Chevrolet: The Comeback No One Is Talking About

"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54) 01/18/2016 at 22:05 • Filed to: chevrolet

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The quality of Ford’s recent offerings are a far cry from the old “Fix Or Repair Daily” joke. Fiat-Chrysler has also turned around, between the success of the Charger and Challenger, the successful return of the Fiat brand to our shores (not to mention !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), and Jeep cashing in big time. But when it comes to GM, most people think of government bailouts, ignition switch lawsuits, and boring rental grade cars aside from the Corvette and some versions of the Camaro. But Cadillac has been reinventing themselves lately. Buick is making good progress, and the Avista concept knocked it out of the park in Detroit last week. No one is talking about Chevrolet, but for me they were the biggest surprise at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . They did nothing special. There were no big announcements or reveals. But while everyone’s been looking the other way, Chevy has been quietly updating their product line and turning out some rather nice rides.

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Take It From the Top

The last few generations of the Corvette have transformed it from a boulevard cruiser into a genuine world class sports car. No more “Oh, isn’t that cute? Chevy thinks they can make a sports car” jokes - the C7 is the genuine article. Even Jeremy Clarkson, who makes no secret of his disdain for American cars, said he “ !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .”

This was only the beginning. People have laughed at the Camaro quite a bit in the past, too. But the Z28, going back to its roots as a dedicated race car instead of a redneck roller coaster, has earned some serious street cred - or I should say track cred. Though everyone, including us, is gushing over the latest Mustang’s independent rear suspension, the Camaro had it several years earlier. The latest Camaro SS is lighter, more powerful, and quicker than the Mustang GT. Road & Track !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and, though not by much, the Camaro came out on top. The Camaro, too, is now not just a pony car but a legitimate sports car. Where’s the fanfare?

Back In the Real World

We love monster V8s in fast impractical cars like the Mustang and Camaro. That’s because we’re weird. In real life, people don’t need that. They need decent performance and good looks, but space and practicality as well. Once again, people are talking about the Ford and Dodge redesigns, but not the offerings from Chevrolet.

This Impala, in black, on the floor of NEIAS, is a major part of what drew my attention back to Chevrolet. This isn’t mid-size rental car. It’s also not plainclothes Caprice 9C1 cop car. It’s classy and good looking, especially in black. It’s not edgy like Cadillac, nor rounded like Buick, but a style I’d call more flowing than either of those two - straight lines where required, curves where they’re needed, but neither is ever forced they way they can be on the other brands. The Impala is easy on the eyes.

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Inside is a significant upgrade from previous models. Gone are the vast expanses of hard plastics and enormous panel gaps. The interior is high quality and well made. The controls and gauges are simple and well placed. The standard 3.6 liter V6 makes 305hp, 45 more than the V8 of the Impala SS of the 1990s. I don’t know what it’s like to drive, but our Editor-in-Chief is about to find out this week. Check back here for his impressions.

The Malibu continues the trend, though with a slightly different look to not appear to be trying to be as cool as its big brother, the Impala. Here, too, the design inside and out is a leap beyond the previous version. The outside is elegant, the interior classy, and though its 2.0 liter motor has a smaller displacement than its competitors, it blows them away with 260hp. Again, this is not a low budget rental car.

The rest of Chevy’s sedan lineup is more of the same. I’m amazed that Chevy is putting this much effort into their sedans, considering that their trucks and SUVs are even bigger sellers and can be shared with GMC. But I’m certainly not complaining. I’ll have to get behind the wheel of one to tell for sure, but if the driving experience is similar to what I’ve seen so far, my hopes are high.

The Cheap Seats

Even at the bottom of the model range, Chevrolet is taking significant steps forward. The new Spark no longer looks like a funky Daewoo with a Chevy badge. It’s a decent looking small hatchback. In its least expensive form it’s a spartan but comfortable interior. The sport bike gauge pod is gone, replaced with a genuinely nice instrument cluster. Standard equipment includes features like USB and auxiliary input ports, Bluetooth, and five years of OnStar, complete with Wifi. For a few dollars more, you get keyless entry, push button start, heated leatherette seats, a leather wrapped steering wheel with its own controls, more speakers, and rear park assist. For around $17,000, this econobubble comes with many features, including some that my more expensive Subaru BRZ doesn’t have.

I can’t extend the same praise to the larger Sonic, which is still waiting for its next update. For nearly the same price as a Ford Fiesta ST, the Sonic RS offers so much less than its blue ovaled competitor. But I’m hopeful that the next generation will bring the Sonic up to speed. It says something that the Sonic RS one of only a handful of cars at NEIAS with a manual transmission, despite an automatic being available (unlike the Fiesta ST).

Still, Chevy deserves some credit. Their cars are improving tremendously, but no one seems to be noticing. They look good, they’re well equipped, and they’re catching up with the competition. If they drive this well, too, Chevy is definitely on the right track here.

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shop-teacher > Justin Hughes 01/18/2016 at 22:22

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I completely agree.

Carbon Fiber Sasquatch > Justin Hughes 01/18/2016 at 22:22

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GM in general is doing solid, solid work. They really have the opportunity to start knocking it out of the park with their offerings. I personally believe they just need to start pushing Buick and Cadillac upmarket. That would give Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac more room to breathe. Buick still feels like a trim level more than a superior line-up of automobiles.

TractorPillow > Justin Hughes 01/18/2016 at 22:25

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I agree completely. I just, on some subconscious and emotional level that I can’t quite explain, really dislike GM. Maybe because my first car was a 98 v6 camaro with tons of problems. I really don’t know, but I’m glad they are doing well as a company.

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > Justin Hughes 01/18/2016 at 22:27

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But the bean counter legacy still continues to ring in the corvette superchartger’s intercooler, that is improperly sized that GM refuses to acknowledge

wiffleballtony > Justin Hughes 01/18/2016 at 22:28

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My biggest problem with GM is that if you want a decent performance car from them you’re going to be out at least 40k.

I also wouldn’t recommend any of their products (except Cadillac) to anyone, speaking as a current GM owner.

Justin Hughes > TractorPillow 01/18/2016 at 22:30

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My first car was a 1982 Pontiac 6000LE with a ton of problems. That put a bad taste in my mouth about GM. One reason I had so many Saturns was because they were the “anti-GM,” at least until they became just another badge engineered brand.

But that’s changed now.

Justin Hughes > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) 01/18/2016 at 22:30

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Yes, if they’re going to sell it as a track car, it should be able to hold up to track use. Or you could get a Camaro Z28 instead...

Sneaky Pete > Justin Hughes 01/18/2016 at 22:32

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Or a real track car, like a Viper ACR or TA.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Justin Hughes 01/18/2016 at 22:54

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The problem is that we’ve seen this from GM before. They have a tendency to find the design zeitgeist of an era and turn it up well past 11, which makes their cars attractive. The problem isn’t the design and never has been (although they age very poorly because they’re overly styled).

Their deeper problems can’t be fixed with lipstick. Only time will tell if they’ve figured that out.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Justin Hughes 01/18/2016 at 23:10

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I think GM is riding the wave and copypasta-ing the entire industry to at least break even. However their continued action of taking advantage of loyal, subprime, and domestic buyers (started in the mid-70s) shows in the low quality, high yield and high profit margin vehicles. I want Saturn and Pontiac back and GMC gone.

SVTyler > wiffleballtony 01/18/2016 at 23:11

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That’s my take on it as well. If you want to buy a new, practical performance car Ford has the ST brothers as well as the Focus RS, VW has the GTI, Subaru has the WRX/STi and BRZ, Honda has the Type R, while GM only has one comparable car (the Sonic RS) and it gets blown out of the water by all of them. If GM could somehow figure out how to bring the Astra or Corsa OPC over here I bet they’d cut a huge chunk out of Ford’s market share.

hike > TractorPillow 01/18/2016 at 23:28

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I feel the same way. Aside for the Corvette (of which I am a “fan boy” for lack of better term), there isn't a single GM product I genuinely like. They're not bad cars. They're actually quite good! There's just always been something about them that I can't quite put my finger on.

Chasaboo > Justin Hughes 01/19/2016 at 00:27

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Have GM’s cars stopped killing people?

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Justin Hughes 01/19/2016 at 02:23

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I’ve never liked much of GM’s offerings but I do have to admit. they are doing a DAMN good job.

Hell, the big three as a whole is eons ahead of where they were circa 2010

TractorPillow > hike 01/19/2016 at 08:56

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Agree to the Corvette whole-heartedly. Really like it; I personally wouldn’t get I like more obscure cars, but it is a phenomenal car.

Justin Hughes > Chasaboo 01/19/2016 at 09:07

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As far as we know...

D1RGE.EXE > SVTyler 01/24/2016 at 16:26

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Or give us one of the good versions of the Cruse that Europe got.

Hank Scorpio > Justin Hughes 01/25/2016 at 11:49

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Looks like a 5-series GT. Same at the back.