[anjan_c2007]

The Chevrolet googly by GM, is one of the worst tragedies of our times, on the international auto scene.Chevrolet on our minds invokes the sweet memories of the classic Fleetmaster, mighty Corvette(remember the song Lil' Red Corvette by Prince),the gorgeous Malibu, Belair, Belvedere (the song Do you believe in love by Cher features a red Belvedere),Impala ( the song "meri lottery lag jaane waali hain's", antara goes on "caron me ek car chuni hain car chuni Impala, Impala me tujhe bithakar ghumega dilwala"- this was sung by Kishore Kumar),Camaro, Chevelle, Nova, Silverado, Monte Carlo,Caprice, Colorado and many more, I am sure the mandarins at GM Detriot are at their mental crossroads, if not financial.
Their buyout of the Daewoo chaebol's car making facilities at many countries signalled a rebirth for the make Daewoo. GM should have researched deeply before arriving at the decision to badge all Daewoo models viz. Epica, Optra, Aveo/ Aveo UVA, Spark as Chevrolet. These plasticky, small and in some cases ugly(the Aveo UVA is the ugliest of all) should have better been given some other new name by GM. The esteem of the bow-tie and the truly American brand Chevrolet has been lowered.
I can't think of a fragile and frail 1000cc car like the Spark being badged as a Chevrolet.

[AbhiJ]

Chevrolet has to sell in a competitive market, where players like Maruti, Tata and Hyundai practically rule the sales charts..

The small Spark might not look like a "proper" chevy but it is a good car at a good price. Full blown Chevy models might not have been practical for the Indian market.

[gkrishn]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Optra, Aveo/ Aveo UVA, Spark as Chevrolet. should have better been given some other new name by GM.

Whats wrong with Optra??

Even in US Aveo/UVA are sold as chevy. This is not a different strategy for india alone.

These plasticky, small and in some cases ugly(the Aveo UVA is the ugliest of all)

Dont quite agree with this. UVA is a very well built car. The exterior looks are pretty good. The interior is little chubby. I didnt like it either.

[bhp1]

GMs strategies for some time now have not been working. DAEWOO, was a rotten brand to acquire . But GM has put a lot of brains in the deal & only they could make it work to what level it is now. CHEVROLET was associated with large cars, but in the recent times it had lost flavour in the west ie. on its home turf , as their cars had gotten off the radar of buyers. Had GM brought the original chevrolet cars in india , they would have found very few buyers due to exhorbitant prices. GM knew chevy had a huge brand name in india , thanks to maharajas & films, so they launched cheaper cars in chevy guise , thinking they could exploit the fantasies of indians. To a great extent this worked too.
Otherwise GM was fighting a losing battle , with OPEL having already bunked in india bigtime.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

The Chevrolet googly by GM, is one of the worst tragedies of our times, on the international auto scene.Chevrolet on our minds invokes the sweet memories of the classic Fleetmaster, ..

Its one of the best moves by an automaker of late. While some brand dilution has occured, the cons are far outweighed by the pros - a low cost design center for emerging markets - something Ford has paid for by not having. And GM is also utilizing this quite effectively in its home market of the US - low cost, well designed(now) and fuel-efficient cars in a market thats tanked big time.

[abhinav.gupta88]

What is the chevrolet optra called in the UK
Heard something else on the Top Gear Show.!

[aah78]

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

What is the chevrolet optra called in the UK

Check this link -> Wikipedia: Daewoo Lacetti
You'll see what its called all over the world.

[lurker]

If you ask me personally, GM had its best time in India with brands like Opel and Subaru. The Astra and Forrester were great brands to be associated with.

If they had carried on in same vein, they would have earned far more repute in India than their operations in other part of the world.

[aaggoswami]

No certainly not. I would love to see real chevrolets and not even one has arrived till now. This shows that GM is not oriented to have the Chevrolet brand as luxury one like Opel.
The products are not very good from Daewoo. Drive a chevy Malibu ( My cousin in US just bought one ) and drive a chevy here, you will come to know the difference between the build.
Also, IMO, the Aveo is somewhat overpriced.

Originally Posted by gkrishn

Whats wrong with Optra??



Dont quite agree with this. UVA is a very well built car. The exterior looks are pretty good. The interior is little chubby. I didnt like it either.

The UVA is a well built car, but not the Aveo ( from Daewoo). Aveo has 2/5 Euro NCAP rating and UVA has 3/5. Chevrolet should have given us better products.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Using a different brand would also involve trademark and related rights. I am not sure if the GM got the right to use the Daewoo trademark when they purchased the daewoo automobile division.

Yes, the look and finish of an Opel is certainly missing in GM products available here right now.

[Tron]

Chevy is no more the icon that it used to be. Now they make crappy cars with poor reliability. Considering Daewoo has better build quality than Chevy, it's not a bad move at all.

[snaronikar]

IMO, this is a good move and it is paying for GM here in India. The way they are selling Spark is an indication for this.

[fx45]

Chevrolet should at least launch the Malibu and the Cobalt here to compete with the competition in cars and the TrailBlazer and Equinox for the SUV category..

Even the Captiva is orignally daewoo machine. isnt it.. but it is doing well accross the world.. GM is selling it under (like other models) Chevy, Daewoo, Opel, Holden & Saturn brands as far as i know.

[v12]

Looking at the success of the Optra, it seems to be a very wise move by GM. After Daewoo's bankruptcy, it would have been difficult for GM to sell the cars as Daewoo's. It simply would not have sold.

Its a different story that the Spark was a flop since it did not suit the Chevrolet badge. Maybe the Spark should have been sold as a Daewoo.

[GTO]

For automotive purists, it's absolute blasphemy to see Daewoo's being badged as Chevrolets. But from a marketing standpoint, it makes immense sense simply because the bow tie was most popular in India. Brands equate trust, and Chevy is the best that GM had for India.

Globally too, GM sells rebadged Chevys. Their Indian offerings are pretty decent, actually. The Spark is a superb hatch, but let down by inconsistent pricing. The UVA is a great B segmenter, save for the puny engine. The Tavera, well, is a competent UV but an example of a "neither here nor there" product. It had its work cut out against Tata / Mahindra on one hand and Toyota on the other. Several years since launch, the Optra is still a good sedan. It scores pretty well on the looks, comfort and luxury factors.

To answer the question in the thread title, Yes. It has been a wise decision for GM India.

If you ask me personally, GM had its best time in India with brands like Opel and Subaru.

Good cars but pretty irrelevant for India. The Astra made itself a horrible reputation for recurring problems, FE and big $$$ maintainence costs. The Forester was always a niche.