i have a 01 sunfire. is it a third generation?

yes

kris ritchie wrote:yes

So what is an 03-05 J called?




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Its still the 3rd generation, some people like to refer to it as 3.5, but really a front bumper, headlight, and hood change doesn't warrant a new generation in cars. The generation changes when the fundemental parts of the unibody change, all cavaliers/sunfires are exactly the same from 95-05 other than some sheet metal on the back of the sunfires unibody wise.






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I most hear it called "3rd generation phase 2" for the 03's-05..

Quote:

The generation changes when the fundemental parts of the unibody change, all cavaliers/sunfires are exactly the same from 95-05 other than some sheet metal on the back of the sunfires unibody wise.

I have to disagree.. I'm pretty sure the unibody in a cavalier is the same now as it was in 1983.. So technically we're all driving 1st gen cavaliers with reskinned sheet metal? Actually, that's pretty much true.. haha.




Dark blue 2002 Z24, 2.4 Ltr.

Actually, sheet metal is the same on all Sunfire's from 95-05 as well, so far as I know. Only the bumpers (and taillights slightly) changed in 2000 and then the bumpers, lights, and hood changed in 2003.

Yeah, all 3rd gens. 95-05. Quite a long run!

WW-

You're probably right, just was going by what I thought I saw, that the tail lights are such a different shape on the 03+'s that I thought the rear quarters around the tail lights are a different shape.

I do believe the unibody has changed though, otherwise the 1st and 2nd gens could use our suspension setups, and as I understand (admittingly I'm not a suspension expert), I believe they can't.





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On the 03+ Sunfire coupes, the rear bumper was designed (poorly, IMO) to come up and cover the area no longer covered by the lights. The quarter panel itself is the same.

And you're right... the unibody and itself, along with much of the suspension components were all changed between different generations.

Really, if you didn't know any better, it would be easy enough to convince someone that the Sunbird and Sunfire were in no way related while changes within a generation are plainly obvious as just revisions on the same car.

anything 88 and under, gen 1
anything 89-94, gen 2
anything 95 and above (as of now), gen 3

I was contemplating the other day (as a majority of my contemplation thruought my days consist of cars and customizing) about what the 4th gen will hold in store.
If all three gens were technically all first generations... almost everything would be interchangable, as far as same models under the hood and suspension aspects. The changes are what seperate the generations. But we're all family here



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So essentially the generations specifically talk about body and not internals like the engine?




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Solarfirepower wrote:So essentially the generations specifically talk about body and not internals like the engine?

Yes, exactly, more specifically, the unibody.





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wow, now that i think about it, the pushrod (1.8, 2.0,2.2,2200) lived for like 20 years. i saw a cobalt recently, and holy crap that rear axle looks mighty familiar.

lone_wolf wrote:I most hear it called "3rd generation phase 2" for the 03's-05..

actually, i could be wrong, but i believe it's actually phase 3. there was some discussion about this a while back. the 95-99's where gen 3 phase 1. they had minor changes (not enough to warrant a new generation), so the 00-02's became gen 3 phase 2. now, with the new body styles (again, not enough for a new generation), the 03+ became gen 3 phase 3.

Yeah, you're right about that.. 3gen phase 1 Z24's are the best looking J's imho..


Dark blue 2002 Z24, 2.4 Ltr.

arch wrote:I was contemplating the other day (as a majority of my contemplation thruought my days consist of cars and customizing) about what the 4th gen will hold in store.

There will be no 4th gen. The platform is finished.

Shifted (KickAzz) wrote:

Solarfirepower wrote:So essentially the generations specifically talk about body and not internals like the engine?

Yes, exactly, more specifically, the unibody.

Exactly. It's the PLATFORM that everything else is attached to.

cannon fodder wrote:actually, i could be wrong, but i believe it's actually phase 3. there was some discussion about this a while back. the 95-99's where gen 3 phase 1. they had minor changes (not enough to warrant a new generation), so the 00-02's became gen 3 phase 2. now, with the new body styles (again, not enough for a new generation), the 03+ became gen 3 phase 3.

Yep.

arch wrote:anything 88 and under, gen 1
anything 89-94, gen 2
anything 95 and above (as of now), gen 3

I was contemplating the other day (as a majority of my contemplation thruought my days consist of cars and customizing) about what the 4th gen will hold in store.
If all three gens were technically all first generations... almost everything would be interchangable, as far as same models under the hood and suspension aspects. The changes are what seperate the generations. But we're all family here

Actually....
87 and under are Gen 1's
88-90 are Gen 2/Phase 1
91-94 are Gen 2/Phase 2
95+ are Gen 3

^^^^ he beat me to it.