Considering what you’re giving up . . . size, practicality, comfort, power, etc., . . . those cars had better be EXTREMELY reliable for that entire 10 year duration
Jus’ sayn’ remember “see the USA in a Chevrolet”. Used to be fun to pack up the stylish new car and head out onto the open road. Fun in a newly designed fun to drive car. Not just cheap transportation. Living where you walk to work, take a bus, train, or whatever to get to where you want to go, and own a $12,000 puddle jumper or use an hourly one, just seems like a foreign culture. Where’d that come from?
Packed together in rental high rises, no shop, no tool box. When I worked in the city, some people had never been more than 20 miles from where they were born. Never saw a car. Never knew where milk came from, and thought the whole world was just like where they were.
I drove one of the Scion “toasters” and found it more than adequate in every respect. It was vastly more practical than a great many larger automobiles and in normal driving there was no lack of power. Whatever it was incapable of I didn’t seem to have any need of it. The owner was larger than me, over 6’ and 250# and had enjoyed the car for several years and over 100,000 miles. Isn’t the Yaris mechanically twin to that toaster?
Over the years I have driven a greater variety of automobiles than most people and heard the complaints of owners regarding all of them. Today, the cost to own and operate a car is the greatest complaint of most drivers and SUVs are becoming as unpopular as a variable rate mortgage on a home bought in 2007.
It’s really surprising what small cars can do if well designed. I had a Honda CRX that I could fit a ton of stuff into with the rear seats folded down. And my mom had a Honda Fit that was probably more capacious than the CRX. Honda designed the Fit to be able to carry a full-sized surfboard inside.
She traded the Fit because it got blown around a bit on the highway, but it was a great little car.
@Rod Knox
Some people simply enjoy driving and would rather drive something that pleases them. I drive a 400+ HP car, 5 miles to work every day because I like driving it. I could just as easily drive a Yaris or Spark or Fiesta, and any one of them would get me from point A to point B without issue. But none of those cars appeal to me, so I don’t drive one. If I had a significantly longer commute, or I were the type of person who didn’t car about cars or what I drove, then they might be a more attractive option though.
If somebody is complaining about the cost to operate and maintain a particular vehicle, they either don’t have a firm grasp on reality . . . or they can’t really afford that vehicle after all.
Many people seem to have the idea that any vehicle that ever needs repairs, or, god forbid, a timing belt or valve adjustment, is a POS
I believe marketing is largely to blame for this way of thinking.
Yes, despite the era of ever more power, ever more transmission gears, ever more air bags, ever more electronics gadgets, the seeming requirement for absolute 100% safety no matter what the cost, it appears there remains a driving segment who really don’t care much about whether you roll the window up and down with your arm or you have to push a button. Instead what they want is something practical, has 4 doors, is affordable, and offers reliable basic transportation. Have to crank the window using your arm? A/C optional? Doesn’t have 12 airbags? No problem. The fact that the car is attractive looking, even better! What’s the price you say? Get out the checkbook honey!
No AC in southern california (where I live) = misery
I would never buy a car with no AC
Cars with no AC, new or used, are hard to sell
@ FoDaddy
As I said, working on cars over the years has given me the down and dirty side of many makes and models. The Granadas, Mavericks, Malibus and K Cars caught a lot of flack for many reasons but the owners who kept them well maintained were very pleased with them notwithstanding their idiosyncrasies. On the other hand Volvos, Subarus, BMWs and a couple of Toyota and Nissan models were lauded by owners even after spending thousands repairing problems resulting from poor design. I am pragmatic to a fault with automobiles. No brand is without its failures and more features and luxuries will certainly result in more failures and more expense. Avoiding catastrophic failure, avoiding being stranded with a component failure and no nearby source for replacement and avoiding outrageously expensive or troublesome maintenance is far ahead of so many of the features that the marketers want me to be impressed with. The Lincoln Continental air ride system, the Cadillac 4-6-8 system, Toyota’s 3.0 head gaskets, Nissan Altima’s timing chains, etc, etc. Those cars looked great leaving the show room but the luster was often dulled with the ZEROs on shop repair bills.
I agree @rod. The number of new cheap cars sold initially without regard to reliability or resale value is remarkably high. There are surprisingly a lot of people who would rather buy a cheap, completely unknown new car then a proven reliable used car. When there is no history to a car, it’s hard for smart buyers to justify being a guinea pig, regardless of how cheap the selling price. But it happens…to others .
The spark qualifies as the cheapest cutest entry on the Chevy Lot, there are other options with more power for the same or a little more money. As an entry point to ownership it’s ok but there are plenty of other choices.
Absolutely @OlyDoug. http://www.iseecars.com/used-cars/used-toyota-corolla-under-12000
It would be difficult for me to justify buying or recommending the unproven Spark ( or similar runt car) over a used base 2011 Corolla ( and similar Civic as well as other cars from Ford, Chevy’s own stable) with fewer then 20k miles.
There are many other equally good used car buys out there that actually drive, handle and ride better, have comparable economy; and if this little potential junker follows the Aveo trend, lasts much longer. These short cars suffer from the same affliction as short boats and for a similar reason; poor choppy rides and comparably poor fuel economy at higher speeds. (At least with a short boat you can plane it out and bounce over waves.)
It’s been demonstrated by owner satisfaction and sales over and over again. If you drive much highway, Focus, Civic and Corolla length cars are just about as short as you should go to max economy, room and decent acceptable rides. Except for city dwellers who are willing to play bumper cars and have to park cross ways in alleys, I find these cars USELESS… Even the most successful hybrids are much bigger cars for these reasons. And, even Chevy states it’s the (perfect) urban companion. That’s about all it’s good for; a very select few with good backs and $12k to throw away.
@dagosa, I hear where you’re coming from. But here’s a quote from a Spark owner who says it drives well on the highway. (By the way, I grew up on Long Island, and LIE = Long Island Expressway, which runs 100+ miles from NYC to eastern Long Island…one of USA’s most punishing commutes). Anyway, this is what he says:
" Look everyone, like I said in my original post, I bought one of these in August 2012 and have been driving it since. Drove it from Queens, NYC to Jersey several times. Drove it from Queens out to the east end of Long Island on the LIE, and drove it around Manhattan. No problem with this car. It will cruise at 80mph all day long, and is stable at 90+mph on the highway. It will merge with traffic on the LIE no problem, that is, if you know how to drive and merge into traffic in the first place; and on the short entrance ramps of the 1930s Cross Island Parkway, no problem merging, again, like I said, if you know how to drive and merge in the first place.
Tractor trailers, large SUVs and morons in monster trucks not withstanding, I don’t feel unsafe in this solid, stable car: with ten plus airbags, including ones for the head and knees, seat belt pretensioners and plenty of space between the steering wheel and the big fat belly of my 5 foot, 11 inch, 260 lbs person, not to mention the air between me and the door, I’ll take my chances.
This car is fun to drive, and you get a lot for the money. I like it as much as or better than any car I have ever owned, including my 68 and 70 Caddy Sedan Devils, my 1973 original Civic 1200, my two 1979 Civic 1200s, my 1983 Civic FE, my two 87 and one 89 Civics, my 1973 Chevy Impala, my 1979 Chevy Caprice wagon, my 87 Chevy Caprice wagon, my 94 Caddy Devil Concourse, 300hp by the way, and lastly, but not least, my 2003 Chevy Impala LS…200hp.
So what’s up with the nay-sayers? This car is what it is: a good, safe, solid, reliable, economical, fun to drive vehicle with modern safety features, good ergonomics, and decent people and cargo capacity, all at a reasonable price. It may look a bit different, but who’s to say: that’s purely subjective. If this car is not for you for whatever reason; maybe you need to tow a boat, or maybe you’re just a scardy cat who thinks you’re only safe driving a Sherman Tank or earth mover, fine. But don’t mock it if its not for you."
I’m not a shill for Chevrolet and haven’t ever owned one myself. I’m just glad GM is getting their act together for the sake of our country and glad they finally figured out how to make what sounds like a popular and competent subcompact.
I am a little skeptical about a low-powered vehicle like that being able to safely merge on those ridiculously-short entry ramps on the Cross Island Parkway.
@jasmed
Guess I have to eat my words. Cookie cutter 185/55/15 wheels not withstanding. Just maybe, it’s South Korea auto manufacturing that is getting it’s act together. Now, if Spark owners still feel the same five years from now, great !
@dagosa, yes, I think South Korean auto mfrs have learned a lot from their neighbors in Japan and have come a long way.
@dagosa I agree, time will tell if this car will stand up and be reliable. The previous model Aveo proved to GM what NOT to import from Korea. I trust more Opel/Daiwoo engineering hours went into the Spark to get a better product.
Looking back it won’t take much to vastly improve over past GM small cars like the Vega and the Chevette. The good thing is now that small cars are finally accepted in the US by the mainstream public, as well as Chevrolet’s new popularity in Asia, I have great hopes, but will still not recommend it to anyone before it’s proven. The reliability benchmark for small cars is the Toyota Yaris.
The folks who watch and respond to the posts here are all in some way people with an long term love affair with cars and driving. For us, there are vehicles big and small that satisfy the itch for a vehicle with the personality we enjoy, and over the years I’ll bet most of us have owned a lot of different machines.
The reality is there is a bigger population that sees a car about like a refrigerator. Buy it in the color and style you want, have it delivered and plugged in, and then completely ignore it except to keep your food and beer inside. If it stops working, complain like crazy, toss it out and buy another one. That population thinks we are crazy, although convenient when they need something fixed.
I’ll stick with being crazy.
Although I haven’t lost my appreciation for performance cars and off road vehicles my view of an every day driver is quite close to “refrigerator” status, @wentwest. I still have a 60+ year old Frigidaire in my shop that continues to keep my beer cold and chills turkeys at Christmas and Thanksgiving. And my old trucks seem to come to life and get me where I need to go in relative comfort without much complaint. What else could I ask for. Life is good.
Most every review that I have found of the Spark (C&D, Consumer Reports,Top GearUK, ETC) suggests that the spark is underpowered for most people’s needs, i believe 3,000rpm is where the engine finally wakes up. Better with manual but for me i still would rather pony up a little more for either a Honda Fit or a Mazda3.
For those with a Spark who find it fit’s their needs, that’s great but not everyone has been impressed yet.