[SS4EVER]

By Canadiandriver.com

Oshawa, Ontario - GM Canada announced the addition of a new wagon to the Chevrolet Optra lineup which also includes a four door sedan and four-door hatchback.

Cathy Mowat, Marketing Manager for Chevrolet small cars, said, "Chevy small car sales are up an incredible 75% for the calendar year to date, and we expect the Optra wagon to bring even more customers to our showrooms."

The Optra wagon has a maximum capacity of 1,971 litres including the ability to carry 5 adults. Under the hood, the Optra wagon.......
Full Story Here

 

[chevyman]

It doesnt look that bad, Chevys needed a Wagon seeing how Ford and Mitsubishi and Mazda all have Wagon versions of their cars , i think it should only be in the Optra lineup keep the Cobalt a more "sportier less soccer mom" type of vehicle

 

[GM_Guy81]

Well, they kinda hve the Malibu maxx, and the HHR is coming.

 

[dindak]

Strange how GM Canada is expanding the Optra line here but not even giving the US the car. Seems to me it would sell well in the US also, especially with gas prices going through the roof everywhere.

 

[SS4EVER]

This gives you an idea of market share of vehicles for 2003. You see canuks buying subcompact vehicles almost 4X more and the compact ones are 2X more. Perhaps that is why they aren't marketing them for the states?

What We Drive
Comparing market share of motor vehicles in 2003
Passenger Cars Canada U.S.
Subcompact 4.1% 1.4%
Compact 25.4 12.3
Sport 2.2 2.3
Intermediate 17.7 21.2
Luxury 2.9 4.3
Luxury high-end 1.5 3.2
Luxury sport 0.5 1.1

Light Trucks Canada U.S.
Small pickup 1.8% 3.8%
Compact sport utility 7.0 6.8
Small van 12.5 6.5
Intermediate sport utility 6.6 10.3
Large pickup 12.7 14.8
Large van 1.7 1.9
Large sport utility 1.3 6.4
Luxury sport utility 2.0 3.7

 

[paul8488]

hmmm... i wonder why we buy more small cars up here. i have a small one, and i know why i bought it, but canada and the US are both very large countries with a good mix of sprawling urban centers and massive rural areas. have gas prices been comparatively high in canada for a while? do we have less disposable income? are we more environmentally sensitive? i would have guessed things would be a little more even, and that small car sales would be similar for the two countries.

the other day in another post (a cobalt one, i think) someone wrote that they didn't think the aveo would adequately fill the space below the cobalt (left in dropping the cavalier). that's probably very true, but not a concern in canada. the optra, optra5 and optra wagon will do a decent job, i think. now all they need is an optra3 or 2-door model and they're set!

 

[MelvinJ]

Originally posted by paul8488@May 21 2004, 03:50 PM
hmmm... i wonder why we buy more small cars up here. i have a small one, and i know why i bought it, but canada and the US are both very large countries with a good mix of sprawling urban centers and massive rural areas. have gas prices been comparatively high in canada for a while? do we have less disposable income? are we more environmentally sensitive?

I'm guessing that you are right on all three counts. The gas prices are certain, though.

 

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

Basically, due to our dollar, we Canadians are "poorer" than our American counterparts, essentially we get paid less in "value" of $$$ here and have less to spend on der autos...

 

[ponchoman49]

Silly GM doesn't have a home built wagon in there stable(the Vibe is a Toyota) and Saturn doesn't count in my book. What Chevy needs is a medium and compact sized wagon in the lineup( like the Ford Focus and Taurus). That would surely increase sales in this gas inflated country. Not everyone wants a sport ute!

 

[SaabKing]

Originally posted by dindak@May 21 2004, 03:00 AM
Strange how GM Canada is expanding the Optra line here but not even giving the US the car. Seems to me it would sell well in the US also, especially with gas prices going through the roof everywhere.

If u want it in the US get the Suzuki version

 

[dindak]

Wagons just don't generally sell big numbers. Wagon sales have mostly move to minivans because people like to sit up higher, have the extra space and get things like power sliding doors.

As for car sales in Canada, smaller wins here because of higher taxed gas and higher income taxes to pay for health care ect. The Optra would do well in the U.S. though if gas prices stay high. I'll bet if we still see $2+ gas come the fall you may see Optras coming to America also. They seem to be selling well here.

 

[Butz]

It still hasn't been released yet, but it will be