona and the stealth...i know there are a few of those but I gotta have more! LOL
Look at the tachometer. The engine is not running. If you turn the power on to a vehicle, but don't start it, the check engine light will turn on. It should go out once you start it.
I can't decide if it looks worse with the top up or down. The interior looks like it came from a custom Civic, circa 1999, the the owner describes as a show car (stero and graphics) with a racing engine (plug wires and intake). Good car with a Quad4 Olds and 5sp, though.
The "Pontiac" lettering in the bezel on the trunk lid was illuminated but even with both bulbs working it never lit up all of the letters properly. Styling is sort of electric EV1 in the front. For the 90s this was not a bad car. Too bad they don't make nearly as many inexpensive convertibles these days for high school kids.
Everyone diss'n the sunfire! I have a 98 cav z24 vert with 122k still going strong everything works fine, and it rides better than my Pontiac vibe aka Toyota Matrix. I had an 1988 Z24 vert with 250k on it V6 5spd, Good friends 94 Cav coupe with 245k on the old 2.2, and one more 1989 Z24 coupe with 260k on a V6! Moral of the story: Fluids/filters changed often, and not driven like dale jr,= a car that will run for a long time! If you live up north like us, the salt will kill it before you will! You don't simply drive it off the lot and just put fuel in it!
I used to hate Sunfires, but now I'm sort of neutral about them. The coupe variants would great for Auto Racing. You can probably take one rally racing, if you'd wanted to. It's had more power under the hood than the base model Corollas and Civics (Although, it had less power than the Neon) and it was a peppy little car. Not to mention, the Sunfire also has great styling. The Sunfire is still a more reliable car than any car that South Korea has made (Including the Kias and Hyundais). I'm still worried about the 2.4 litre quad 4 engine though, because of it having a tendency to spin rod bearings.
Hmm. I've never actually seen one of those. I like it a lot better than the hardtops. Also: is the bed music in this video an instrumental cover of Mary Chapin Carpenter's _He Thinks He'll Keep Her_ ? It sure sounds that way!
+mark marshall I just was looking at that, holy shit that thing was almost overheating. My mother had a 96 sunfire with the 2.2 and that thing was the biggest heep
I've always thought that the Sunbird was a pretty good standard design. The Sunfire was probably the best J-car design. Although I'm assuming the key-ignition problem still exists?! I guess it didn't matter because GM never made money on these.
Wow, really? So they were taking a loss or not making a lot of money to hopefully attract the buyers to come back and buy a more expensive model in the future I would guess
My roommate at UK Bean had this hardtop and we both delivered pizzas to pay the tuition. He delivered to a rough part of Lexington and a stripper stole his sunfire while he was at another house. The cops caught up with her 20 miles away and found she broke the gear shift and ate the pizza for his next order and told the cops she just needed to get to her shift at the strip club. True story
Adam Trombino they were hot garbage and gm knew it, hell they were made in my backyard lordstown, Ohio 😂😂😂 they didn't give 2 shits just get it out the door 😒
Dilly Dally idk, i have a '97 Sunfire Convertible with the 2.4 iron block and it never gets that hot, even in traffic it always stays right in the middle
Oh boy. You can find a bunch of these on the internet for under $2000. Not quite in showroom condition. The dorky spoiler must have provided a lot of down force at 65 mph. Weren't those 100% plastic dash the greatest! With the sun fade and sticky finger prints they now have a lovely patina. Pontiac had fun changing the front plastic nose, trying to disguise it was a Chevy Cavalier. I don't miss the 80s, except for the music. 🎸🎷🎺🎹🥁🎤🎵🎶🎼
Man I wanted one of these when I saw the concept version at the Chicago car show, but when the actual car hit the dealerships I really disliked it. 🤷🏼♀️
Cavaliers and sun fires were almost everyone's first car between late 90s to 2010. Bu since then they disappeared. These cars were so so basic and that made they cheap to buy, cheap on gas, a little sporty and the engine and trans actually could handle alot of beating. Cars were able to land 200 000kms no problem while beating it and driving it everyday and through canadian winters/ northern united states winters. Wish they would bring back a affordable and reliable car like this
The GT Coupe version of these were the business....The convertible? Not so much. Never understood why they didn't make a hotter version J car with the H.O. Quad 4....180-190hp in these have been killer
I just got my drivers license and almost bought one of these. It was at a used car dealership though and very overpriced so I ended up buying an old Subaru. So these cars still look cool to kids 20 some years later.
J-body is the platform it shares with the cavalier. Through the 80's-90's J-body was Cavalier, Sundird, Cadillac Cimmeron, Buick Skyhawks, and Old Firenza. They all share the same platform but have different cosmetics, and some interior differences to keep the distinguished. The K-cars are Chrysler products. The W are Monte Carlo, olds cutlass, Buick Regal, Pontiac Grand Prix, and some Cadillac Sevilles. Same drivetrain some different engines but same platform to make it cheaper to build 4-5 different cars on one platform instead of 4-5 cars on 4-5 platforms. Hope that gives you an idea. :)
The old G-body was the Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Buick Regal, olds cutlass, and Cadillac Seville platform before 1988 when they switched over from rear wheel drive, to front wheel drive. Then it became the W-body platform along with the Chevy lumina.
The cooling fan doesn't kick on until you are almost in the yellow, but it was designed that way. I installed a manual fan switch just because it makes me nervous seeing it go so high
The economic collapse of the 1990s meant that vehicles like this didn't make sense for the average consumer who wanted a simple daily driver. Since the demand was down, economy car based convertibles died out.
You're an idiot -- the mid 1990's had the best economic growth of any period in American history. The economy was doing gangbusters by the late 1990's. Economy car based convertibles died out because they were huge money losers -- the Big Three never made money on compact cars and the added complexity of building of a convertible based on one made that situation even worse.
It's cause the engine wasn't running but had accessories on. Most if not all cars have the check engine light on and it turns off when the motor starts.
Growing up in Miami Beach I don't think I have ever seen a Sunfire convertible. I've seen plenty of cavalier convertibles before but only for a very short time. They were usually rental cars and had that awful-looking bright white convertible top. I also only remember seeing them in either that awful tomato red or that weird Easter egg turquoise color. Luckily they were such pieces of crap I didn't have to look at them for very long since they quickly disappeared.
It's surprising anti lock brakes are standard on this little cheap car when it wasn't standard on many cars till 10 years later. But I'm pretty sure GM cheaped out and started making cars without the standard anti lock brakes a few years later. Not sure if Pontiac Sunfire got that treatment too
I have a black 98 Z24 convertible with about 123k on it. It runs awesome everything works great including the a/c. It rides better than my Pontiac vibe...aka Toyota Matrix, and still gets 34 on the highway! Why? Because it was taken care of, and not driven like a race car. Take care of it (maintenance), and it will take care of you. My friend had 245k on a 1994 cavalier coupe, and I had 250k on my 88 z24 convertible. Nothing major. Rust up north did more damage.
+ricorob100 People think cavaliers are shit because of the trashy,ghetto, negligent people who drive them, never clean them, never service them, and hit everything in sight then wonder why something breaks. Yet the cavaliers keep running. Take care of one of these and it'll last forever.
+kirbyswarp yep! And those same individuals believe that they deserve a Mercedes Benz while working at autozone! I like my cavalier, and the cool thing is the title is at home, and I don't share ownership with a bank.
+kirbyswarp Oh brother!!! It's not just those of lesser means. A police officer here in lake county Illinois committed suicide after they found out he was allegedly stealing money from a youth club to pay for expensive items like cars. Or my divorce lawyer who stole every dime I had and committed suicide instead of living in contentment. And a ton of other stories as well. I work with middle school kids whom come from families with truckloads of cash, and they have a contentment issue as well. So it's not just the poor my friend.
So a chick in my HS class got one of these brand new when she hit 16, her first day going home from school it was raining and she lost control and totaled it into a tree! The FIRST DAY. She didn't get another car for awhile and it was old and used.
+Acc0rd79 at least you wont notice the blood with the red interior
NotBen101 very true!
+Acc0rd79 Poor Girl! can you imagine the excitement of getting a cool new car on your 16th and crashing it right away? you always hear about that with guys who goto buy big HP RWD cars, crash it on test drive or first day, rough!
+Kingsoupturbo I mean at least she got a car after a while. I'm in my third year of college and have no car. But, I got a unlimited bus pass and a zipcar membership.
+NotBen101 You're actually better off! The biggest mistake I see many people make is buying a car before they're ready. They think "oh i can afford these low monthly payments!" but in the long run they will actually be financially worse off. Focus on the big picture and stay strong :)
I was in HS when this came out. it was the official car of jv cheerleaders and majorettes
im sure you were jizzing when you saw them inside the car
What did you have Im 13 one of my teachers bullies aha one in 1995 and she rammed her celebrity into it and blamed the ice on the lot and then she overheard that her parents would not get her another sunfire and so the bulky chick ended up with a 1977 Plymouth duster
@SlitWristMisfit And your lame
i think there were a few chick cars back then.... VW Jetta and Golf for one
Heather Murphy your teachers a bit of an ass but still a great story 😂
Oh I love that bright red interior. I miss having different color interiors. Especially red ones.
Very beautiful the red interior of Pontiac Sunfire, cool car
Idk why but I kinda like the look of this thing lol
Haha me too. I don't remember them looking so nice.
Dave Romanyshyn they don’t. I think this one looks really good too, but somehow during production they messed it up. A Lady at my church has one and boy is it ugly
@@jaydenbrockington4525 its always that lady at the church. There's those types of ladies who drive those sport styled economy GM cars from the 90s and 2000s.
Interior by Fisher...Price!
My Zakyria can design this mess better than these idiots at GM and she'll be six in October two days before Halloween
wiibaron hahaha great one!!!
wiibaron lmafo!!!!
Hahahaha
All 90s compact cars had cheap plastic interiors, from Mitsubishi to Pontiac to Toyota.
I really like the styling of this car. If it were rear wheel drive and had more power it could have been a real hit.
That’s what the firebird was for
@@bbrenddon That's a much larger vehicle.
@@happilyham6769 also a much better vehicle lol
You could’ve gotten this or a Miata back in the day. Tbh id rather have a sunfire convertible because of the rear seat and power top. Id be willing to sacrifice handling for the more comfortable ride
Affordable and made with ok quality, good power and torque for the time, I remember they looked pretty good for a cheap car in the mid 90's, my GF had a 3spd 2.2 Cavalier 97, it was a totally fine car, especially for the price, great mid range on those GM 4pots of the period if not sparkling mpg
I still drive an 05 sunfire sedan and i can pull off the line better than my buddy in a 2017 Focus SE hatch. The torq is great. Its not all softened up by the modern day Economy standards.
@@FC3_RIPPER 2.4 or the Eco 2.0? I have a 2012 Focus actually, 1st gear is very slow to engage off the line from the dual clutch, its a big complaint with the car, but you get used to it. A conventional auto like a GM with a torque converter is way faster from a dead stop! Used cars for the win!
The original ambassador for squeaks and rattles.
+Rockwood Joe PONTIAAAAAAACCC
Rockwood Joe classic Pontiac
Chris Jacobs, give him a break, he was born early 2000s
Rockwood Joe hahahaha
I remember driving my 2004 cavalier to college in 2011 and feeling all the bumps rattles and squeaks. Then getting into my friends 2011 mustang and being like wow this is awesome lol
1995 Pontiac Sunfire: The offcial car of 16 year olds in America.
+Some Guy Both of them. Including the cavalier
+one436purcell what's the official car of 38 year olds?
+nomadcowatbk Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and the Ford Taurus.
@@TurboProductions250 and every buick
Nah I had a civic
My dad had a Sunbird convertible in the early 90s. He passed it down to my sister when he got himself a Probe.
Thank you for the Pontiac/GM video. I appreciate when you post these GM videos.
Pontiac Sunfire:
The definitive abandon car on the side of the road.
Seriously, I see more of these sitting in the shoulder with a notice in the window than any other car.
Logλn L because you can buy another one with the money youd use to tow the thing
I've seen more civics and Camry on the side than this pontiac!
Your comment was total nonsense. My very first car was a 1995 Pontiac Sunfire that I bought used in late 2000 for $6,000 and it only had around 70,000 miles on it. I drove that car all the way up until 2011 and then sold it to my uncle so he could give it to his stepson as a first car.
For the entire decade that I had it I only did one major repair to it. It was a decent working person's car. That's all I used it for it was to drive back and forth to work which is only 2 miles away from my house. Maybe that's the reason why it lasted so long because I wasn't doing any highway or city driving with it. It was the best $6,000 I've ever spent on a vehicle.
@@AK-47ISTHEWAY, they could be reasonable with proper maintenance, like you seem to have given it. However, many owners who couldn't afford maintenance bought them cheap and abandoned them when their lack of maintenance caught up with them. I've seen these abandoned too, same with a Tempo.
did anyone catch how hot that car was before they launched it lol that thing was about to over heat
I owned a Quad 4 2.3L DOHC motor. They always run hot plus it was a hot day during this review. Some cars perform better hotter. Good example are the two Camaro's I own one being a 97 LT1 that loves 160F and my 99 LS1 performs better hot at around 205-210F while my TBI truck performs better at 160F
It was still in the normal range. Far from overheating.
This looks a lot better than I remember. Better rims and you're good to go
Pontiac Sunfire the official car of scrunchies hanging from rearview mirror and top 40 music distorting the speakers.
i think there were a few chick cars back then.... VW Jetta and Golf for one
I used to want one of these, but the coupe version. it really looked like a baby firebird..can we get a review of the mid 90s dodge Avenger / Chrysler sebring coupe
I want to see more videos of the Z24 Cavalier, it had some cool options some years!
Keep up the good work, America --- Holy christmas! Look at that shift throw!
This one looks really cool. The interior is awsome
Very beautifull interior this car, very nice and cool this car
I just got rid of my Sunfire and I'm very sad about it, the engine was strong, but just minor issues like paint and probably needed a little transmission work, but at 160K miles no other major issues, really miss that car.
Ah, the days of GM Tupperware quality interior plastics. You can see the panel flex when he pushes the rear defrost button.
That’s actually a really nice looking car! I love those rims. Yes, it was “cheap” but that’s a good thing for youthful buyers who bought them.
never was a fan of these cars. too much plastic inside and the dashboards always cracked. the "quad 4" motors were junk. but overall styling I'd have to give a B+. they were,sporty looking little cars and they,were great on gas. But that crimson red with matching red interior was definitely a bold eye catcher. i loved the 90's era cars and trucks from all of the big 3. those were the cars i grew up seeing throughout my junior high and high school days. All the cars from that era had pretty unique and often times great looks. They didnt all look the same,like they do now days. i really love the Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth/Eagle cars. They always pushed the voundaries of cool designs. Keep loading these retro reviews MotorWeek. I love to watch them and I am pretty sure I have watched them all. I get excited like a kid at Christmas when I see a notification from UA-cam telling me there has been another one added. Please upload some of the 90's era Chrysler and Dodge cars...Especially the Daytona and the stealth...i know there are a few of those but I gotta have more! LOL
Those Quad 4 engines were very decent until you got one hot then it was toast. My mom had a 1990 Grand Am with 450k miles on it, was a Quad 4.
Lol the check engine light is on
Look at the tachometer. The engine is not running. If you turn the power on to a vehicle, but don't start it, the check engine light will turn on. It should go out once you start it.
@Believe Inyourself After 20 years? For sure this one kills 2019 GM shitty cars
Believe Inyourself :(
Noah Thompson . Lol . The car is not even running.
Hey Motorweek, got any reviews of the 3rd generation Toyota MR2?
I can't decide if it looks worse with the top up or down. The interior looks like it came from a custom Civic, circa 1999, the the owner describes as a show car (stero and graphics) with a racing engine (plug wires and intake).
Good car with a Quad4 Olds and 5sp, though.
that interior demonstrator is Fkn HOT!
A metal roll over bar behind the front seat would be nice. It was mid 90's, German convertibles already got this :)
Price
We miss you Pontiac 😔
Car looks pretty cool
The poster vehicle for the 90's in automobile history.
I always liked these little cars. I had a 2 door but never got to get a convertible
The "Pontiac" lettering in the bezel on the trunk lid was illuminated but even with both bulbs working it never lit up all of the letters properly. Styling is sort of electric EV1 in the front. For the 90s this was not a bad car. Too bad they don't make nearly as many inexpensive convertibles these days for high school kids.
Yes I do wish convertibles were more affordable
I've never seen one in person. Just a normal Sunfire is super rare to see
Did that red interior make it to production?
Gorgeous vehicle. They should make them today, but maybe with a pop-up roll bar
Considering how gas is going up in price, these things are starting to look cooler.
Everyone diss'n the sunfire! I have a 98 cav z24 vert with 122k still going strong everything works fine, and it rides better than my Pontiac vibe aka Toyota Matrix. I had an 1988 Z24 vert with 250k on it V6 5spd, Good friends 94 Cav coupe with 245k on the old 2.2, and one more 1989 Z24 coupe with 260k on a V6! Moral of the story: Fluids/filters changed often, and not driven like dale jr,= a car that will run for a long time! If you live up north like us, the salt will kill it before you will! You don't simply drive it off the lot and just put fuel in it!
3:14 seems to be running a bit hot , the only time my sunfire has gotten that warm is when the thermostat seized up.
This was actually a prototype, I think it was said in the beginning of the video.
+Redey1290 aaahhh that probably explains the hideous white top too.
That interior is hot 🔥
Remember when Motorweek was several months ahead in testing? Now MW is several months behind.
the show airs on PBS. you can go to their website and watch too. they have episodes up before they put them on youtube
I used to hate Sunfires, but now I'm sort of neutral about them. The coupe variants would great for Auto Racing. You can probably take one rally racing, if you'd wanted to. It's had more power under the hood than the base model Corollas and Civics (Although, it had less power than the Neon) and it was a peppy little car. Not to mention, the Sunfire also has great styling. The Sunfire is still a more reliable car than any car that South Korea has made (Including the Kias and Hyundais). I'm still worried about the 2.4 litre quad 4 engine though, because of it having a tendency to spin rod bearings.
Hmm. I've never actually seen one of those. I like it a lot better than the hardtops.
Also: is the bed music in this video an instrumental cover of Mary Chapin Carpenter's _He Thinks He'll Keep Her_ ? It sure sounds that way!
3:14, is that normal operating temp, or just a new motor needing to be broke in?
+mark marshall I just was looking at that, holy shit that thing was almost overheating. My mother had a 96 sunfire with the 2.2 and that thing was the biggest heep
16 grand for a brand new convertible. Damn, I really miss the 1990's.
Stupid as hell, 16,700 in todays money is close to 29,000.
My 1989 sunbird , one of the best cars that I have ever owned. In many ways.
Oh yeah I love that car! I still do remember. I believe that FEW car still on road, I guess
sexy
I miss this car sooooooooooooooooo much :'(
I've near seen on with the red interior or the teal.
How is that this model with 30hp more than the 2.2lt one of the 95's only cuts .1 seconds in a 0-60?
I've always thought that the Sunbird was a pretty good standard design. The Sunfire was probably the best J-car design. Although I'm assuming the key-ignition problem still exists?! I guess it didn't matter because GM never made money on these.
Wow, really? So they were taking a loss or not making a lot of money to hopefully attract the buyers to come back and buy a more expensive model in the future I would guess
Can you make more of Pontiac’s 1996
Buying one of these new in '95 with a factory warranty was far from a bad decision. Buying a used one is a different thing altogether.
My best friend had a yellow Sunfire coupe as his first car.
Again this was a nice looking car I liked it and I still do.
My roommate at UK Bean had this hardtop and we both delivered pizzas to pay the tuition. He delivered to a rough part of Lexington and a stripper stole his sunfire while he was at another house. The cops caught up with her 20 miles away and found she broke the gear shift and ate the pizza for his next order and told the cops she just needed to get to her shift at the strip club. True story
She would owe me 20 lap dances for that
Loved the 2.2 engine, you couldn't kill it.
Said no one ever...
Angel Umanzor RITE hahahahahaha
So long as you liked doing head gaskets again... and again, and again...
Adam Trombino they were hot garbage and gm knew it, hell they were made in my backyard lordstown, Ohio 😂😂😂 they didn't give 2 shits just get it out the door 😒
I had a Twin Cam Sunfire convertible, that engine was great :)
This wasn't a review, it was an ad. I feel sorry for people that would take John's advice when buying a vehicle.
Plus his presentation delivery style is drier than a Nursing Home Orgy
"He Thinks He'll Keep Her" - Mary Chapin-Carpenter - Official Background Music of Motorweek's 1995 J-Car reviews.
During the 0-60 test it was almost running hot.
That was normal temp for those engines. Cast iron runs hotter.
Dilly Dally idk, i have a '97 Sunfire Convertible with the 2.4 iron block and it never gets that hot, even in traffic it always stays right in the middle
@@burntcoolantproductions8607 this is the 2.2L
please retro review of the c4 corvette generation please motorweek thanks
Awesome!
Where is the review of the Infiniti J30, Motorweek?
My cousin had a plum colored J30t. Loved it!
Love the red interior
Pleeeease post a retro review of the VW New Beetle!
I wonder if GM still have that car! Hardly see one on the road today!
Oh boy. You can find a bunch of these on the internet for under $2000. Not quite in showroom condition. The dorky spoiler must have provided a lot of down force at 65 mph. Weren't those 100% plastic dash the greatest! With the sun fade and sticky finger prints they now have a lovely patina. Pontiac had fun changing the front plastic nose, trying to disguise it was a Chevy Cavalier. I don't miss the 80s, except for the music. 🎸🎷🎺🎹🥁🎤🎵🎶🎼
Man I wanted one of these when I saw the concept version at the Chicago car show, but when the actual car hit the dealerships I really disliked it. 🤷🏼♀️
The automatic convertible top is surprising
Man, I can smell the cloth and plastic from here.
Cavaliers and sun fires were almost everyone's first car between late 90s to 2010. Bu since then they disappeared. These cars were so so basic and that made they cheap to buy, cheap on gas, a little sporty and the engine and trans actually could handle alot of beating. Cars were able to land 200 000kms no problem while beating it and driving it everyday and through canadian winters/ northern united states winters. Wish they would bring back a affordable and reliable car like this
The GT Coupe version of these were the business....The convertible? Not so much. Never understood why they didn't make a hotter version J car with the H.O. Quad 4....180-190hp in these have been killer
I just got my drivers license and almost bought one of these. It was at a used car dealership though and very overpriced so I ended up buying an old Subaru. So these cars still look cool to kids 20 some years later.
Just checked an inflation calculator and that $19k as tested is about $36.5k today. Wow!
dude you want me to get you a towel? your 90s are leaking
...seriously that's making a mess
I know that but that car shaked rattle and rolled right of the lot after purchase. NO THANX!!!
Retro review the 1999 Porsche 911 C2 !!!
why is it called the J car or any other car is called K car or G body can someone explain or do a video
J-body is the platform it shares with the cavalier. Through the 80's-90's J-body was Cavalier, Sundird, Cadillac Cimmeron, Buick Skyhawks, and Old Firenza. They all share the same platform but have different cosmetics, and some interior differences to keep the distinguished. The K-cars are Chrysler products. The W are Monte Carlo, olds cutlass, Buick Regal, Pontiac Grand Prix, and some Cadillac Sevilles. Same drivetrain some different engines but same platform to make it cheaper to build 4-5 different cars on one platform instead of 4-5 cars on 4-5 platforms. Hope that gives you an idea. :)
The old G-body was the Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Buick Regal, olds cutlass, and Cadillac Seville platform before 1988 when they switched over from rear wheel drive, to front wheel drive. Then it became the W-body platform along with the Chevy lumina.
YEAH...I WAS GONNA GET A MIATA, BUT I DECIDED ON A SUNFIRE CONVERTIBLE...said no one
3.13 That temp gauge is pretty high up, lol....On a car with 400 miles on it? Wow....Even beating on it for the day shouldn't do that.
The cooling fan doesn't kick on until you are almost in the yellow, but it was designed that way. I installed a manual fan switch just because it makes me nervous seeing it go so high
The background song sounds like “He thinks he’ll keep her” by Mary Chapin Carpenter
I loved mine it was a 2200 5 speed in white not a convertible
So the Sunbird (Cavalier clone) became the Sunfire (Cavalier clone).
Nice :)
The economic collapse of the 1990s meant that vehicles like this didn't make sense for the average consumer who wanted a simple daily driver. Since the demand was down, economy car based convertibles died out.
Economic collapse of the 1990s? That was a decade of major growth.
You're an idiot -- the mid 1990's had the best economic growth of any period in American history. The economy was doing gangbusters by the late 1990's. Economy car based convertibles died out because they were huge money losers -- the Big Three never made money on compact cars and the added complexity of building of a convertible based on one made that situation even worse.
Very nice this car
Who’s the cute demonstrator guy??
Buddy of mine had this same car, same color, same wheels...he does heroin now
4:06 Notice the pre production check engine light :)
It's cause the engine wasn't running but had accessories on. Most if not all cars have the check engine light on and it turns off when the motor starts.
Or the Eco Coupes Coupes not roadsters....everything is 4 door or hatch.
Growing up in Miami Beach I don't think I have ever seen a Sunfire convertible. I've seen plenty of cavalier convertibles before but only for a very short time. They were usually rental cars and had that awful-looking bright white convertible top. I also only remember seeing them in either that awful tomato red or that weird Easter egg turquoise color. Luckily they were such pieces of crap I didn't have to look at them for very long since they quickly disappeared.
Mine has 300 000 kilometers... not dying anytime soon
It's surprising anti lock brakes are standard on this little cheap car when it wasn't standard on many cars till 10 years later. But I'm pretty sure GM cheaped out and started making cars without the standard anti lock brakes a few years later. Not sure if Pontiac Sunfire got that treatment too
A yes the Pontiac Sunfire, the official car of every white college girl from a small town.
And Casey Anthony! lmho
Loved the sunbirds and I own a 2000 z24 rag top with only 52k
I have a black 98 Z24 convertible with about 123k on it. It runs awesome everything works great including the a/c. It rides better than my Pontiac vibe...aka Toyota Matrix, and still gets 34 on the highway! Why? Because it was taken care of, and not driven like a race car. Take care of it (maintenance), and it will take care of you. My friend had 245k on a 1994 cavalier coupe, and I had 250k on my 88 z24 convertible. Nothing major. Rust up north did more damage.
+ricorob100 People think cavaliers are shit because of the trashy,ghetto, negligent people who drive them, never clean them, never service them, and hit everything in sight then wonder why something breaks. Yet the cavaliers keep running. Take care of one of these and it'll last forever.
+kirbyswarp yep! And those same individuals believe that they deserve a Mercedes Benz while working at autozone! I like my cavalier, and the cool thing is the title is at home, and I don't share ownership with a bank.
ricorob100 those filthy, uneducated welfare hoarders make me angry.
+kirbyswarp Oh brother!!! It's not just those of lesser means. A police officer here in lake county Illinois committed suicide after they found out he was allegedly stealing money from a youth club to pay for expensive items like cars. Or my divorce lawyer who stole every dime I had and committed suicide instead of living in contentment. And a ton of other stories as well. I work with middle school kids whom come from families with truckloads of cash, and they have a contentment issue as well. So it's not just the poor my friend.
This car is looked like a summer car.
Looks yummy
Those cars dont look bad
Should of been 2.2L turbo rear wheel drive.
I'm at my 3th popcorn now.. The comments are hilarious on this retro junk video's XD