Chevy Spark Confirmed – the Yanks learn little cars!
Tue, 10 Feb 2009All the grief surrounding the big three US makers (less so Ford) revolves around the lack of cars they make that can compete in the world in which we live. No longer, it would seem, are US car buyers prepared to put up with gas-guzzling, low-quality cars.
The rise of the Japanese car in the US (Toyota is now the biggest selling car) has put the writing on the wall for years. But sadly GM and Chrysler in particular still carried on relying on what they’d always done. But they are being forced to change, and the Chevrolet Spark is evidence, if evidence was needed, that things are a changing.
Chevrolet Spark - The General's built a little 'World Car'!
Can you imagine a car like this coming out of a major US car maker even 5 years ago? A small, five-door 1.0 or 1.2 litre car, which it’s reckoned, when sales start in Europe next year, should hit the ground from around £7k. Designed with a ‘Pod’ dashboard to make RHD versions easy to build, this car has real ‘world market’ potential. They’ll even be making a diesel, although that will launch later and, unless the US can be convinced that diesel is a good way to go, will be for Europe only.
The Chevy Spark has the potential to grab sizeable sales from the Ford KA, Fiat 500 and Hyundai i20 et al. We’ll learn more next month at Geneva when the Chevy Spark is properly unveiled.
Looks like the General is fighting back.
By Cars UK