Let’s face it; we Americans have rarely created a small car worth considering, we have also rarely built a small car in our own backyard. Case in point: the former Chevy Aveo. While I wouldn’t say the Aveo was abjectly horrible, there was nothing to excite a shopper and it wasn’t cheap enough to compensate. While the Aveo was born out of old-GM’s need to buy every ailing car company around the world (in this case Daewoo), it’s replacement, the new Chevy Sonic, is the only subcompact car currently sold in the United States that’s actually assembled here as well. The platform used by the Sonic is far better traveled than most Americans. GM’s “Gamma II” architecture was designed by GM Korea with considerable input from Opel (as the Opel Corsa will share the platform soon) and re-skinned by Chevrolet. To make the Sonic LTZ Turbo from this multi-national compact car, Chevy dropped a 1.4L turbocharged engine and six-speed manual tranny under the hood. Unlike the Hertz-ready Sonic hatchback Michael Karesh has last year, the Sonic LTZ Turbo is the top-of-the-line Sonic attempting to please those who want a hair more shove and, paradoxically, better fuel economy. Sound like a good start? Let’s see if GM got it right this time.
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LeeK - I sure hope the “pot-bellied pig” styling is not carried over from the current 1 series. And hopefully a serious diet to shed some weight.
Ryoku75 - I suggest a Volvo 240 for the fact that they’re one of the easier cars to work on, plenty of space and support with parts, and the fanbases are all...
E46M3_333 - The tires look too small for the car.
mike978 - Did they sell out before the XTS was available for fleet use? I would have thought traditional chauffeur fleet operators would rather an XTS...
Ryoku75 - I’ve seen old W123s compared with 240′s, usually the arguements work like this: W123 Owner: Volvos suck! My Mercedes feels far more solid and is a...
Doug DeMuro - At least that would differentiate it from the BRZ!
Doug DeMuro - A C-Max owner! Very cool. Do you like it so far?
Doug DeMuro - I avoided baleen whale jokes in this article, but it took every fiber of my being.
Doug DeMuro - Thanks! I appreciate it. I also like the MKT, resemblance to hearse or not.
Doug DeMuro - I didn’t know the MKT Town Car sold out a year of production in two weeks. That’s wild. I have started seeing them around with...