Chevrolet Aveo Sedan

pat · November 2003

Ahem ... let's just stick to the Aveo in this here discussion about the Aveo, okay folks?

jchan2 · November 2003

more smaller cars mean more people killed in small cars like Accents, Rios, Aveos, and Echos. (All killed by that Excursion or Suburban or Escalade ESV, of course)

jchan2 · November 2003

mean a developing small car market.

dweezil · November 2003

on the Korean "Daily Dramas" that I watch. [I don't speak Korean, but they have sub titles, good actors and stories].
One of the characters in the most recent story drove a red 5 door Kalos. And what I saw is exactly what Chevy will be selling as the Aveo. It looks good among the other cars on the road there. It is the same in Daewoo drag as it is Aveo dress. No differences
except the Chevrolet badging. That's it. No Daewoo specific grille is on it as it stands now [like you can see the outline of with the new Suzuki Verona], so there seems to be no need to rearrange the hash to turn it into a "Chevrolet".There are more differences between the Suzuki Swift and the Chevy/Geo Metro than the Aveo/Kalos.
Have already gotten a few product sheets on it from Chevrolet. I like the looks of it.
Would like to have one for the daily 30 mile round trip commute to work.
It's nice to know that it is closely associated with GM now. That makes it slightly less "badge engineered"/"captive import". Sort of a GM product produced off shore for Chevrolet/GM by a GM subsidiary.
With Chevrolet moving their compact "upscale" in price, there will be a real gap between the Aveo and the new Cobalt of about 4000.00 if all reports are correct.
Is there enough substance to this new Aveo to keep a potential buyer at a GM dealership, or will that buyer go to Hyundai to find something slightly larger and a little [not 4-5000 dollars] more expensive that will fit their needs? Not veryone wants to pay 16000 or more for a small car, and there seems to be a real gap at the bottom with the Cavalier being discontinued for 05.

iluvmysephia1 · November 2003

here in America. They probably won't sell in large numbers but Chev doesn't need them to sell in large numbers. I prefer the odder-looking 5-door model in the limey-green or red.

chrisducati · November 2003

It is really a boy racer isn't it. I'm sure the 16 yr old's will like it. I was thinking something more along the lines of the Kalos Blue but with our larger engine. Here is a link to a road test in the UK
http://www.carkeys.co.uk/roadtest/RT000327.htm

chrisducati · November 2003

Another problem I see is price. How can GM match the Kia and Hyundai pricing. In my area New Elantra GLS manuals are going for only about $10.500 and a Kia Rio sedan with no options has been selling for , get this, $5995! Add A/C for about $900 and you still have a super cheap car. and a 100000 mile warranty.

iluvmysephia1 · November 2003

Here is one of the most interesting things about Aveo to me-the price! All early indications paint the Chevy pricing for this car to be about $9995 for a base model. It will depend on what you can live with or without as far as options to add to this price. I could imagine a drive-away price of around $11,995 or so.

iluvmysephia1 · November 2003

bodykit on an import. That is good use of a bodykit and it's one that I would consider if I decided to take a serious step this direction. It blows ALL Honda Civic bodykit applications away and IMO it blows all Hyundai Tiburon bodykits away as well.

malibu_jack · November 2003

They are only offering $700 CDN on each car!!!!!! what gives? I am surprised that they offer $2000 on the Saturn L200 and only $700 on the new Chev Epica (looks to be a better car)....

iluvmysephia1 · November 2003

w/o the snazzy bodykits in my link and chrisducati's link(limey-green and neon-blue 5- door Aveo's)the car looks naked or kinda dull IMHO. Questions? Comments? Violent rebuttals
Hey, Mr.Goodwrench, ask your boss to include those cool bodykits on new Aveo's for sale in 2004, OK?

chrisducati · November 2003

The Aveo is also sold in Canada as the Suzuki Swift Plus. Here is a link to Suzuki's accessories page that include the cool body kit that the Kalos Blue uses.They also have cool dash kits! If Chevy doesnt offer this Im sure we can get it and the other items from a Canadian Suzuki Dealer.
http://suzuki04.com.rebeltrail.com/en/auto/swft-a.cfm?modelcode=s- wft

aveman · November 2003

Everyone sees good looks different. I think the Aveo without the body kit looks better and cleaner.Also I think that the fewer parts on a car the lighter, more aerodynamic, and easier to maintain.Another thing, if you don't add a body panel,it is one less thing to fall off. The last issue is how add on parts are attached; do they catch and hold water at the attachment joint or seam that will induce rust. It is nice though, that parts are coming out for Aveo. I hope they will offer parts that enhance performance as well as looks.I

iluvmysephia1 · November 2003

the cleaner line thing. I just feel that with this car(the Daewoo Kalos, principally designed by Daewoo Motors of South Korea, the body an Italian design by Pinanfari)it actually looks better with a bodykit. I would show more interest if Chevy offered the kit already installed and on their sales lot with the kit on already. Hyundai is now offering this idea with their Tiburon sports coupe and they're training their technicians to install the kits and other performance parts for the new Tibs. I am not sure if Hyundai will sell the 2004 Tiburon's with the kits already on. My real interest for future purchases is heading back to my favorite, Kia, and their new Cerato 4-door sedan(replaces the Spectra)and their new Sportage-replacement that may or may not be named Sportage, will be plopped on an Elantra frame, and will be FWD w/optional part-time AWD. The thing with Chevy is the warranty isn't nearly as impressive and their interest in the Aveo is not very impressive, either. I won't count it out for future interest, though. After all, it is a South Korean automobile, it's got to be taken seriously by me. Duh! =:)

chrisducati · November 2003

I think you have touched on a point. Chevy is showing very little interest in this car. No long warranty like other brands. Their web site only touches on the Aveo. I get the impression that Chevy hopes this car will go away in a few years . they can use the space on the dealer lots to sell the high dollar trucks and huge suv's to totally clueless people. Sad, it looks like such a nice car.

iluvmysephia1 · November 2003

Apparently it's funner to sit up high in our huge, boring looking SUV's and huge, dull looking pickups and chase people out of our way on the highways and biways of these United States. It's an attitute, an arrogant ignorance that GM cradles away to their big 'ole bank. Sad is a great way to describe it. Clueless works even better. Pathetic fits the mold, too. Look out-that's all I can say. Look out.

dindak · November 2003

Hyundia rules!

npaladin2000 · November 2003

You know why people like those things, right? This way people who don't know how to drive can just bully their way into traffic and through interesctions (especially if there's a red light). I don't know about other locations in the US, but people here SUCK at driving. My parents actually bought an SUV (Hyundai SantaFe) for survival purposes: no other way they can see over that big truck with the off-road suspension to make a right turn without one, and they're always afraid of getting run over in a regular car when one of them bullies itself through an interection.

I know one other guy who got wiped out while sitting at a red light...he ended up in the hospital and his Mustang ended up totaled. See, an SUV decided that red lights don't count if you're sitting high enough, and tried to go through the light anyway...one swerve and that's all she wrote.

It's sad, but the Aveo will probably end up not selling after a few of them get ground up under SUV tires. Problem is, the way the economy is, a lot of people can't afford more than an Accent, or an Aveo, or one of the (eventually upcoming) ZMWs. Unless they buy a big, honkin used SUV instead...probably why Chevy STILL doesn't kill off the Blazer, despite how ancient it is.

Flash from the Sarcasm News Network: Dodge to release new "crossover" SUV, the Dodge Frightliner, based on the Freightliner 18 wheel trucks. Somehow, it would NOT surprise me....and "Fright" would be the right word if I saw people buying them.

I've driven SUVs. Admittedly, the view is nice, but I'm afraid to take any turn over 5 MPH, I feel so disconnected from the road. Come on, guys! Buy Aveos! The road is your friend!

npaladin2000
Anti-SUV activist.

iluvmysephia1 · November 2003

I drive an SUV, albeit a small one(2001 Kia Sportage 4x4). I have watched this nation's traffic get worse, and not all of it is big 'ole SUV's at fault. A lot of people flat out just don't know how to drive. Test me out the next time you come to a 4-way stop. Not with lights, I'm talking a 4-way stop sign. Now that particular bit of driving takes skill, huh? I'm being serious. It DOES take skill, because here the driver must decipher who gets to the stop signs first. The one that does gets to go first after stopping. It's the rules. Next, the rule is is that if there is a tie, the driver on the right goes first. This can seem comical but it's the rules. Rarely do all drivers at a 4-way stop actually know and follow these rules, but they're the rules, gentlemen(and gentlewomen). Gentlewomen? Now there's an oxymoron! Gentlewomen! Ha-ha! Part of this problem is our roads are being flooded with more and more cars every year. Everybody and their sister MUST drive. It's the rules. Oh, about the 4-way stop. Eventually everybody who shows up at the intersection gets to go. It usually works out but I don't think everybody reads their driver's guides. Things are too sped up in a frenetic pace and that is disconcerting. Drive carefully, OK? As for our cute little Aveo. I'm not counting it out-no way. I would get one with a bodykit. My deal is Kia with Hyundai in second place for interest. There may be a market for Aveo yet, with the economy the way it is...or the way it may be heading. Here's a way to look at it, if gas prices rise a tad more the Aveo should sell. It's gonna take a rise in gas or some kind of further development in our economy. This little Daewoo(ooops, it's a Chevy and it's a Suzuki Swift in Canada)deserves more than a passing glance, for sure!

a_l_hubcaps · November 2003

If GM does not offer a long warranty on this car, they are dumber than I thought. Whether they care about the car or not (and they should -- everything I've seen indicates it's competetive with a Scion xA for a lower price), the fact remains that they need to move the things because that Daewoo plant they bought is not going to just stop building. If they would put a Korean-style warranty on it and hold the line on prices, they would have no trouble selling the 60K/year that they have allocated. The way things are now, it looks like most of them will get dumped on Enterprise. Well, at least a year from now you'll be able to get a great deal on a used one.

This seems to be proof that Toyota knows how to take an odd, small, cheap car and make a big deal out of it (Scion), and GM does not.

-Andrew L

eneth · November 2003

GM is using the Aveo for two purposes - it will sell in large numbers to National Car Rental and other daily rentals - probably a majority of the sales will be to fleets. The other purpose is to dump output of a plant it must by cars from, and which it cannot sell in Korea. Along the way, it may draw bargain shoppers into the showroom where they'll decide to buy a larger car - remember the Cavalier is set to expire soon, and GM plans to offer the new Cobalt upmarket - meaning the prices will rise, as they have with the Malibu. They need a loss-leader to get people in to look at the upcoming Cobalt (which will be the Aveo's worldwide replacement -- including in Korea).

The long warranty doesn't matter to those who'll buy most Aveos - fleet and rental operators.

GM is also likely wary of quality issues - the last Daewoo-built car it sold cost it a bundle in goodwill and warranty work -- the LeMans, which was easily the worst small car sold by GM in North America - far worse even that such disasters as the Vega and Citation.

dindak · November 2003

Those 10 yr warranties have more holes in them that swiss cheese, don't kid yourself. None of the big 6 makers have 10 year warranties, why should GM? The reason Kia and Hyundia have them is they rank near the bottom in long term reliability (even now) and had terrible reputations.

Also, studies I have seen show bigger warranties are way down the list of priorities for car buyers. They may be a priority for some of you which is why you probably bought Kias and Hyundias in the first place.

iluvmysephia1 · November 2003

Kia's because of the Long-Haul. I've been given all of the warnings of big 'ole holes in the Long-Haul Warranty. Didn't matter. Didn't need it. I bought my '99 Kia Sephia and now my 2001 Kia Sportage 4x4 because they offer superior styling and the feature content was more than competitive with Toyota and Honda and Saturn, etc. They have proven to be the correct choice and things are only getting rosier with the New World Order Spectra that will go into production in Korea in December of 2004(for us Americano's).
Since this is a Chevrolet Aveo thread, let me just take a sip of Taster's Choice and say this about that. Chevy will be Chevy and there is no denying that. The mood of this nation is to drive big, and I mean BIG. Hey, as has already been stated, what's the big deal with them going to Enterprise Car Rental? If I REALLY wanted an Aveo I'd buy a year old 5-door Aveo from them for, oh, get your big 'ole Sonics cap out and think hard, ummm....around $7995 for a one year old Aveo with around 12,000 miles on it. Let the car rental agency take the hit on price. Take another sip and enjoy!

eneth · November 2003

GM has put a lot of effort into the new Malibu, and it shows. I suspect it will do the same with the forthcoming Chevrolet Cobalt (hopefully it learned from the errors it made with the Saturn Ion).

The Aveo will follow the Buick/Opel, Chevrolet/Geo Spectrum, Chevrolet/Geo Metro/Sprint, and Pontiac/Daewoo LeMans in being sold for a few model years, and then dropped.

The only non-GM GM model that has had any endurance is the Toyota Corolla, which has been sold in various guises as the Chevrolet Nova, Geo Prizm, Chevrolet Prizm, and now the Pontiac Vibe - 2003 will mark the 20th year of the plant in California where those models are or were built. That alliance will be around for a while; the Aveo is simply another disposable GM captive import.

a_l_hubcaps · November 2003

eneth-

If you think the Cobalt is the replacement for the Aveo you are very, very confused. The Cobalt (and I suspect it will be a pretty nice car, like the new Malibu) is positioned as a "premium compact", meaning the sticker prices will be in the $15-18K range. I don't expect to see any significant rebates on that car during the first year or two of production. The whole point of the Aveo is that the current Cavalier, after incentives, often sells in the 10-13K range. If the Cobalt is priced as I have mentioned, GM is going to lose those Cavalier buyers unless it has something else for them, which is the Aveo. No matter what you think of Daewoo or the Aveo, the fact is that Chevy NEEDS a car in that segment. If you think the Aveo stinks, that's a different argument, but the fact that something in that price range is crucial to the lineup is indisputable as far as I'm concerned. The idea that the Cobalt will replace the Aveo in Asia is laughable. If anything, a car riding on its platform (is it Delta? I forget) will replace the Daewoo Lacetti in a few years, not the Kalos (Aveo).

As for the warranty issue: Take a look at Hyundai's sales numbers between 1998 and 1999, when the warranty was introduced. The spike is unbelievable. The fact is that long warranties provide a signal to consumers that a car they otherwise might have doubts about is worth buying. Toyota and Honda don't need 10-year warranties, but Chevy does, on both the Aveo and its other models. People don't trust GM cars. They might be wrong, but that's what they think nonetheless.

-Andrew L

chrisducati · November 2003

So these people that claim that the warranty is not a big deal, What is their top wants? I imagine it goes like this.#1 Big BIG HUGE, it has to be HUGE,#2 It has to have A HUGE engine.#3 It has to use a HUGE amount of gasoline.# 4 It has to be really high dollar, so I can show off that I can buy a Huge High Expensive I'm better than you SUV.#5 Huge amount of chrome. #6 Huge wheels, they have to be BIG BIG BIG!
I'm making fun of this but I hate to say it but I know people that would say that all those things are on their list and be proud of it. Give me a small fuel miser every time. when my $10G car dies after 200000 miles I'm just out $10G not the $50G my buddy spent on his SUV.

iluvmysephia1 · November 2003

as well. Two points to start out: this Aveo can't be butted off the planet UNTIL Chevy sees how sales will be in the U.S. They'll also watch how Kalos sales go in the home market and Europe, India, South America, etc. They would be a great car for Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Especially those long drives up above the city where you can look down upon the big city below. Not to digress, but it would be dumb to decide for GM now what they're gonna do with those cars now. We don't even really know how well they'll sell in these United States yet, now do we?
As for the Long Haul, I'd be fibbing to say it doesn't matter at ALL to me but it wasn't the reason I picked a Kia SUV with the Long Haul Warranty. They do have gaps of coverage but neither of my Kia's have found those gaps.

regfootball · November 2003

maybe Chevy needs to extend a 10/100 warranty to all its vehicles....

dindak · November 2003

Sure, if they want to make no money.

eneth · November 2003

a_l_,

The Cobalt is the replacement for the Cavalier, not the Aveo. The Delta platform, on the other hand, IS the replacement for GM small cars, -worldwide-. GM will bring out smaller, cheaper cars built on that chassis -- it has plans to produce over a million Delta-chassis cars a year, worldwide. So no, the Cobalt is not in the same league as the Aveo, but the platform it's built on will be the replacement for the one the Aveo is built on.

Remember that no matter how "new" the GM Daewoo models seem, they all date from 1998-1999 or so, before Daewoo Motor collapsed - that's a full design cycle behind the competition from other automakers, right out of the gate. GM needs to rebuild GM Daewoo at home, and it won't have much success doing so with 1998/9 design cars in the face of 2004 design Hyundai/Kia/Mitsubishi/DaimlerChrysler chassis (the forthcoming replacement for the Elantra, Spectra, Neon and Lancer).

The Aveo will wind up in fleets and as a showroom traffic-builder -- it's not a serious effort by GM to compete with Hyundai and Kia at the low end of the US market.

regfootball · November 2003

Hyundai does it and makes money. Hyundai sales are rising, Chevy sales are not on fire.

dindak · November 2003

Hyundia doesn't pay UAW wages, pensions or taxes in the U.S. either. Chevy sales are up this year though not as much as Hyundia.

eneth · November 2003

Hyundai isn't making much of a gamble with the extended warranty - most people don't keep their cars for ten years, and the warranty is not transferable outside of the immediate family of the original buyer.

GM would have a tough time explaining why it offered a 10-year warranty on a cheap car like the Aveo, were it to do so, while it doesn't on any other Chevrolet car.

Most Aveos will wind up in fleets alongside the Chevrolet Classic (former Malibu) where the long warranty would be meaningless anyway.

dindak · November 2003

Just saw an ad in the paper for the Aveo. They are offering a 5 year / 100000 km powertrian warranty. GM is indeed giving these cars a Korean style warranty.

iluvmysephia1 · November 2003

As I understand it the Kalos/Aveo is being sold in Canada as the Suzuki Swift, true? If that's true, is the Swift on Canadian Suzuki sales lots as I type this post? That's a decent warranty, and a newsworthy tidbit of information because I have read that Chevy is only offering a 3 year, 36,000 mile Warranty here in these United States for a 4-door sedan Aveo and a 5-door hatchback Aveo.

dindak · November 2003

Not sure what Suzuki is naming their version here. The Chevy Aveo, Optra and Epica are all for sale in Canada now. Big full page ads in the papers today for these new Chevys. I think only Suzuki gets the Optra/Epica eqivialents in the U.S. Not sure why.

Warranty on all Daewoo Chevys is advertised 5/100 on power train here.

iluvmysephia1 · November 2003

than 5 years on the powertrain. If you get to 100,000 miles BEFORE you get to five years then your Warranty is toast whenever that occurs(some might). Some people won't put miles on their Aveo that fast, though, so Chevy should extend that year amount to 8 years or, go odd, and make it 9 years and 100,000 miles. Still, it's a good warranty overall.
Also, it looks like Suzuki will offer the Kalos/Aveo as a Swift model and Chevy will offer it as an Aveo in Canada. That little tidbit is new as well as the 5 year and 100,000 mile Warranty announcement. Call it the Big Boy Warranty.

dindak · November 2003

Link

http://www.gmcanada.com/english/vehicles/chevrolet/chevrolet.html

chrisducati · November 2003

that is 62000 miles is it not. Can we still cross the border and buy Canadian cars? I know we use to be able to but I think U.S. dealers are lobbying congress to take that right away from us.

chrisducati · November 2003

Hey, am I wrong or has the power rating dropped! wasn't it like 106-7 hp when they first put up the aveo web page? It is now down to 103hp. I don't remember the torque spec's but I hope they went up if the engine has lost some hp!

dindak · November 2003

Ya, thats about right I think. Yes you can buy up here if the dealer will sell to you. I know some manufacturers try and stop it.

Saw both a sedan and hatch today at the local dealer. Pretty decent for the money I guess. They also had 3 Optras and 1 Epica.

aveman · November 2003

I saw the Canadian powertrain warranty somewhere and thought it was longer than they plan on offering in the US. In some markets the Optra and Higher models acually get a longer warranty than the Aveo.I think if GM sells a car in it's home market, with a worse warranty than Canada, it should lose sales.I do agree that people so poor as to worry about powertrain warranty should just take the bus, if they live in a city.If not just walk.

rctennis3811 · November 2003

i also heard that the Aveo's power rating had dropped, and it probably was due to the emission standards. what strikes me odd is that the Aveo's power dropped and the Suzuki Forenza's horsepower and torque rating increased (both are built by GMDAT)..kinda weird

alpha01 · November 2003

The HP rating for the Forenza is still 119hp in Suzukis full line brochure which I received in the mail yesterday.

~alpha

rctennis3811 · November 2003

i got the brochure too, but it was probably printed BEFORE the power change..also check the Forenza discussion, it also has people talkin about the power increase...it's also on the Suzuki website

back to the topic: how many speakers does the Aveo have?

ldbxv · November 2003

Just saw the Aveo [hatchback] at the San Francisco Auto Show... the car is logically put together, fits a tall person like me very well, gives excellent visibility [no blind spots].

I like this car because it is VERY SHORT and will fit in street parking spaces 98% of all other cars in this city have to pass up. San Francisco has NO easy street parking. My Dodge Omni is short, and I can park it without searching and searching for a space.

The www.chevrolet.com site has several pages of specs on the car, including an options list, but no mention of cruise control. Apparently it won't be available, a big oversight in my opinion for a car that offers so many upscale features otherwise in the LS version.

Looks like the sunroof option won't be available until March or so, but I could wait until then.

iluvmysephia1 · November 2003

One of Aveo's nicest features is it's low price. The car is loaded with up-to-date- technology and a low price to boot. Good looking as well. Look at this review-it's well-written, thorough, and spells out the Daewoo mission very well: lower-priced cars packed with features and good looking. Enjoy! Oh, Chevy is pricing these around $9995 base, stay tuned to your local Chevy dealers for actual LOCAL prices for you. If they don't sell, a good deal more than likely will be had to the willing.

http://www.autoweb.com.au/cms/news/newsarticle.html?&id=DAE&a- mp;a- mp;a- mp;doc=dae0111221

caesarslegion · November 2003

Every day on the way to work I keep a look out for this car at the chevy dealer. So far nothing. I really like the clean and uncluttered motor. Im going to test drive one as soon as they arrive. If the 1.6 litre can hold its own in terms of power ( 106 hp I think ) vs my tracers 88 hp then its as good as mine. If I can get one for $11k or so would be great.

iluvmysephia1 · December 2003

the review for this car in the link above spells out the story pretty clear on this one. Daewoo design through and through and a clean, efficient one at that. Keep us posted on your search legion!

iluvmysephia1 · December 2003

they refer to it incorrectly as the Daewoo Lanos but, hey, there's some helpful specs at the end of this article and it's generally kind to the car. They question two things primarily in this article, both Chevy's ability to sell very many and also the ability of Aveo's powerplant to scoot you safely between large SUV's and pickups on American roads. That remains to be found out in the coming weeks as Aveo's start showing up on the roads. They'll be a hit with consumers, just as sure as Shaquille O'Neal will push and shove his way to the NBA Title this year with Kobe and Gary in tow. Check out the article on Aveo if you like.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=6646&sid=18- - - - - 0&n=157

Chevrolet Aveo Sedan

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