Motor Trend has picked up on news that GM plans on building a B-segment replacement for its Aveo at a US-based, UAW plant. True to form, the new Fiesta competitor will not build on the rich legacy of goodwill accumulated by the Aveo. Probably because the Aveo was a repeat TTAC Ten Worst offender that built no such legacy of goodwill. And thus a new name is born: meet the Chevrolet Viva. MT figures Lake Orion, Michigan; Wilmington, Delaware; or Shreveport, Louisiana, could get the nod. “Building a Chevy Viva in a UAW plant will cost more than building the Aveo in South Korea,” figures MT. “It should be much more stylish and upmarket compared with the current Aveo. Chevy would have the advantage over Ford of a more ready supply of its competitor if the b-segment, fueled also by the coming Fiat 500 and a small Dodge, takes off in the next few years.” Count the assumptions there, folks. Meanwhile, with a Fiesta-Viva battle brewing, it seems that the automakers may be paying attention to the increases in Hispanic population in the US.
Anyone else think “It’s a paper towel?”
usual quesitons then: What platform? Specs? Price point? On-Sale Date? Will it be cheaper then the cheapest of cheap Hyundai Accent or Nissan Versa?
Please, please don’t tell me that GM is running that thing around the ‘Ring.
Also, I guess it’s a rule now to name your b-segment car after a Latin based vocabulary? Aveo, Fiesta, Viva…
I’m pretty sure that nearly anything would be an improvement over the Aveo. Why anyone would buy the current car over a comparable Accent or Versa is way beyond me.
You mean not THAT Chevrolet Viva, you know, the one they tried to produce in Russia a few years ago. No one bought that one, too…
GM has the worst imagination in the world.
http://chevrolet-review.blogspot.com/2007/08/chevrolet-viva-review.html
From my observations we’ve had the Corvair, Vega, Chevette, Spectrum/Storm, Metro, Aveo, and now the Viva. It’s always fun to guess what the next generation subcompact car from Chevrolet will be called.
Does anyone want to guess what the next Honda Civic will be called? My guess is that they’ll call it a Civic.
In the Civic’s case, Notice how Honda has chosen to maintain their trademark in a single model name for 3 decades. Is there a lesson here for GM?
Hey, what was that joke about selling Chevy Novas in Mexico again?
Actually, the Chevy Viva mentioned in an earlier comment was a proposed local version of the Opel Astra but years before there was a Vauxhall Viva in the UK built by GM. It was also manufactured in Australia as the Holden Torana. So the name pre-dates the current trend of all things Latin.
See: http://www.vauxhallviva.com/
OldandSlow :
June 1st, 2009 at 2:59 pm
From my observations we’ve had the Corvair, Vega, Chevette, Spectrum, Metro, Aveo, and now the Viva. It’s always fun to guess what the next generation subcompact car from Chevrolet will be called.
Does anyone want to guess what the next Honda Civic will be called? My guess is that they’ll call it a Civic.
In the Civic’s case, Honda has maintain a vested trademark in the model name for 3 decades. Is there a lesson here for GM?
The lesson here is that you need to build a car that people want so you can build it’s brand name. None of the cars you mentioned deserved to live on.
So how does this differ from the Spark?
What? No “Nova” jokes? How you could miss that opportunity?
For those who haven’t taken high school Spanish, “Nova” in Spanish means, “It doesn’t go.”
the front looks kinda like the previous generation hyundai elantra…
Here’s the whole GM endless re-naming history:
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/general-motors-death-watch-189-name-and-form/
Over 100 names (and counting) for just their smaller sedans over the years.
I demand this car be called the “Sprint”, even if the original wasn’t made by GM it was probably the best small car they ever sold.
Although the Aveo is a dog I have to agree with Oldandslow that GM should have consistency with their product names. Just call it an Aveo and be done with it stop running from your mistakes and fix them. Imagine if after the mustang II if ford had run away from the mustang moniker.
I remember the nova joke. My wifes car has a license plate that says the same in Portuguese (She’s from Brazil).
@Andy Carter –
Spark is a sub-B/city car (like the Fiat 500, but bigger), Viva would be more Fiesta/Fit sized. it’s splitting hairs, but one is _really_ small, the other just pretty small. they are distinct segments in fully mature markets with small cars, here in the US the situation is less clear given the relatively unpopulated segment.
the part of this article which is confusing to me is how GM building the Viva in a UAW/US plant will have “more supply” available vs a Fiesta built in Mexico. a plant is a plant is a plant from a volume perspective, no matter where it is.
It’s a Daewoo design isn’t it? Why does GM keep going back to the Yugo of Asia for their small cars?
Obama will starve people into small cars with taxes and laws…This guarantees UAW employment.
Aveo, Burrito, Cervesa, Dorito, Enchirito, Frito, Garbanzo, Heche-en-Mexico, Indio, Jalepeno, Karrumba, Latino, Llama, Mescalito, Nueva Yorka, Occupado, Patio, Quesadilla, Roberto, Sacramento, Trabajo, Unadilla, Viva, Windsurfista, Xerocopiar, Yate, Zapatilla.
No chargo, since they have no dinero.
As for the competition between Ford and Chevy, it sounds as if we are in for another Vega/Pinto battle. I can’t wait. ;-]
I only hope it’s better than the Aveo.
Viva is the spanish of Alive or Hurray or live in… it depends on where you use the word.
About the Nova joke… it’s No va, but yes, there were jokes about that, also about Renault’s Fuego, Ford, etc…
They should use some of their old names. They already have the Malibu, Impala and Silverado (which traditionally was used for the luxury trim in pick up trucks).
Why not call the Cruze, Chevy II
And this car could perfectly be called Chevette down here, where, I know you won’t believe it, the Chevette was a beloved car for its strenght.
From the MT piece:
“It’s not the Chevrolet Spark. That car, a four-door hatchback version of the Beat two-door hatch concept (which used a name Honda still owns), is on an old Daewoo platform. It cost GM some cash to beef up the body structure after it had been designed to meet U.S. and European crash standards.
The new b-segment small car and c-segment compact to be built in the U.S. must be on new, flexible platforms that could be assembled at any GM plant in the world that builds on those same platforms.”
Check Snopes for the “No-Va” reference. It isn’t true. http://www.snopes.com
@Edward Niedermeyer
…pendejo!
Indeed.
I love Snopes. Use it all the time to send back URLs when I get stupid e-mails from people.
That said, keep posting to this thread and if it gets to 100, Microsoft will send each person who posted $500.
The new GM should indeed try to build on the goodwill they earned with their “C” designated models of the 1980s.
With a little licensing deal from Big Pharma, the vaunted Citation, Cavalier, and Celebrity could be joined by the Celebrex, the Cialis (for older male drivers, automatic transmission only), and the Cipro.
I’m courious: How will GM handle its Lemon Law claims now that it is in bankruptcy? That LA Times article has completely soured me on buying an American Car.
FYI, some patriotic schmuck bought a Chrysler, the car was a lemon, he took Chrysler to court AND WON and forced Chrysler to take back his car. Chrysler then said “Dude, thanks for the keys!!! Oh, as for getting your $30K back, you are now an ‘Unsecured Creditor’ and the ‘Screwed Bondholders’ line forms on the left. Patriotic Schmuck is out a car, he is out the $30k for the bank loan and I bet his next used car purchase will…be a Chrysler?!!!
@scarey: They’re saving “Chevrolet Burrito” for the crossover version.
Ay caramba, Jimbo….
I’m not sold on the idea that there’s a mass market in the U.S. for B-segment cars. The streets aren’t exactly overrun with the two good ones on the market now, the Fit and the Versa.
Viva (será) La Vega (nueva)!
I guess I am one of the few people who remembers the execrable Vauxhall Viva that GM foisted on Canadians (and maybe Americans) back in the early 70s.
It would be nice if they could engineer this car in the US. Come on, it wouldn’t be any worse than the Aveo. Oh, wait the US does not innovate anymore.
Got it.
NickR, re: Vauxhall Viva.
As a fellow Canadian, we had the Envoy Epic (different name, same piece of junk).
Although I do remember delivering papers in it with my sister. We would just leave it in gear idling along as we ran back and forth from house to house.
Ford wants us to party. Chevy just wants us to live.
OldWingGuy, did you get embroiled in the lawsuit against GM over these things? My neighbor back in the ‘Peg had his Viva rotting beside his house until 1980 (at least) as he battled with GM. I remember him telling me that back in the day pissed off customers actually set one ablaze at a demonstration against GM. (Yes, another GM faux pas…thought you knew them all, huh?).