Chevrolet surprised by Spark's popularity

General Discussion
41

We need to realize, not everyone owns a home, not everyone lives in the country or 'burbs. Some people live in an apartment in the city with small parking spots. Not everyone has 20-30k to spend on a vehicle. For someone living in the city that may not drive every day, or someone needing a second car, or a basic primary car, this is good for that. Would I want to drive it 100 miles round trip each day? No. But you could.

As far as the slow acceleration? Yes its slower than most/all cars today. But todays cars are way over powered. How many times do I see some merge onto the highway, flooring their 300Hp 0-60 in 7 seconds pickup truck, just to jam on the brake when the catch up to a semi.

I drive a big international for work, its slow, Its “dangerously” slow 0-60 takes well over 20 seconds. Just gotta know how to merge/drive, semis do it all the time.

If other motorists were not so ignorant and could see the big picture merging would be better for everyone.

My only complaint about the spark is I feel it should get better fuel economy. Its only rated for 38 highway. A 2013 civic is rated for 39. The fuel economy sucks for a micro car. But the smart car is the same way, it get terrible FE

Anyway, heres some random acceleration figures I found interesting.

2013 Chevrolet Spark 2LT 0-60 mph 11.2 Quarter Mile 17.9

2012 Chevrolet Spark 0-60 mph 11.9

2009 Chevrolet Aveo5 (Auto) 0-60 mph 11.7 Quarter Mile 15.8

1975 Chevrolet Camaro (350ci) 0-60 mph 10.9 Quarter mile 17.2

1976 Chevrolet Caprice Classic 0-60 mph 12.7 Quarter mile 17.4

1980 Chevrolet Caprice Classic 0-60 mph 18.5 Quarter mile 21.1

1995 Chevrolet Cavalier LS 0-60 mph 10.8 Quarter mile 17.8

1981 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Turbo 0-60 mph 11.8 Quarter mile 18.8

1974 Chevrolet Vega 0-60 mph 18.4 Quarter mile 20.7

42

Hah, the Vega time of 18.4 sec 0-60…I can verify that since my parents owned a Vega briefly…until the block cracked. I drove it to high school. That thing was a total dog. Not to mention a piece of junk.

43

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2010-2012-chevrolet-spark-revie
Nothing to write home about, just the feeling of being quick and only in the city…like a motor scooter, you may think you’re fast, but you aren’t.
And yes @WheresRick this I agree that it is underpowered. But, you share the road with all these cars that are much quicker. You are at a distinctness disadvantage and the 0 to 60 times are very optimistic, especially if you are carrying any additional weigt then the driver. And yes, a big International is slow, but you have that mass that everyone is dodging on your side.
Highway economy on all micro cars suffer because of their short length. It’s the nature of the beast. Longer cars tend to be more efficient , just like boats. Air is a fluid medium too.

And, if you only have $12k to spend on a car, get a used (2011) base Corolla or Civic that gets BETTER gas mileage, rides and handles better and will be worth more in 5 years when( if ) you trade it. If you need something smaller then a Corolla in the city, you need to move.

44

History repeats itself. I remember the late 1950s and the 1960s when the VW Beetle was popular. These cars were slower than the cars made by the U.S. manufacturers, both in acceleration and in top speed. Yet, they sold well and people drove them cross-country. The cars were particularly popular on college and university campuses both with students and professors. I remember several of my professors giving up a large, powerful car for a VW Beetle. I think today’s economic climate is much like that of the late 1950s through the mid 1960s. A manufacturer who builds a relatively inexpensive reliable small car will have a winner.

45

“Hah, the Vega time of 18.4 sec 0-60…”
@jesmed–I remember reading Consumer Reports back in the late 1950s when it reported the 0-60 acceleration time for domestic cars, but the 0-50 acceleration time for the VW, Morris Minor, Renault Dauphine, etc. My dad owned a 1954 Buick at the time with a manual transmission that would accelerate from 0-60 in about 10 seconds. The 1963 Studebaker Lark that he owned with a V-8 engine and manual transmisison did even better.

46

But, for their time, they ( VW) were uniquely reliable. There are too many used cars that are better buys, deliver proven reliability and are more economical to buy and operate with better resale value.

47

@dagosa–I was never really convinced about the low maintenance and reliabilit of a VW Beetle. The valves were supposed to be adjusted every 3000 miles. I’ve had several friends who spun connecting rod bearings on the VW. The engines could be rebuilt easily even using kitchen utensils, but back then I could buy a lot of gasoline for the cost of rebuilding a VW engine. I considered buying a new VW Beetle back in1965, but my dad talked me out of it. Instead, I bought a Rambler Classic 550 (the strippo model) with 7000 miles on the odometer for $1750. The VW was about $1600. The Rambler was probably a better car for me. I used it to pull U-Haul trailers when I moved to do my second round of graduate school and then return to a job. The car had over 100,000 miles when I sold it for $250 eight years later.
However, if today’s Spark turns out to be reliable, it might be a good purchase over a larger used car depending on one’s needs. On a new car, you start with new tires, a new battery, new brake pads, etc. At my age, though, I don’t want a small car. I’ll pay the extra price of gasoline for the SUV and minivan that we own so I can sit up higher. I don’t really like the seating position in most cars. We are going on a vacation in a couple of weeks–flying to our destination and have a regualr sized car reserved. I’ll see how it feels to drive a car again.

48

We had 5 VWs in our immediate family. Compared to the other cars of the day, they were very reliable. Yes, they needed a little extra quirky attention, but my bros and I were into that and found they responded with excellent service. There was also no shortage of buyers when it came time to sell. It was a lot easier selling a used Beetle then a used Falcon even though I thought they were one of the better deals. Like I said, they were unique. A Spark is not. There are many others of that ilk with more proven reliability, to choose from.

@Triedaq you said it all…IF the Spark proves to be reliable it might be a good purchase. Me, I still recomend a used base 2011 Corolla. Three years from now, I almost gurantee the Corolla will be worth more and will have given you better, more comfy service. I still remember the Aveo. We got taken on that one.

49

It seems to me that the secret of successfully marketing a small car is to establish a “cult car” market for the vehicle. VW did exactly that with the original VW Beetle and hasn’t been successful with later models. Ford did that with the Mustang. I once owned an AMC Javelin which was a good car and in some ways better than the Mustang. However, the Javelin did not have the following of the Mustang. The Falcon, though the bottom of the line model cost very little more than the VW Beetle did not become a “cult car”.

50

Cindy was a good looking classmate of mine and her dad owned the VW dealership. I would see her more often at the dealership than in classes when my 59 Bug was in for repairs. When I wrecked it and got my 59 Pontiac, I never saw Cindy much after that.

51

@Where’sRick:

I don’t really understand the logic of comparing the acceleration of the Chevy Spark to vehicles from the '70s, '80s, & '90s. Unless somebody can go into a showroom tomorrow, and buy the 20-38 year old vehicles that you mentioned, the comparison of those old vehicles to a new Chevy Spark is truly a case of, “apples & oranges”.

As technology advances, and as people become more sophisticated and more affluent, they want more. Whether it is more creature comforts, or more power, or more safety, most people are not satisfied with the standards of a generation ago.

My mother grew up having to use an outhouse, and once she was able to have an apartment with indoor plumbing, she would not have wanted to go back to the days of the outhouse. I grew up with one bathroom for an entire family. It was…adequate…but it was certainly lacking in many ways. Would I give up my current 2 1/2 baths for one bathroom? Absolutely not.

I grew up with one electric fan for “cooling” an entire house in the summertime. Would I trade that for high-efficiency Central A/C? Not on your life.

I thought that a fuzzy black & white TV with…maybe…6 channels was just swell. But, would I trade a high-def color TV with great audio quality and…probably…about 120 channels for the TV of my childhood? Again, I think you know the answer to that question.

Years ago, I managed to drive cars with non-power steering (with lots of play in it!), non-power drum brakes, seats & steering wheels that had little or no adjustments, no A/C, and audio systems that consisted of a low-fidelity AM radio with one speaker. Do I hanker to exchange my precise power steering, power disc brakes, power windows, power seats, climate-control A/C, adjustable steering wheel, and modern audio system for features of yesteryear? I think you also know the answer to that question.

So…once we acknowledge that the Chevy Spark is competing with the likes of the Honda Fit, the Ford Fiesta, the Mazda 2, the Hyundai Accent, the Kio Rio, & the Scion xD, then we have to be realistic, and compare the Chevy Spark to those vehicles, rather than those of past generations. And, when we do a realistic comparison such as that, the Spark is found to be…wanting.

Yes, the Spark gets decent mileage (unlike its predecessor, the Aveo), but it still lags the competition in terms of power, refinement, and overall comfort.

I believe that GM has made great strides in the past few years in terms of both the performance and the reliability of their vehicles, but the Spark is not yet one of their great accomplishments.

52

My old Civic would beat pretty much all those cars in terms of 1/4 mile and 0-60 times.

I think the biggest problem for micro cars is that they’ve got such small engines that are tasked with lugging the vehicle around. It needs to work harder to get it to speed and keep it going.
You can see it in larger cars as well, a V6 might only get 1 or 2 MPGs less than the 4cyl model. V6 full size trucks might get lower MPGs than a V8 of the same configuration(ext./crew cab, long/short bed, etc)

53

The Chevy Spark may prove to be a disappointment to buyers but the effort by GM to throw a contender into the market against the Yaris and similar compacts seems to indicate that there is a growing market for such vehicles. I looked at the inventory of a California Toyota dealer and found they had 9 Yarises, 90 Corollas and 68 Camrys? Do they not want the Yaris on the floor or are they selling them faster than the other models?

54

For 2013, Toyota monthly sales are averaging over 30,000 Camrys, around 25,000 Corollas, around 20,000 Priuses, and only 2,000 or so Yarises. So the Yaris is less than 3% of sales by volume, and less than that in terms of gross. Surprisingly small.

55

Once you start working a motor, any motor, it becomes less efficient. If the Yaris came standard with the very good Corolla 1.8L, got better seats and slightly better driving position, it would be a best seller. But then, makes in their own stable would take a big hit. If the Chevy wants to sell us a South Korean Daewoo with an inadequate motor for American roads, the same people who gave us the underpowered Abeo, people who buy them should be well advised of their past .

56

The car magazines don’t really like the Yaris. They think it’s overrated

Overpriced for what you get

Doesn’t hold up well against the competition

Not put together as well as other Toyotas

57

@vdcdriver

You make great points, It seems the only similar car the spark out performs is the Smart for two, at least in the 0-60 times.

I guess what I was trying to say is I feel I can live with an 12 second 0-60 time,Heck the old caprice might not be any quicker, im not sure. However It wasn’t relevant to the subject at hand. That being said it was interesting to see what dogs some old cars were compared to an econobox now.

I would like the spark better if it got 50 mpg. That small of a car should get better than 38mpg on the highway.

I guess I wanted the general to win one, I don’t know. It appears its another half donkey attempt by GM now that you pointed some things out and I have read up on it.

I remember click and clack saying the reason commuting distances have risen so much was due in part to the wonderful cars we have now, There was a caller that had a 75 mile commute? each way and the brothers said could you imagine making that commute in a Volare?

58

Whether GM won this round or not, they did put out a good effort, or so it would seem

59

@wheresRick, one owner review said he got 50 mpg on a long hwy trip using cruise control…

And I had a '76 Volare in school, with the slant 6 it was a good engine…had to rebuild the tranny but otherwise a decent beater car…

60

@WheresRick I agree that the Spark meets the needs of some buyers, if you need the small size and never haul huge loads or you have another vehicle to do that then great. You don’t have to spend 20-30k on a decent car, you can find other options for $15-20K that have more power with the same gas mileage.

Back in 1990 my family was in need of car for mom since her VW Rabbit Diesel was not worth repairing, with $10,000 to spend she bought the car that met her needs a Mazda Protoge without A/C or any of the features common today like cupholders. That car could get you onto the freeway with confidence and get you up to 40mpg even driving 70mph. You used to be able to buy compacts that got 50+ mpg

When she needed a better driving position after 19 years she looked around and rejected the '08 prius because it was too slow for comfort, the 2010 Prius was more to her liking and that is what she now owns. After 19 years and almost 200,000 miles Dad & I felt she deserved the car she wanted rather then just the basic transportation.