The amount of interest in this car

"Hooker" (Hooker)
12/26/2013 at 11:47 • Filed to: None

Is staggering. The most amazing part? As a small, rural dealer, we have sold more Spark's since it's introduction than Malibu's in the same time period. Let that sink in for a minute. It's not even that the Malibu isn't well like, it is. If you had told me this thing was going to be a success at such a rural dealer (or anywhere for that matter) I probably would have laughed you out of the building. That being said, I have driven the new CVT equipped models extensively and even though they are nothing to write home about, I wouldn't tell someone not to buy it either. It's leaps and bounds better than the old Aveo (I know, faint praise) and really, just an all around good car. Sorry for the potato camera pic which was taken with my new HTC Droid DNA.

DISCUSSION (12)

505Turbeaux > Hooker
12/26/2013 at 11:54

what location are you in (just a rough idea, dont have to give me a town or anything)? I do advertising for a number of dealers, and am just curious as to where these are hot. The oddest thing was always the rural dealers who got stuck with 2 Volts (straight to demo). According to my dealers the Spark is hit or miss geographically. Also curious as to how many Cruze diesels are flying out the doors. I still have yet to see/drive one.

BeaterGT > 505Turbeaux
12/26/2013 at 12:00

I'm interested in the diesel as well, didn't even know they were on lots yet.

505Turbeaux > BeaterGT
12/26/2013 at 12:03

I think they have been out since Aug/Sept. Not a whole lot of marketing push for them, so it will likely become an oddity in time. I have noticed in some markets they are bidding on VW TDI terms to conquest on for digital marketing, but that is it.

Hooker > 505Turbeaux
12/26/2013 at 12:57

We have sold exactly 1 Cruze diesel but that's also the only one GM has felt the need to send/let us order as well. The company that bought it is routinely cresting the 45 mpg mark on average driving.

I live in Marshville, NC. I don't mind giving the town. We have sold 3 Sparks this month and last and that's a big deal for a small dealer.

505Turbeaux > Hooker
12/26/2013 at 13:02

cool thanks man for the intel. You really are out there in rural NC. I just talked to a GM dealer group in rural Louisiana we work for and they said the same thing about the Spark as you do!

Hooker > 505Turbeaux
12/26/2013 at 13:36

Nice to know we're not alone! I'm not saying I was blown away by the car, but honestly, it's a lot better than I expected. A lot. Have a woman right now (70's or early 80's) looking at this Lemonade example. She's pretty quick too. She is nailing the MyLink system.

Textured Soy Protein > Hooker
12/26/2013 at 13:37

I live in Madison, WI. It's surrounded by rural areas, but is also a super liberal, crunchy-feely, granola eating, I DON'T CARE IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TOO SLOW IN MY PRIUS BECAUSE I'M SAVING THE PLANET kind of town. These are mixed in with lifted diesel dually 3/4-ton pickup trucks with exhaust stacks. I've seen a good number of Sparks driving around since the summer.

505Turbeaux > Hooker
12/26/2013 at 13:49

yeah it is nothing spectacular, but in comparison to what a small GM cars were from the past it is light years ahead in build quality, performance, and convenience. Good luck with the sale!

BeaterGT > 505Turbeaux
12/26/2013 at 13:53

Must. Drive.

Hooker > Textured Soy Protein
12/26/2013 at 15:27

QOTD

That made me smile.

Hooker > 505Turbeaux
12/26/2013 at 15:29

Thanks!!
I would also argue that it's on par or even better than some of the competition. I drove a Fiat 500 and besides the handling, I hated it. It just didn't seem as put together for some reason.

The Transporter > Hooker
12/26/2013 at 21:49

I don't mind cheap cars. By default, most people's first car is a used cheap car. That's the way the world is, and that's the way the world should be. And this car doesn't commit any sin that isn't committed by a host of other cars. But there's cheap, and then theres too cheap. I can deal with a cheap plastic interior, cheap radio, and a center console that's nothing more than a cheap narrow molded single piece plastic tray with a cup holder in one end and a slot in the other end for the shifter. But they went cheap on things that you shouldn't go cheap on, i.e. the lack of a spare tire. It makes you wonder what else they went cheap on. Was it the head gasket? A solenoid in the transmission? The galvanization on the shock towers? The brake lines? What vital part is going to critically fail 2 days, 17 hours, 48 minutes and 35 seconds after the warranty expires?

Now, I understand the allure of a new car. The smell. The feel. The sense of ownership. No one else has had this car before you. This is your car. Eventually, when someone buys this car from you, and they will be buying your car. What value you can get from it is largely based on how well you kept it. With a used car, the value is based on how well you were able to keep the car running, despite the previous owners' best attempts to kill it. Being able to buy a new car is also a right of passage of sorts. If you have the financial security to be able to plan ahead long enough to make the payments on a new car, then you are officially a full-fledged adult. Your friends who lack this security will be impressed. Your friends who do not lack this security will welcome you into the fold. And with monthly payments just shy of $100, passing one of the final bars of adulthood became that much easier. And lastly, we go to the logical end of new car ownership: reliability. By default, most new cars are intrinsically reliable. But with the extreme cheapness of the car, I wonder which car will last me longer, and which car will be more reliable: a new Spark, or some two year old used hatchback with 30k miles on it?