Chevette or Citation
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Elder User
Joined: Aug 2004
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Chevette or Citation
Which car would be better to own between a Chevrolet Chevette or a Chevrolet Citation? I know people who get mixed up on those two cars, plus I found it interesting that the Chevette has RWD and the Citation has FWD and I found it interesting that the Chevette has been around for 10 years, I used to think that they've gotten rid of the Chevette the same year as the Citation.
Hotshot
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 11,697
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From: Marengo, Iowa
I would say Citation mainly for the fact of parts availability. The motors and transmissions were common with Celebrity's up until 86. Chevette's were their own bird, and not exactly as good one... motor and trans trade with nothing.(except of course the other GM models of the same platform)
Postmaster
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,043
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Having owned a chevette I can confidently say it was a completly consumable car. Once things start to break, throw it away. What a wealth of bad engineering that pile was. Mixture of metric and standard fasteners of all sizes. 
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 13,873
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From: Atlanta GA
From working at a Chevy dealer and actually owning a new Citation, neither. Though if I had to chose one, the Citation only for the fact that the seating is nicer and it has a usable hatchback. Though if you could get a Chevette with the diesel, I would take that instead.
Elder User
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 556
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From: Dixon, Il
All I know is that they both ditch ride very well. A couple of kids in high school with me had them and they held up great for wha they went thru.
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Postmaster
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From: Durham, NC
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Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2004
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From: Damascus-Boring, Ore
Nope- I had a Chevette diesel as a demo once. The only "free" car that I actually just parked at the dealership, and drove my Cutlass. Chevette's in general were pretty tough- but they drove so poorly you'd wish they'd wear out long before they actually did.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
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From: The Big, Oregon
I had a friend drop a 350 in one, a real hack job. He basically cut out what was in the way and dropped the engine in. He spent two weeks on it, took it for a ride around the block, and came back with the left front tire permanently torqued up off the ground. IIRC, the Chevette was the only modern American car that had the options of a glove box door and an adjustable passenger side seat.
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,746
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From: Tampa Bay, FL USA
Citation X11- believe it or not, probably a future collectible. As there are so few collectibles from the 80s, here was a car that went fast, drove nice, looked decent (in the 2-door hatch version), and was rare even new. Find one today in decent shape and you just might have something. The Citation II that came out in the mid 80s was a much improved car, but like so many of GMs earlier mistakes, could not overcome the bad reputation of X-cars in general. And to think they replaced it with the Corsica. Strike two...
As for the Chevette: please. Yes, they ran forever, but if GM ever built a worse driving car (I'm thinking the vast majority of them were sold WITHOUT a test drive), I don't know of it. Proof that Detroit has come a LOOOOONG way in 20 years.
As for the Chevette: please. Yes, they ran forever, but if GM ever built a worse driving car (I'm thinking the vast majority of them were sold WITHOUT a test drive), I don't know of it. Proof that Detroit has come a LOOOOONG way in 20 years.