Commentary: What Chevrolet Needs to Compete

[ChevroletRevived]

True...I love the ''another commentary my mgescuro'' line. Haha.

[yamahr1]

Originally Posted by grumbles

I agree, although I feel they should drop the Malibu name when it's redesigned, and debut something all-new instead. "Malibu" means nothing to America or the rest of the world.

Malibu, in my opinion, is one of several great names that Chevrolet should definitely keep. Is that a Camry you have as an avatar? I can see how someone who might approve of the semi-ridiculous non-word, Camry, would find "Malibu" not to their liking, which is a very scenic town on the coast of California. So it most definitely should mean something to people. "Camry" is a, well, just a made up word that the Japanese found "tested well" among its target clientele. It worked, sadly enough.

Malibu, Impala, Caprice, Corvette, Camaro. These are all wonderfully named cars, IMO, with rich heritage.

So back more on point... One car I think Chevy would really benefit from is a version of the SS concept (<- click) they showed in 2003. It has the potential to be the all-American and theoretically affordable version of the 4-door-coupes like the Mercedes CLS and upcoming Audi A7. Maybe resurrecting the Caprice name for it would be nice, too, I feel.


A super-stylish, halo 4-door like this for Chevrolet would really brighten their general appeal in the family car segment. Although they have long had a halo car in the Corvette, I don't think that translates effectively in most people's minds to the Chevrolet brand. Furthermore, this would be a good place to showcase GM technology in a way that more people would find relevant. Imagine a car like that with a hybrid V8, E85 capable, Active Fuel Management, a 6-speed transmission, and possibly AWD (with RWD standard), that could do a 6-second 0-60 and average 30mpg, all for $39K-45K. That's the sort of buzz vehicle that could put Chevrolet back on the map in a big way, even if they only break even or lose a little money on it.

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by cwhast

In Australia the Aveo is called the Holden Barina, because of name recognition due to the Barina name being around since the 80's.

OK. That works. Then there shouldn't be a "Chevy Aveo" sold in Australia then.
We don't get every Toyota model in the US, so the same rules would apply to Chevrolet.

I don't ever forsee the US market getting the Matiz, nor do I expect Europe to get the Suburban.

[texasisbetter]

Imagine a car like that with a hybrid V8, E85 capable, Active Fuel Management, a 6-speed transmission, and possibly AWD (with RWD standard), that could do a 6-second 0-60 and average 30mpg, all for $39K-45K. That's the sort of buzz vehicle that could put Chevrolet back on the map in a big way, even if they only break even or lose a little money on it.__________________

hopefully the next generation zeta based impala will have all this except for under 30 grand.

[yamahr1]

Originally Posted by texasisbetter

hopefully the next generation zeta based impala will have all this except for under 30 grand.

Yes, but the packaging will have to be of certain proportions to preserve the Impala's mission. What Chevy needs is to have their name pop to mind in the head of enthusiasts, when their friends ask them for recommendations for a family car. IOW, influential and trend-conscious consumers have to think of Chevy in the top tier. I'm not sure doing a merely great Impala will have that kind of breakthrough effect.

[civilzues]

I sure hope they don't lose there "American Heritage" while going global

[cwhast]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

OK. That works. Then there shouldn't be a "Chevy Aveo" sold in Australia then.

The Daewoo Kalos was discontinued before it was rebadged as the Barina.

[pkd87]

Some good points. I think Chevy is going to start having consisant name. I think the Aveo name is gong to be used europe for the new aveo (I could be wrong though). I also think that the Malibu and cobalt should be sold overseas but not in the current generation, I wait to export the next gen/refreshed Malibu thats coming and wait for the second generation cobalt to export that because the current Astra is way better than the current cobalt.

[Ty_99]

I am not sure they need to have consistency in names across the world as much as they do across countries. However u can build more brand recognition with higher quality cars in every country. A Chevy is a Chevy no matter where u go.

[Sporer65]

Originally Posted by Ty_99

I am not sure they need to have consistency in names across the world as much as they do across countries. However u can build more brand recognition with higher quality cars in every country. A Chevy is a Chevy no matter where u go.

That is exactly what I was thinking, that if you liked a Chevy in Europe, Australia, or wherever, then you gonna like a Chevy in USA. As long as the cars that are global share the same names, a Malibu in USA shouldn't be another model in another country.

[2648562]

As always you have made some very good points. I'm not so sure about unifying the Chevrolet look though. There are lots of great examples of similar but different looking Chevrolets, but here's one: Back in the early 1970s Chevrolet had two similar yet equally successful models: the Chevelle and Monte Carlo. Unbeknown to most, they shared sheetmetal, glass, engines, interior pieces, the same chassis (4 dr Chevelle=Monte Carlo chassis) and a whole lot more. But they each had their own unique look and unique styling characteristics. And they each sold like crazy. Had they shared the same look (as you're suggesting Chevrolet do now) the general public would've probably cried badge enginering, and it's highly doubtfull that either model would have been as successful as they were and as popular with car buffs as they are today.

[Nocturn_Bird]

Don't say anything about chevy names or else we will a bunch of letters and numbers for all our cars? The chevy E5, or H6...I was about to use C3 as an example but its already something....

[knightfan26917]

Originally Posted by jbernie

I would also suggest that many people would fail to understand why the name was changed.

I agree for the most part.

Except, Chevrolet seems to like changing the names of cars every so often anyway...at least as of late. Course, in each case, a redesign precipitated the name change....

The aforementioned 1980s "nova" turned into the 1990s Geo/Chevrolet Prizm.

The 1980s-early 1990s Corsica turned into the current "malibu".

The 1980s Chevrolet Celebrity turned into the late 1980s/1990s Lumina.

The late 80s/early 1990s 2-door Lumina turned into the "monte carlo".

The mid-1990s 4-door Lumina turned into the "impala".

The 1990s Lumina minivan turned into the Venture, which has since turned into the Uplander.



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[gopedxr7]

totally agree, the names need to be the same around the world. the civic is the civic all over the place. the aveo is the same car different name everywhere just makes things more confusing

Alan

[Butz]

Chevrolet should be consistent worldwide, name like the Corolla and Civic are recognized worldwide, Chevrolet doesn't have something that even come close in recognition.
GM shouldn't sell the same compact worldwide but all of them should carry the same name.




These cars carry the Corolla name eventhough they are different than the one that is sold in NA and different than the Asian markets version.