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Have you seen the horrendous Korean crap they slap a bowtie on in Europe??

AuH2O

AuH2O

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In Europe, when someone thinks about Chevy, they think about small, crappy Korean cars. Yes, it's not a joke. GM imports cars from Korean auto maker Daewoo and rebrands them as Chevrolets for the European market. Presumably this is done to somewhat heighten the status of these cars to induce more sales, but let's be honest: All they really do is devalue the once proud Chevy name and bring it down in the dirt among all the other generic crap coming out of Asia.

Let's take a look at the proud "Chevys" you can buy in Europe, shall we? If you can stomach it, that is.

First there's the little Chevrolet Matiz. It is also known in the Asian and mid-east markets as Chevrolet Spark, and in Mexico as Pontiac Matiz. (Yep, they had to go and ruin the Pontiac name too). Ah yes, it's got a look only a manga-loving, teenage Japanese poptart could love:

http://www.autocity.com/img/actualidad/galerias/Chevrolet_Matiz_2006_1730_3.jpg
http://www.car-catalog.com/small_cars/chevrolet_matiz_l4.jpg
http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/7/z/l/pontiac_matiz.jpg

Then, the Chevrolet Nubira (the name alone makes you wanna puke). Available as both sedan and station wagon:

http://forum.avtoindex.com/foto/data/media/27/chevrolet_nubira_2004_1.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...g/800px-Chevrolet_Nubira_Kombi_Sweden_008.jpg
http://www.subo.com/pub/fotos/vehiculoNuevo/600/44/383/2007/4_4/11.jpg

As if that wasn't enough, there's the very sexy little toy car Chevrolet Aveo. Available as sedan or "hatchback". Couldn't you just see a frog-eating, beret-wearing Frenchman driving one of these around with a smirk, and a baguette sticking out of the trunk? (That's probably as much as you could fit in there):

http://www.thetorquereport.com/003_chevrolet_aveo_003.jpg
http://www.vicky.in/straightfrmtheh...tors-gm-aveo-u-va-india-2008-quarter-view.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...et-Aveo-2.jpg/800px-2007-Chevrolet-Aveo-2.jpg
http://img.quebarato.com.br/photos/big/2/1/4BE21_1.jpg
http://www.automedia.com/NewCarBuye.../Aveo/Hatchback/2005_Chevrolet_Aveo_ext_1.jpg

Then there's the Chevrolet Epica. Another one of the anonymous, generic sedans they try to pass off as pleasurable cars these days:

http://www.autocity.com/img/actualidad/galerias/Chevrolet_Epica_2.0_VCDI_3126_1.jpg
http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/0/W/l/chevrolet_epica.jpg
http://katalog-automobilu.cz/img/chevrolet-epica-2-0-24v-8.jpg
http://www.d4u.com.ua/uploaded/file...rvw/Chevrolet-Epica_side_staticx1280x1024.jpg

Then there's the 4x4 SUV Chevrolet Captiva. I'd have to try very hard not to point my finger and laugh derisively if I saw one. How well do you think it would hold up in the terrain versus even a stock K5...? What's that, you say?:haha:

http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/0/V/l/chevrolet_captiva.jpg
http://www.carwale.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/chevrolet-captiva-rear.jpg
(Oooh, look, it has dual exhaust! Can you feel the power??)
http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/na/archive/00258/Chevrolet_Captiva_258887g.jpg
http://www.carwale.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/chevrolet-captiva.jpg

Well, you probably get the picture by now... There's even more, but one thing they all have in common: It's all Korean crap, and the only relation to Chevrolet is the badges they slap on them! Sure, GM has had ventures with Daewoo for over 30 years now, but it's only in recent years, after actually buying most of the Daewoo company to form GM Daewoo in 2002, that they've started slapping bowties on them. You'd think they'd have the sense to still brand them as Daewoos and not associate the bowtie logo with them in anyway, but uh-uh...

Leave it to GM to devalue the Chevrolet brand and logo. I'd be ashamed to drive a K5 in Europe now; maybe some of these drivers in their Asian crapmobiles will think we have some kind of kinship and wave to me, or maybe my K5 will also be mistaken for an Asian crapmobile by the less informed public. I mean, goddamnit, who's responsible for this? Heads should roll on the GM board! Wagoner, I'm coming for YOU.

(Yes, this post is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but still, seriously... What's the world coming to? :dunno:)
 
Isn't the Matiz the one the one that Top Gear uses for the celebrity test drives? I know it is something along the same lines, no wonder so many celebs put it into the grass.
 
The Aveo is actually available here in the States. My wife's frined has one, and to give you a size comparision: imagine the old Geo Metro and then find a way to shave a few inches off the outside dimensions. This thing was SMALL! I was laughing because the tires on my utility trailer were bigger than what this car had.
As for the "SUV" that you mentioned. A stock K5 could probably outwheel that POS in 2wd. Just because it has 4wd, doesnt means its a SUV. I know that an Escalade is classified as an SUV, but I can tell you right now ther is no utility in an Escalade. There's really not a whole lot of sport in it either, so it should be labeled as just a "V".:D
 
Yup Chevy 'Proudly' sells Daewoo here in the states too. The Aveo is available in 2 or 3 models. They have big ol bowties stuck all over them. I test drove one with all the whistles and bells with my daughter. What a POS for $17,000. We went as fast as we could to the Honda dealer and bought a real car.
 
Yup, the rest of the world doesn't have the need for the big vehicles that America has. Opel and Vauxhall are also rebadged GM, and Holden. What it all boils down to is profit margin, and the bean counters at GM Europe feel that rebadging a Daewoo is more profitable then building their own, and they have little to no worry about reputation. And the rest of the world doesn't need the biggest tire and the loudest engine, they'd rather have something more economical, and GM europes lineup does the job. They last. While I was in South Africa, which is pretty much any european market, the cars I drove (Opel Corsa 1.4) lasted 200,000 kilometers before we'd think of replacing them. We also had a Daewoo Matiz (Spark) that had 150,000 kilometers on it and was still going strong. And if you want to argue cheap Korean crap, my parents also had a 91 Hyundai Excel that when sold, 4 kids had learned a clutch on it (original) and made 95% compression across all cylinders (at 195,000miles) and 10 years. Good little car, much more reliable then any American car of the same vintage, and held its value better.
 
jms said:
Nobody in Germany in their right mind would buy a Chevy Malibu or an Impala and use it as a daily driver. Too big, too impractical, not fuel efficient, and not sporty either.
Click to expand...

Yeah, those rebadged Daewoos are really hideous. I wouldn't buy one, even though they are fuel efficient. I feel unsafe on those small plastic boxes.

Here you see lot of american made cars and trucks as a daily drivers. Caprice Classic is most common, Chevy Van, Blazers, pick-ups, Suburbans, Dodge Rams, some H2's, Silverados... Of course, most of the bigger ones are diesels. Some get better mileage from Caprice Classic than a Volvo :haha:

Most of my DD's have been american made. There are lot of people who like to drive full-size all around the year.
 
Yup, the rest of the world doesn't have the need for the big vehicles that America has
Click to expand...

absolutely. the best possible choice for my 50+ mile daily commute is my 4500lb truck with no passengers. :haha:
 
It's even worse than I figured then! Ain't never seen one of those Aveos here that I know of. :haha:

As for Opel, that's not quite the same thing. While GM indeed owns them, and while that division has comparable independence, they're still sold with the Opel badge. Same for Vauxhall, which used to be an independent British make but are now simply rebranded Opels.

I just can't figure how the marketing genius who decided to brand the Daweoos as Chevys would hope to benefit in the long run. Conventional wisdom is you have separate brands for each market segment. You won't sell many Silverados or Suburbans off the Aveo reputation, that's for sure.

What's next? Will GM buy Indian Tata Motors and rebrand those dirt cheap, stripped cars they've started making as Cadillacs? Who needs an Escalade when you can get one of these babies with a Cadillac badge?

http://files.windingroad.com/newsuploads/2008/02/2008-tata-nano-hl.jpg

Mmmm yes, wouldn't you love to caress its behind and talk dirty to it! :D

2008-tata-nano-hl.jpg
 
For sure you won't sell any Silverado's and Suburban's on the rebadged Daewoo reputation, but then again, not many Silverado's or Suburban's would get sold in Europe, period. GM sells what sells, and in Europe, that is small cars, of any kind. Here, we drive our fullsize SUV's and pickups because we have the room and the lower prices of gas combined with the higher income the average American enjoys. Well, we had the lower price of gas... Tata is a trying company just now starting to leave India, which IMO, is a terrible thing fo the rest of us. Please Tata, stay in India! It's all about how money goes. The average person in India that makes, say, USD1000 a year, can't possibly afford the gas to fill the tank of a Suburban, even once. But the Tata Nano can fit nicely into that budget. In the same manner, Tata will never sell in the US because we will scoff at the idea of paying that much for that car, we'd rather spend it on a dirt bike or quad.
 
cabledawg said:
I know that an Escalade is classified as an SUV, but I can tell you right now ther is no utility in an Escalade. There's really not a whole lot of sport in it either, so it should be labeled as just a "V".:D
Click to expand...

I'll use it like an SUV, heck even like a truck!:D
 
I honestly don't like the little cars , but I know why sell there :

1. The roads are not as wide in the urban centers , remember the cities pre-date the car , most pre-date the United States by centuries .

2. They have been paying for gas , what we just started to the last few years , for decades .

3. Thats what they want in the cities , these cars are designed for those narrow streets , in the cities that pre-date the car .

4. They can buy larger touring cars , trucks , and sports cars in Europe if they wanted to . They won't work in the cities though .

Not every nation is going to be like us . Although the Saudi's get rear wheel drive Impalas .
 
Most of Suzuki America's car line up are rebadged Daewoo's.
GM did Suzuki the favor of "giving them" the Daewoo car line in place of Suzuki's own cars after they pulled Daewoo from the market a few years ago...and then sold their controlling interest in Suzuki off. So Suzuki America is now stuck here trying to sell a car line they have no interest in continuing...way to go GM.:rolleyes: Don't get me started on what GM did to their 4x4's here in the States.:mad:


This sounds like some general lack of knowledge on driving and living conditions in Europe and other countries in general. No offense meant but people live much different around the world than we do and what we drive here in the States doesn't sell well in most of Europe. As mentioned before...try selling a Malibu to a German.
That said our 4x4's and trucks are decently popular around the world with those who can afford them and literally fit them into their lives.

The new Saturn Astra is actually an Opel if I remember correctly. Has lots of neat features...but costs a bit.
I think the we'll end up with a Kia or Hyundai soon. They're cheap, have great warranties, drive nice, get good mpg, and I haven't met anyone who actually owns one that dislikes it.
 
noJeepshere said:
Yup, the rest of the world doesn't have the need for the big vehicles that America has. Opel and Vauxhall are also rebadged GM, and Holden. What it all boils down to is profit margin, and the bean counters at GM Europe feel that rebadging a Daewoo is more profitable then building their own, and they have little to no worry about reputation. And the rest of the world doesn't need the biggest tire and the loudest engine, they'd rather have something more economical, and GM europes lineup does the job. They last. While I was in South Africa, which is pretty much any european market, the cars I drove (Opel Corsa 1.4) lasted 200,000 kilometers before we'd think of replacing them. We also had a Daewoo Matiz (Spark) that had 150,000 kilometers on it and was still going strong. And if you want to argue cheap Korean crap, my parents also had a 91 Hyundai Excel that when sold, 4 kids had learned a clutch on it (original) and made 95% compression across all cylinders (at 195,000miles) and 10 years. Good little car, much more reliable then any American car of the same vintage, and held its value better.
Click to expand...

Yeah...Holden sucks. :rolleyes:


GM at least finally had the sense to bring that one here...

Rene
 
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Ooooh...Aussie muscle...sigh...don't even get me started on the sweet stuff they've always had over there while we neutered our cars and now continue to struggle to bring anything RWD with some juevos to the market over here.
 
That car is here as the Pontiac G8, with a GXP version available in the fall as an '09 model. :D

It sure did take long enough, although with gas prices being what they are it looks like GM is about 5 years too late (again)

That should really be GM's new slogan "A day late and a dollar short"

Rene
 
No no no..."Five years too late and ten grand too much."
 
More Aussie fun...

[youtube]mxS-mZuh-mE[/youtube]

HSV Clubsport getting a thrashing by a pro...


Rene
 
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The second vid is pretty much exactly the car we'll see here...excpet the Aussie one has a 6 speed manual tranny. To get a 6 speed here you need to pony up for the GXP model.

The GXP is cool, has about 40 more hp...but lack the cylinder de-activation the regular G8 has making it a lot harder on fuel on the highway.

Good search words if you want to see more are:

HSV Clubsport (Holden)
HSV R8
VXR8 (Vauxhall europe)
Pontiac G8

Rene
 
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