Chevy Spark release announced EDIT : Now launched

rahul_intlad · 13th January 2007, 11:33

Quote:

What they also want is great after-sales service! How will GM be able to cater to the potential volume sales; They have like 2 dealerships in mumbai and only overworked one covering Shivaji Park to Cuffe Parade.

Can we Expect a GM-Reliance tie-up[Or other such tie-ups]

Reliance malls may offer car servicing

Surprise · 13th January 2007, 11:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

What they also want is great after-sales service!

at low costs.

Atleast the market perception is only Company which offers cars that are very easy to maintain in none other than Maruti. GM loses heavily on this front. Tought task for them is to reach masses.

ravibhat · 13th January 2007, 11:45

Yes GM, Toyota, Skoda need tie up with comapny like comig soon Reliance service stations spread all over India so they can capture market share.

Regards,

Ravi.

iraghava · 13th January 2007, 15:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by rahul_intlad

Can we Expect a GM-Reliance tie-up[Or other such tie-ups]

Reliance malls may offer car servicing

Why would GM outsource servicing? It forms a HUGE part of revenue for the company & dealers & there is no way they are going to let a 3rd party reap the benefit of that.

But GM is going to have to do a lot of work to improve their Sales, Service, Customer Experience & reduce the spare parts prices & service charges to a resonable level. Otherwise the Spark is also going to go the Aveo way.

pgsagar · 13th January 2007, 16:24

Spark looks way better than Estillo. Estillo is rounded at the front but beyond A-pillar it is angular. The roofline is a straight line which mars the overall rounded theme. The rear also is angular like Wagon-R. ( Like Scorpio which is rounded at the bonnet but thereafter very angular unlike Safari which is well rounded ). Whereas Spark is rounded from front bumper to rear. This incidentally is also the route all small car designers are taking. Remember Merc Smart? So spark is very modern on design front. It can't get any more rounded than this. You will have to attach 4-wheels to a sphere if you want it any more rounded.

rahul_intlad · 13th January 2007, 17:40

Outsourcing does not necessarily mean a revenue loss for the manufacturer,Gm[in this case] would earn royalty fees from Reliance,Spare parts would be GM authorised[additional revenue], plus it would take care of the lack of infrastructre at the dealer end.Besides Gm would also earn from customers who would anyways have visited the reliance centre gm tie up or not.

But the main opponents for such an idea may not be GM but Reliance itself as they would have to share revenues and also the present GM dealers for whom again it is a loss of revenue.

Mendi · 13th January 2007, 18:16

Yes ofcourse the Spark looks much fresher than Estilo [which is nothing else but a cardboard box for me]. I would rate Spark higher than estilo, wagon-R and santro. Yes the side seems to remind of the good Getz somehow. I feel the OVRMs are of a very orthodoax looking shape. Its my presumption though..
seems to be a good contender for a "nice to maneuver" small car for the city drive similar to Matiz. I think something could have been added on the bonnett besides the Chevy logo, maybe some lining or some other thing. it seems to be an awkward looking Bonnett beed...

Ram · 13th January 2007, 19:18

The same Matiz sheet-metal presses will crank out the dimensionally identical Spark.
If you've seen an old 796 cc Matiz, you've seen a Spark. Maybe some lights and cosmetics are different, no more. Round steering wheel boss and round tail-lights don't make it a different car.

The Getz is much sleeker and longer and has a longer wheelbase than the Matiz-Spark.

IMHO Matiz-Spark is more in the Santro category (Spark is actually smaller than Santro) than the Hyundai Getz category.

In fact with a 1.5 m width and 1.5 m height, the Matiz/Spark has a square cross-section. What could be uglier?

Anybody feel any different?

Mendi · 13th January 2007, 19:27

i can agree with you Ram but with the photo, this seems much better than atleast Estilo, which no-one buys even in japan. its such an old design..... Somehow I dont like the santro and Wagon-R for their tall standing heights.
i was told by someone that matiz had the thinnest sheet thickness [0.8mm on the doors] to make it lighter, when it used to be there on road. Now lets see if they have improved upon that as well?

karan561 · 13th January 2007, 19:30

Im sure it is going to do better than ESTILO .....

scorp 1 · 14th January 2007, 13:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mendi

i can agree with you Ram but with the photo, this seems much better than atleast Estilo, which no-one buys even in japan. its such an old design.....

And you thought Spark was a new design? Matiz and Spark are identical. This is no 'fresh' design - only the change of badge & lights. Thats it.

scorp 1 · 14th January 2007, 14:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Buyers from this segment do not necessarily care about the "latest". What they want is a low price, FE, space and reliability.

Too generalized statement & almost a wrong perception - mainly because the current options in this segment are limited. When the buyers don't have much choice, they go for the FE & Reliability factors - but in a better looking model. Ofcourse, GM isn't going to segment this car in the M800 league. If they position it against the Getz/Santro/Swift (which they would), looks would certainly matter !

CrAzY dRiVeR · 14th January 2007, 16:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mendi

i can agree with you Ram but with the photo, this seems much better than atleast Estilo, which no-one buys even in japan. its such an old design.....

Both the designs are old...

Estilo is 5 year old design... That time, Matiz was on sale in India... Which should make the matiz an even older design...

man23ish · 14th January 2007, 16:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorp 1

And you thought Spark was a new design? Matiz and Spark are identical. This is no 'fresh' design - only the change of badge & lights. Thats it.

Agreed!! The Matiz was a well engineered car and was very successful in the market. (Ask any Matiz owner). Daewoo could not build on the success of this car and ended up in a Fiat-like story (In India).

GM engineers do not have to make any changes to the existing model, except maybe replace the engine with a more powerful/FE one. Although the original engine wasn't bad at all.

"Suggestion: Lap up the good old Matiz at a very cheap rate and when Spark is launched, sell it at a higher rate.. Ha Ha"

Steeroid · 14th January 2007, 16:08

5 pages of discussion on a car that was released along with the Santro many eons ago and now features a few headlamp treatment.

C'mon guys - there's nothing 'new' about this Spark. Go drive a Matiz and you've driven this one.

13th January 2007, 11:45	#48
ravibhat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,256 Thanked: 37 Times View My Garage	Yes GM, Toyota, Skoda need tie up with comapny like comig soon Reliance service stations spread all over India so they can capture market share. Regards, Ravi.
	() Thanks

13th January 2007, 16:24	#50
pgsagar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Vizag Posts: 2,628 Thanked: 3,568 Times View My Garage	Sparkling Spark!!! Spark looks way better than Estillo. Estillo is rounded at the front but beyond A-pillar it is angular. The roofline is a straight line which mars the overall rounded theme. The rear also is angular like Wagon-R. ( Like Scorpio which is rounded at the bonnet but thereafter very angular unlike Safari which is well rounded ). Whereas Spark is rounded from front bumper to rear. This incidentally is also the route all small car designers are taking. Remember Merc Smart? So spark is very modern on design front. It can't get any more rounded than this. You will have to attach 4-wheels to a sphere if you want it any more rounded.
	() Thanks

13th January 2007, 17:40	#51
rahul_intlad Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 1,579 Thanked: 4 Times	Outsourcing does not necessarily mean a revenue loss for the manufacturer,Gm[in this case] would earn royalty fees from Reliance,Spare parts would be GM authorised[additional revenue], plus it would take care of the lack of infrastructre at the dealer end.Besides Gm would also earn from customers who would anyways have visited the reliance centre gm tie up or not. But the main opponents for such an idea may not be GM but Reliance itself as they would have to share revenues and also the present GM dealers for whom again it is a loss of revenue.
	() Thanks

13th January 2007, 18:16	#52
Mendi BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Melbourne, AU Posts: 69 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	Yes ofcourse the Spark looks much fresher than Estilo [which is nothing else but a cardboard box for me]. I would rate Spark higher than estilo, wagon-R and santro. Yes the side seems to remind of the good Getz somehow. I feel the OVRMs are of a very orthodoax looking shape. Its my presumption though.. seems to be a good contender for a "nice to maneuver" small car for the city drive similar to Matiz. I think something could have been added on the bonnett besides the Chevy logo, maybe some lining or some other thing. it seems to be an awkward looking Bonnett beed...
	() Thanks

13th January 2007, 19:18	#53
Ram Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Singapore, Mumbai, Nagpur Posts: 2,166 Thanked: 219 Times View My Garage	The same Matiz sheet-metal presses will crank out the dimensionally identical Spark. If you've seen an old 796 cc Matiz, you've seen a Spark. Maybe some lights and cosmetics are different, no more. Round steering wheel boss and round tail-lights don't make it a different car. The Getz is much sleeker and longer and has a longer wheelbase than the Matiz-Spark. IMHO Matiz-Spark is more in the Santro category (Spark is actually smaller than Santro) than the Hyundai Getz category. In fact with a 1.5 m width and 1.5 m height, the Matiz/Spark has a square cross-section. What could be uglier? Anybody feel any different?
	() Thanks

13th January 2007, 19:27	#54
Mendi BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Melbourne, AU Posts: 69 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	i can agree with you Ram but with the photo, this seems much better than atleast Estilo, which no-one buys even in japan. its such an old design..... Somehow I dont like the santro and Wagon-R for their tall standing heights. i was told by someone that matiz had the thinnest sheet thickness [0.8mm on the doors] to make it lighter, when it used to be there on road. Now lets see if they have improved upon that as well?
	() Thanks

13th January 2007, 19:30	#55
karan561 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 5,068 Thanked: 22,246 Times View My Garage	Im sure it is going to do better than ESTILO .....
	() Thanks

14th January 2007, 16:08	#60
Steeroid Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: N.A Posts: 7,046 Thanked: 2,751 Times	5 pages of discussion on a car that was released along with the Santro many eons ago and now features a few headlamp treatment. C'mon guys - there's nothing 'new' about this Spark. Go drive a Matiz and you've driven this one.
	() Thanks