"AUDACIA" (audacia)
11/13/2015 at 15:42 • Filed to: None
3
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"AUDACIA" (audacia)
11/13/2015 at 15:42 • Filed to: None | 3
| 11 |
Corporate GM and its cars are seen as the opposite of what you would consider quirky. Or efficient.
At least it seems that way. And mostly that impression is quite right.
But the european market and so GM’s subsidiary needs just that: An efficient, quirky entry car. As development of one ‘d been quite expensive (they already had the separate platform on which the subcompact Corsa C was designed) and GM Korea was still Daewoo in the early 2000s, a formidable case of (more or less) badge-engineering occurred.
Suzuki was always inclined to form alliances with the larger (read: any) volume manufacturers, they formed a Deal in the late 1990s, which would spawn the Wagon R+/Agila A twins. The Suzuki version was not just sold alongside the Opel in Europe, but also in its home market, where it was powered by a 660cc engine to fit into the strict kei car reglement.
So the Agila had a larger engine, yes. And it was built in Poland. But it was the closest GM ever came towards an awesome weird litte JDMish car.
By the way, the Agila became very popular with owners of small buisnesses, as it offered great variability due to its overall height and variability, while still being relativly comfy.
The Suzuki-GM-alliance later gave birth to the Spark/Agila B, larger, more conventional cars, before GM decided to let the Agila be followed by the Opel Karl.
That one, now, is nothing else than a Chevy Spark. It makes sense to increase the corporate synergies by employing GM Korea, but I’d rather have my small cars weird and kei car-ish.
You know, with imperfections, but character.
Leon711
> AUDACIA
11/13/2015 at 15:51 |
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TIL Vauxhall thought that “Vauxhall Karl” was a stupid name so they broke naming convention (usually all Opel and Vauxhall cars shared the same names) and revived a name from the past, The Vauxhall Viva.
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AUDACIA
> Leon711
11/13/2015 at 15:52 |
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Yeah, thanks for the british perspective, left that out!
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Leon711
> AUDACIA
11/13/2015 at 15:55 |
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Anytime.
Do you know of Karl’s premium brother, Adam?
Vauxhall didn’t rename that one oddly.
Ike
> AUDACIA
11/13/2015 at 16:07 |
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Annnnd now I want one damn it
MultiplaOrgasms
> Leon711
11/13/2015 at 16:07 |
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You know what is really odd? Opel themselves pronounce it the english way.
duurtlang
> Ike
11/13/2015 at 16:11 |
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No you don’t.
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Ike
> duurtlang
11/13/2015 at 16:13 |
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For some reason my recent obsession is small cars, kei cars and old fiat 500/ 600s
Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
> AUDACIA
11/13/2015 at 17:06 |
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They also rebadged the Wagon-R as a Chevy in Japan. Chevrolet MW .
http://oppositelock.kinja.com/srsly-16801899…
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AUDACIA
> Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
11/13/2015 at 17:09 |
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Capitalism is a flawed genius, man
Chinny Raccoon
> AUDACIA
11/13/2015 at 17:14 |
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The Wagon R+ also shares much with the Suzuki Ignis, which means you can drop the M15A and short ratio gearbox in out of the sport model. The Swift sport setup should also fit...
The second generation European Ignis was a derived from the Australian Chevrolet Cruze, which itself was an updated version of the first generation 5 door European Ignis!
ranwhenparked
> Leon711
11/13/2015 at 18:42 |
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Which makes no sense, calling it the Vauxhall Alex would have been a totally straightforward switch.