Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Chevrolet Nova
The Chevrolet Nova or Chevy II was an American compact car introduced by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors in 1962. The Nova was of unibody construction, was powered by a standard inline four or six-cylinder engine with a one-barrel Rochester carburetor and was initially available in two-door and four-door sedan configurations as well as convertible and station wagon versions.
Although the Nova was not originally available with a V8 option, the engine bay was perfectly proportioned for one. It wasn't long before Chevrolet V8s were offered as dealer-installed options (between 1962 and 1963), up to and including the fuel-injected version available on the Corvette. The combination of readily-available V8 power and light weight made the Nova a popular choice of drag racers.
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1966
The car's first major restyling came in 1966 based on the Super Nova concept car.
1968
Another restyle came in 1968, when the station wagon was discontinued. This body style continued (with minor revisions) through 1974. The 1973 model year introduced the hatchback bodystyle based on the 2-door coupe.
1975
The fourth generation Nova was introduced in 1975 and continued until 1979.
After 1971, other GM divisions were rebadging the Nova as an entry-level vehicle e.g. Pontiac Ventura, Oldsmobile Omega, and Buick Apollo. Note that the model names spell the acronym Nova (Nova, Omega, Ventura, Apollo). The Apollo was replaced by the Buick Skylark after 1977.
A high-performance police version of the Nova was introduced for the 1975 model year making it the first compact car certified for police duty in the US. Most were initially purchased by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Outside the US, the 1968 bodystyle Nova was built in Argentina as the Chevrolet Chevy from late 1969 through 1978. The first generation bodystyle was known as the Chevrolet 400.
1986
In 1986, Nova became a badge engineered Toyota Sprinter, an upmarket version of the Toyota Corolla, produced at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, California as a historic first joint venture between General Motors and Toyota. It was later replaced by the Geo Prizm and, after the discontinuation of the Geo nameplate, the Chevrolet Prizm.
A popular urban legend states that the Nova sold poorly in Latin America because the words "no va" mean "no go" in Spanish. [1]
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