It shared the L-body with the 2-door Beretta, and the rebadged revival of the Pontiac Tempest which was essentially the same car, but was only sold in Canada and Middle East.

The Corsica was first sold as a fleet car to rental agencies and large companies in 1987, prior to mainstream release.

The Corsica and Beretta were the second best-selling passenger cars in America in calendar year 1988, right behind the Ford Escort.

Some earlier models had a column shifter with a handbrake between the front seats, an uncommon configuration for most compact cars of the time.

For 1991 the Corsica received an extensively updated interior with a standard driver's side airbag and cup holders.

The manual transmission was dropped for the V6; it remained available for the four-cylinder engine, although it was only available through special order (few of which ever took place[citation needed]).

The 2.2 L OHV engine was now upgraded with sequential fuel-injection (SFI) in the Corsica, unlike the version in the Cavalier which used multi-point fuel injection (MPFI).

The 3.1 L V6 was replaced with the updated Gen III "3100-series" engine (Option code L82) with SFI and an output of 160 hp along with an OBD-1.5 System.

A new Corsica logo was introduced along with other minor cosmetic exterior changes, such as the introduction of body-colored mirrors, side moldings, and grille.