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Official: New Aveo to be Named Sonic

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#1 · (Edited)
Official: New Aveo to be Named Sonic
GMI's report brings GM to formally announce the new Sonic.
www.GMInsideNews.com
December 9, 2010
By: Nick Saporito


On Tuesday GMI broke news that General Motors will be renaming the Chevrolet Aveo subcompact car to Sonic. After a media frenzy from our report, General Motors has formally announced that, indeed, the Chevrolet Sonic will exist starting next year.

“The Sonic represents a new beginning for Chevrolet in the small car segment and so we felt it was time to give it a new name,” said Chris Perry, vice president, Chevrolet U.S. Marketing. “The new car is roomy, stylish and fun to drive, and Sonic is a youthful, energetic name that helps convey what this vehicle is about.”

Production of the Sonic will begin in mid-2011 at GM's Lake Orion Assembly Plant in Lake Orion Township, Michigan. The car is expected to maintain the Aveo name in global markets, with Holden continuing the Barina name.





 
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#10 · (Edited)
“The Sonic represents a new beginning for Chevrolet in the small car segment and so we felt it was time to give it a new name.”
“The Cruze represents a new beginning for Chevrolet in the compact car segment and so we felt it was time to give it a new name.”
“The XTS represents a new beginning for Cadillac in the luxury car segment and so we felt it was time to give it a new name.”
“The Lucerne represents a new beginning for Buick in the luxury car segment and so we felt it was time to give it a new name.”
“The G3 represents a new beginning for Pontiac in the small car segment and so we felt it was time to give it a new name.”
“The Cobalt represents a new beginning for Chevrolet in the compact car segment and so we felt it was time to give it a new name.”
“The G6 represents a new beginning for Pontiac in the midsize car segment and so we felt it was time to give it a new name.”
How many times does it take? This is crazy.

While other automakers simply build on their nameplates, GM trashes them every cycle because the new model is "a new beginning". It clearly isn't, it's just better than the outgoing model. Just like how almost every other carmaker operates.
 
#24 ·
You make a good point, Masospaghetti.

It's not the name, it's the car. GM could choose to build equity in its products, or it could change them with every generation, leaving consumers to wonder such things as what a Sonic is.

People may not like them on this site, but many, many people know what a Civic is, what an Accord is, what a Corolla is, what a 3-series is. Tons of equity. And many of these started off as crap when they first arrived here, but I don't think that that's the case anymore.
 
#14 ·
Put bluetooth, iPhone integration, Facebook integration, some room to easily put a tomtom or a Garmin GPS, STANDARD and even if it had wood seats and a Geo Metro's engine, it would sell well in big cities.

Time for GM to add technological features in their small urban cars, because this is what those customers want.
 
#18 ·
The changes they made for the production model look amazing! I can't wait to see the front. I see great things in this cars future.
 
#19 ·
The first commercial almost writes itself.

Show an extended clip of the video game, but instead of the character, have the car doing the work. At the end, zoom in on the car and have the announcer say "Introducing the all new Sonic!!" or something like that.
 
#25 ·
It's no different than Chevrolet having the Matiz name and the Spark name in different markets...
 
#87 ·
Certainly looks better than the production Aveo, although I'm still not keen on the 'Sonic' name. I can only hope that the production Sonic will look similar to these screenshots. At the same time, I don't see any new 'Sonic' nose shots. I wonder if it's been upgraded to the Aveo RS concept nose or if it's still the snoozefest that is the production Aveo.



While yes, there is precedent for doing this, that doesn't mean it should be a continued practice, especially with new GM. I thought they were doing a good thing when they renamed the Buick Allure to be LaCrosse to match the same name as the US & China. IMO, global brands should have global identities. As far as I'm concerned, it's the quality & style that sells the car, not the name. Hell, didn't I just read that the current Aveo was still on par or outselling the new Fiesta? I'm sure the car will sell well, but it's a shame that they're going to throw away the name recognition that the Aveo has.
 
#26 ·
Sorry everyone, but thumbs up from me. Glad to see 'em rolling off the line in Lake Orion too.... be even better to see it out-do the Fiesta.
 
#98 ·
Yep built in America, unlike the overrated Fiesta which is made in Mexico(seems to be the case for alot of Ford vehicles these days)...

I don't really see anything in the Fiesta that cant be surpassed, its a nice little car, but its nothing amazing IMO. If GM did their homework, I expect this car to have no problems with the Fiesta. The Aveo and Fiesta should both be top of their class, have we ever been able to say that about two American cars in this segement?
 
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