A couple of weeks ago, we reported that GM would be building a new small car at the Lordstown OH plant where they now build Cobalts and Pontiac G5s. Wards reveals the mystery car: the next-gen Chevy Optra, replacing the Cobalt/G5. The Optra (AKA Daewoo Lacetti, Suzuki Forenza and Buick Excelle) will be produced at GM-Daewoo's plant in Gunsan, Korea starting toward the end of this year. Production will expand to Ohio in 2010 "pending conclusion of GM's negotiations to obtain state and local investment incentives from Ohio authorities." The U.S.-spec Optra will feature a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with "considerably upscale" and "sporty" styling. It'll be joined by a redesigned Aveo (Daewoo Gentra) in an "entirely new portfolio of Chevrolet small and compact vehicles." In a move akin to the "Chevy Classic," "Malibu Classic" and "Silverado Classic" games GM's played in the past, the Gunsan plant will continue to produce the current Optra "for certain export markets" along with the "dramatically different" new model. That "dramatic difference" better include dramatic improvements in materials and build quality if Chevy expects to sell it in what's becoming a highly competitive small car market.
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Daewoo made third-rate cars before GM bought it, and it has continued to make third-rate cars ever since.
Let’s hope that the candyman in Ohio knows that it will be lobbing its cash into a hole unless those cars can actually sell. If I was the powers that be, I’d have plenty of strings attached, with design and quality control being at least two of them. Really, really thick strings.
WHAT? WTF?
Ok. Whoa. I almost had a heart attack. I thought that the Chevy Optra was going to be picked over the next-gen Saturn Astra. So Chevy gets Daewoo, and Saturn gets the Opel? Does the Lacetti ride on the Delta platform?
Pch101 is right — Daewoos are crap cars. Why couldn’t GM have invested in Hyundai instead?
Our Guv is pushing a jobs package (by tapping reserves from the Ohio Turnpike no less) and just flew to Wilmington to try to stop DHL from closing, so he may bite.
Ironically, Lordstown is on the turnpike.
John
I think the Daewoo Gentra is the 2008 Aveo 4 dr in your market. Aveo LS in mine.
Are they actually going to discontinue the Delta-based Cobalt, or will it live on, much as they do this in Canada now:
Chevy Aveo
Chevy Optra (nee Suzuki Forenza/Daewoo Lacetti) sedan, wagon and hatch
Chevy Epica (Suzuki Verona).
They were given to Chevy dealers when Oldsmobile was folded. I never really understood why, because all they did was make the existing (and more expensive) Chevy models look bad (an Optra had much, much nicer trim than an Impala of the same year). It was even worse when GM was selling the Cavalier, Cobalt, Sunfire (sedan, too), Pursuit (now the G5) and Optra.
There goes my theory that Dr. Who is the Stig.
Having watched a few Dr. Who episodes in my youth (yes, it has been on that long), I have to ask why seeing the two of them together would make you think they aren’t the same guy?
The Chevy Epica is no longer sold in Canada, people who have it are sorry they purchased it,even though they got it for a good price back in 2004, Parts are non existent, especially body parts! My Kennel Lady purchased one, for the price of $7,000.00 off list!
Does this directly replace the Cobalt, or is Chevy going to have two seperate, but equally mediocre, compact sedans in the US? And, if it does replace the Cobalt, will it be called the Cobalt in the US, or will they stick with Optra? Or maybe they will badge it as a Saturn or a Pontiac and still sell the Cobalt under the Chevy nameplate. The G5 and Astra aren’t really cutting it for Pontiac and Saturn.
I guess the “best” case scenerio would be that it’s a good car (much better than the stuff Daewoo currently makes), it directly replaces the Cobalt, and it is, in fact, called the Cobalt.
GM has this horrible habit of changing the names of all their cars every three years. Part of the reason that the Civic, Accord, Camry, and Corolla sell so well is because they have so many automatic, repeat buyers, who don’t shop around, they just buy the same car every three to six years. If you drop the name, those automatic sales become “maybes”.
Hmm… The Stig does seem to be crouched a tad lower than the Who-ster…
From what I understand this is to replace the Cobalt eventually.
Leftlane News has a spy shot. The vehicle looks…questionable. Okay fine, ugly.
Unless I’ve missed something, Wagoner’s ‘response’ to May’s horrendous collapse in sales has been to shut down 4 truck/SUV plants, add a shift to the Malibu and Cobalt plants and to improve this thing, Cobalt or whatever it is. Is that it? At least Ford plans to bring the Euro Focus over by 2010 I think it is and is looking at building cars in one or more truck plants. Did I miss other parts of GM’s turnaround of their turnaround? If not, I’d like to see their math on how this is supposed to work.
Daewoos suck? The new Saturn VUE, which got 4 of 5 stars right here at TTAC, is a rebadged Daewoo Winstorm
http://idc.gmdaewoo.co.kr/gmmcc/gmmcc.jsp?carID=winstorm&contentsID=brandpage
Heavy? Yes. Sucks? Uh, no.
Wasn’t Lordstown built originally to produce the Vega?
Captain Tungsten
Daewoos suck? The new Saturn VUE, which got 4 of 5 stars right here at TTAC, is a rebadged Daewoo Winstorm
The Vue and Winstorm are both built on the Theta platform but the Vue isn’t a rebadged Winstorm. The Vue is based on the Opel Antara which is built by Daewoo and sold under the Opel brand. The Vue is styled after the Antara but is built in Mexico, much the same as the Saturn Aura is based on the Opel Vectra but is built in Kansas.
On the other hand, the current Chevy Optima is built on the same assembly line as the Daewoo Lacetti, as will the next generation Optima until they ramp up production in Ohio. This new Optima may be a decent car but based on its predecessors and Daewoo’s track record with other small cars they’ve designed and built, they’ll have a huge perception gap to overcome even if it’s so.
proliferation of a virus at its best visual landscape. unfortunately you have been hypnotized that this is a market strategy, bold moves, you name it! Got job?
@willbodine “Wasn’t Lordstown built originally to produce the Vega?”
No, Lordstown has been in production since the mid-1960’s. The first product out of there was the Impala/Bonneville. Later they switched to Camaro/Firebird production. In the early 1970’s they produced the Vega/Astre, and the later H-body variations, Monza/Starfire, etc. It seems like most of my life they produced the J-body Cavalier/Sunbird/Sunfire, and in 2004 switched to the Delta body Cobalt/G5. At one time they had a van plant (the old Beaumont passenger and the cargo vans), but that got shifted to Flint some time ago.
Vegas were only a small part of the story there. A lot has changed since the 1970’s.
GM is now selling the same vehicles across a number of nameplates across the globe. It is getting confusing as to where these designs originated and if they are the same from place to place or just similar. While the Saturn Aura is based on the similar but not same Epsilon chassis as the Opel Vectra (as is the Malibu, G6, Saab 9-3), I thought the Opel Antara and Saturn Vue and Chevy Captiva etc were all the same CUV with different badges. I was expecting the next Cobalt to be the same as the next Opel Astra ( currently similar but not the same. The Saturn Astra and Opel Astra ARE the same) and the same as the next Daewoo Whatever.
Phew! I’m confused…
@Frank: re: Vue/Antara/Winstorm.
GMDAT engineered all three. Minor sheet metal differences. I’ve been in all three, you can only tell the difference by the sound of the powertrain.
Funny… The Cobalt actually has decent “bones”, and an improved/refined version with increased fuel economy could do well — A Daewoo Turbo? Better be bulletproof.
Just seems like the wrong move; completely re-tooling that plant – what the hell is GM up to?