When someone asks about the history of the "Nova", I give them the history of the "Chevy II/Nova". The desirable years IMO.

The 1979 were the last rear-wheel-drive Novas. They bowed out with new rectangular headlamps to match the different grill that year. The new model would carry the Citation name. This is fortunate since the Citation was considered to be one of the most recalled cars ever produced. It would have been a shame to Nova owners everywhere to have this blot on the reputable Nova name. This however was hardly the last Nova. Even though the name Nova was marketed on other cars in other countries, the U.S. would not see a Chevrolet Nova again until 1985. Starting with a joint venture with Toyota. The deal goes as follows. GM gives Toyota a much needed factory in Fremont California. In exchange Toyota builds a small car for GM to sell and learn from. GM was basically using the join ‘em if you can't beat ‘em attitude. GM was to learn form the manufacturing process and build quality of the car. A large part of this leads to the success of the Saturn division. It is doubtful Saturn would be here without NUMMI (the joint venture facility between Toyota and GM where the cars are made). The car Toyota started to build was marketed as the Chevrolet Nova. People usually say that the Nova is based of the Toyota Corolla. This is for the most part true. However the Nova was actually based of the Toyota Sprinter which is basically a cousin of the Corolla that was sold in Japan. The Nova other than headlamps and grills was identical to the Sprinter. The NUMMI plant also started build Toyota Corolla FX's, Tacomas, Corollas, and the Geo and Chevrolet Prizms. These other models were later of course. The first Novas rolled off the assembly line in 1985 as either 4-door sedans or 5-door hatchbacks available in either CL or standard trim. The small cars had virtually no advertising and a slow start up but were considered a major success. They all had a 1.6 liter four with a whopping 74hp.

The Nova was replaced by the Prizm name when GM decided to badge the foreign Chevrolets as Geos instead of Chevrolets. The Prizm had a big role to fill. The 1985-1988 Novas were considered to be very reliable. They made the J.D. Powers list in the two spot right underneath the Toyota Cressida each year the Nova was made. This car has also had the least warranty repairs of any GM car in history.

The Toyota Corrolla Chevy Nova will always be considered a Chevy Corrolla in purists eyes. A bastard child. GM doing their best to ride out some brand recognition in order to boost sales during the latter part of the dark ages.