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While I think it’s overstyled for it’s overall packaging (a Honda Fit-ish vehicle) it looks pretty nice. The double fender creases over the rear wheels is silly.
I’m sorry but that is just hideous. You’re sure it isn’t a joke?
tib:
Define “joke.”
Admit it, RF, that’s a trick photograph, right? My guess: it’s an image of the car’s reflection in a fun house mirror.
Another clue: the paint color is an effective substitute for Ipecac.
Joke = GM Marketing Dept
It’s a re badged Caliber.
What do I win?
I know what this is. It’s the long rumored Cozy Coupe III from Little Tikes. I just wish they hadn’t kept the wheels from the original.
Design is as much about restraint as it is about capability.
Who ever was responsible for this should be shot on sight lest they get their hands on something important.
Awww, c’mon. This has always been the Jeanine Garafalo of cars… you’re repulsed and attracted at the same time.
Hi-ho, Kermit the frog here with another exciting report from Sesame Street cars…
Looks like any number of semi-goofy JDM cars.
Twenty years ago I would have said it must be French or from a soviet puppet state. But sadly its American.
That is one nasty looking pile; I think they may have finally outdone the Aztek.
It’s a Pokemon!!!
All the pics I have seen of this car from the NY auto show last time showed it as a 2-door. This pic seemingly is a 4-door with no door handles on the rear doors. I think they don’t belong.
I believe I just saw one of these on display at the Twin Peaks, er, North Bend Factory stores on I-90. A Chevy Avero or something. 1% North American content, 79% Korean content. I do not know the sticker price as Chapman (shown on the license plate frame) ripped half of it off, the part showing the price. I guess they were too embarrassed to leave it on there.
Also, it had exterior rear door handles.
Tires must be about 12-inch diameter, inset about 6 inches from rear bumper. If kids tip it on it’s side in the parking lot that should not be a problem as it has a 4-star rollover rating. The 5-star front crash rating is achieved if you are home on the couch instead of in it at the time of the impact.
I am nowhere in that picture. That’s what isn’t wrong.
And, as with bell bottom jeans, you would have to hold a gun to my head to get me in that car. A large gun.
It looks like it’s about to sneeze…
GM wants to die.
Why does it have roof rails?
The front end is a streamlined design to ensure you burrow into the snow bank completely. Then the oversize headlights are actually heaters to melt your way out.
The roof rails are handles to help passers by help you get it back onto it’s wheels.
Looks like an Aveo and a last gen Vibe ran into each other. Made in Korea as the Aveo is now of course. And somewhere they decided to try and cram the Malibu grill into the thing.
It’s just horribly proportioned – I really hope they don’t bring this thing – it could be their Aztek #2.
The misshapen result of a three-way between a Suzuki SX4, Kia Soul and an Aveo?
@carguy622 :
Why does it have roof rails?
Those aren’t roof rails. They’re handles that allow you to use it as carry-on luggage when you fly.
That four-door treatment and the fender creases are make-believe, right? The concept is not nearly as garish, and even knowing what I know about GM I cannot believe they’d screw up the design this way.
I just hope I’m not about to get an unpleasant surprise.
When did Chris Bangle join GM design? What’s the deal with headlamps that are as long as the hoodline??? Every designer cliche in the world has been applied here… it makes the uglified 2nd-gen Mazda 3 look good by comparison.
Looks like a beetle that got eletrocuted. :/
Looks awesome, sign me up
Do a search for Opel Agila and you’ll get an idea where the shape comes from.
The rear door handle is in the black area behind the window.
This is smaller than an Aveo
You have to look beyond the styling. This car will likely weigh about 2300#, add the new DI turbo 1.4L and it should work out well.
@ wildcmc: The Pontiac rebadge should be named the Pikachu.
Ah crap, it’s already growing on me… it’s just weird enough to get me to like it.
Thank God, thank God!
This vehicle will surely save GM, and they’ll be able to pay our money back!
I love it! It’s amazing Chevrolet was able to capture the essence of Japanese goofiness and not make it look ugly. That’s a tough thing to do, not even Toyota has a car that looks funky yet good. The Scion xD tries to look funky, but ends up looking like a pissed off toaster.
@mxhi5:
Actually, it’s South Korean.
Wow, another Daewoo courtesy of GM.
I’d take the German designed and engineered Ford Fiesta over it, thanks.
Yet, this is the design that was chosen by the public through an internet poll. So…your problems aren’t so much with GM as with preteens with broadband and an itchy mouse finger.
The only obnoxious part about it is the stupid headlights. Sure, its high-strung, but at this end of the market that’s more an asset than a liability.
I do find it hilarious that all of you are bitching about it because of the design, but if there wasn’t a very real possibility (if not an almost assured possibility) that this is going to be sold in the US, you’d all be bitching that GM was screwing the US out of a small car.
Yet, this is the design that was chosen by the public through an internet poll. So…your problems aren’t so much with GM as with preteens with broadband and an itchy mouse finger.
I don’t really think the Disney Channel crowd is surfing over from Webkins and HannahMontana.com to vote for the new GM car. No, those are bored college students who picked this car…AKA the frantically sought-after First-Time Car Buyer!
Scion could have told you all about it half a decade ago, before they made the cars unappealing to anyone.
And why not appeal to entry-level car buyers? I imagine it’s easier to win new, young, naieve customers than to win back the ones driven away by 30 years of shitty cars…
With that in mind, I would ask everyone to keep in mind that this group’s (our) thoughts on a vehicle’s looks are almost exclusively defined by how much you don’t like it. Thus, I think it’s great!
Not that I like this class of sardine can cars, but this is exactly what GM needs to compete with the Fit. Actually, I think this looks better than the Down Syndrome looking Fit.
Eh, considering what it could have been, it’s alright.
Of course, the point of what it looks like when it finally makes production is going to be completely moot since the mechanicals will be pure Daewoo Aveo, meaning whatever it looks like, it’s going to drive and perform like shit in all aspects.
It looks like a Scion xA on steroids. It’s not bad, but I do wish the designer would have made up his/her mind and just picked one of the two creases over the rear wheel.
@Rudiger
No, this platform is all new.
Looking forward to not buying one
Another thing… is that supposed to be a side marker on the wheel well part of the fender. It would be far better if placed above that bulge.
@Carguy622
I’m pretty sure the height of markers like that is dictated by regulators, not the companies.
I actually like it?
Seriously, take away the roof rails and it’ll look alot less silly. I mean seriously, roof rails on a city car? Right.
And yeah this is a CITY CAR which will compete with the Ford Ka and Renault Twingo, not a Honda Fit-sized subcompact. If it were to be sold in the US, it would almost definitely base under $10k.
The black triangle aft of the headlight (couldn’t they just fill that part in as part of the lamp?), the randomly placed marker light, and cheap-looking front door handles are unfortunate details, but personally I think the car as a whole looks good. Meh, maybe I just have bad taste.
This is the successor of the Chevrolet Matiz. I drove this thing for a while in England as a cheap rental. It had the “made in Korea” stickers still on it. Oddly enough I felt quite OK with this thing when there. European urban lifestyle makes a car somewhat superfluous and people seem to keep one of these to get suburban groceries once a week and to visit grandma once a month, and it does that trick.
clearly it NEEDS bigger headlamps.
Bitch, bitch, bitch.
I think it looks quite good. Actually, it does look French. French cars these days are the most daring and interesting stylistically. I hope the reliability of this Daewoo in Chevy clothes will be on par with today’s Peugeot.
GM should be applauded for offering small hatchbacks. It might not fit everyone’s needs, but it is a multi-purpose city car. If GM doesn’t screw up and offers it with a small, fuel-efficient engine, it might sell decently well.
Droid800: “No, this platform is all new.”We’ll see. We’re talking about General Motors, where “all new” usually means new bodies slapped on slightly warmed over variations of existing mechanicals (particularly applicable to the lower end of the market).
Never before have so many angles died for so little.
The real issue with this car and the Chrysler Electrics is that they appear to be a smoke screen that is being used to justify the bailout. Are these cars really intended for US roads or are they propaganda tools that will never be sold here.
The two-door Beat concept was a “cleaner” design; the fender pleats were more subdued.
This is just a bit too busy, but the form factor is essentially unchanged.
FWIW, the addition of the deeper pleats and the extra doors does make it look like an Aveo, especially since Chevy chose to adorn the (otherwise unchanged) crapbox with their “corporate” grille. If they had just left the Aveo with the “old” styling, there would be less confusion – a percentage of buyers will make the mistake of thinking it’s an Aveo and pass it by.
The only obnoxious part about it is the stupid headlights.
That and the color. But even if those things are fixed, this is still obviously a captive import with a bow tie slapped on it. It’s no more a Chevrolet than a 9-7X is a Saab.
I see (from ABG) that this version is called the “Spark”.
I’m sure that GM will determine if there’s a spark of interest in this vehicle at Detroit – we’ll see if it’s displayed prominently, or jammed into a back corner (so GM can claim “lack of interest” and abandon plans for a USA version).
Just keep it away from the Volt – we don’t want a fire…
Well, here’s the thing: obviously there was a LOT of clay shavings on the floor when it was designed. And for GM now, like Chrysler back in the day, it just seems like they spent way too much effort on the looks of the thing because there isn’t much to appreciate elsewhere, if you know what I mean.
Has anyone seen the WTCC Ultra? If they were going to bring something in this size stateside, the Ultra seems to be more interesting.
http://www.chevrolet.co.uk/conceptcars/conceptcars-wtcc-ultra.html
Is that the top for the new Chevy Pez-dispenser?
I’ll tell you one thing that isn’t wrong with the car in the photo, IMHO: the size of the tires. For once, we see a vehicle with tires that aren’t needlessly oversized for the sole purpose of appearance.
It’s nice to see small wheels from the aspect of lower unsprung weight, plus a lower cost when the tires need replacing. And really, who needs a wheel size larger than 15″ on a sub-150 hp econobox?
I also have heard and read that GM chose the name “Beat” for this concept, or future model, as the case may be. I thought that Honda owned the rights to that particular model name?
I think that in another, more complementary, color this would be a good looking car. I wonder why they picked that color for the show.
Wow, that’s bad. I chose one of the other versions, not this one, so don’t blame me!
The biggest problem with that car is it’s Chevy badge. That alone will guarantee mediocre sales numbers at best. Swap the bowtie with a Honda or Toyota badge, and I guarantee dealers won’t be able to stock the sour-apple JellyBelly fast enough. The cold ugly truth is, hardly anybody wants an America-branded car anymore. Whether it’s a genuinely good car or not, doesn’t matter. Driving a domestically-branded vehicle carries a stigma, unfair or not.
What is wrong with is the rear doors. This is close to the Beat that I VOTED FOR during the internet voting. I would like to see the details, but if Ford puts a trunk on the Fiesta (which I heard they might) this might not be a bad option.
Hiding the rear door release handles in a matte-black section next to the C-pillar is kind of a clever trick, though.
@James2 :
When did Chris Bangle join GM design?
That’s easy:
If you look in his CV, he joined GM in 1981. He left to Fiat in 1985.
@rudiger :
Hiding the rear door release handles in a matte-black section next to the C-pillar is kind of a clever trick, though.
It works very well on the Alfa 156 and 147, the Honda Civic hatchback and the Seat Leon… to name only a few.
@Mirko Reinhardt,
I believe the first generation of the Nissan Pathfinder also had a similar door handle arrangement. I can’t recall if it was blacked out, but the rear handle was in the C-pillar.
Having re-read the headline I’ll re-respond. With the exception of it being a 4-door, there ISN’T anything wrong with this picture.
Picture it in black. It’s not bad, if you’re in the market for a small car like this. Anyways, beggars can’t be choosers – what did you want an entrylevel subcompact to look like, a Ferrari?
mxhi5 :
January 10th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Twenty years ago I would have said it must be French or from a soviet puppet state. But sadly its American.
Not even. While it’s carrying the American flag and an American nameplate, the only way GM would ever have done this (it’s proven) is to contract it out to their South Korean discount subsidiary.
And isn’t this thing supposed to be cheap to buy and operate? How many thousands of dollars is one of those absurdly large headlamps (which, BTW, don’t even look good) going to cost to replace?
This weird little car is much more “interesting” looking than any other GM small car. Maybe one of the creases should go. And the headlights do seem like they wold be expensive to replace, which is dumb. But that seems like nitpicking to me.
Why not try to keep things in perspective? No one is suggesting that this is the “perfect” solution to all of GM’s problems. The current Aveo couldn’t be any more boring. This looks like an improvement. The ugly, unimaginative Scion Xb seems to do just fine when it comes to controversial styling.
Jimal: “I believe the first generation of the Nissan Pathfinder also had a similar door handle arrangement. I can’t recall if it was blacked out, but the rear handle was in the C-pillar.”The Nissan truck-based SUVs (Xterra, Pathfinder, Armada) all have the rear door release handles in the C-pillar but they’re not concealed in any way. None of the other vehicles previously mentioned with this sort of arrangement are available in the US.
2 million people voted for it.
The color
It looks like it’s screaming at the person sitting to my left.
I would say the what it looks like 13-14” alloy rims