posted by canadiancatgreen
Has it come to this, that we’re now shooting Chevy Aveos for Curbside Classic? Well, they do seem to be disappearing rather rapidly, so ok; go ahead and shoot those Aveos out there. But just make sure your shots are deadly.
Len Peters documented the travails of his Aveo here:
COAL: 2006 Pontiac Wave (Chevy Aveo/Daewoo Kalos) – The Worst New Car Of A Lifetime
Well, the original Aveo hit the dealership right around 20 years ago for the 2004 model year, and was available until replaced by the Sonic for 2012. So, yeah, it’s now an old everyday car. Time keeps on slippin…
As indicated in previous posts, I am a lover of the GREAT AMERICAN LAND YACHT 😀. To me, cars like the AVEO were ugly little pieces of crap that never have been considered, let alone built. Once took a road trip in a friend’s Maverick! 🤮 cramped, noisy, almost no padding in seats. Couldn’t wait to get home, summer and no air conditioning! I am sure there are some who love these AVEOS , but for me please shoot it and put it out of it’s misery! What ever happened to CLASS?
The replacement lime green door (is that an OEM color?) seems to fit pretty nice, even after it got creased.
Yep, it is. High buck cars, Jeeps, and minimum viable transportation modules seem to be the ones that regularly have multiple happy colors on the menu. Best guess says that the interior color on the junkyard door already matches the rest, as we were well on the way to mouse-grey-for-everyone! by ’04.
This is already working well enough that I’m seeing the starts of a Harlequin Golf redux.
These are lasting far longer than I had given them credit for when new although they are common junkyard finds these days. However, respect for lasting this long with probably inexpensive maintenance in a harsh climate and this one even was considered good enough to replace a mangled door and keep on going, many get junked for far less…
Here’s one I found a while back that (on paper at least re power, weight etc) compares very well to a mid-late ’80s VW GTI, often considered an excellent car from a driving perspective. There’s obviously more to things than just paper specs and I’m not saying an Aveo is an engaging as a GTI but then again I haven’t actually driven an Aveo.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/junkyard/curbside-recycling-2004-chevrolet-aveo-its-red/
I once seriously considered buying one, a hatchback in about 2006 without a single option, no a/c and crank windows for $8000 brand new. I ended up passing on it.
If it makes you feel any better, the car featured here is one of the oldest (and the replacement door is from another early one). Only the first-year 2004 models had fully body colored B and (on hatchbacks) C pillars, starting in 2005 those were blacked out.
$8,000? WTF? Understand why you passed! See my post!😃, 😎
Not everyone wants to drive your classy GREAT AMERICAN LAND YACHT.
You are right! Not everyone wants to drive a LAND YACHT. But I will as long as I can drive! My current 2007 Signature Limited will most likely carry me to my grave! Curious, what do you like to drive? 😎
Small, powerful and can go around corners. But not one of these horid things.
The Chevy Aveo is another one of those Ed Wood movie cars in that it’s so bad, it’s good. They had only one redeeming quality, and that was how cheap they were to buy. But, otherwise, they were the definition of a penalty box car that did absolutely nothing well (including fuel mileage). I remember looking at them when new and marveling how much it was like being teleported back to the eighties.
But, today, they do fall into the ‘cockroach of the road’ category, as well. Every now and then, one will be spotted (usually a sedan), belching out clouds of blue/grey smoke as it limps down the road.
The irony is that the Aveo’s replacement, the Chevy Sonic (also engineered by Daewoo but with help from GM this time) was a 180° turnaround.
There was a rumour that there was going to be a Holden Barina version of the Sonic but by then that badge was unsaleable in NZ you could get a shiny used import anything that size from the JDM that was a better car for little money.
There was a Holden version of the Chevy Sonic. Imagivatively called the Holden Spark Barina. Then 2nd gereation name changed to Holden Spark. For both Au and NZ markets.
Dont they have wikipedia in New Zealand? lol
Ubiquitous in Ecuador when we were there 5 years ago. Many taxis, but also plenty in civilian use. Along with other cool cars; the rainforest and high elevation hiking and wildlife were almost as good as the car spotting!
Another Ecuador curbside view.
Once in a while I still see Aveos, I’d say twice a month. I always disliked the design but the 2012 Aveo and Spark were my favorite compacts when they were new. With the right color and wheels they look pretty good.
The later Spark was marketed as Opel Karl here, I drove them a few times and I like them a lot. They’re revvy and handling is good. But I’ll never pick the Karl over the larger American cars I had because of how cramped those compacts are, I can never get used to that lack of space. Four grown men in there is no fun, even my Firebird is much more roomy.
What I want to know is what’s behind the green door?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vle44kNHxDg&ab_channel=cdbpdx
(Beat that for a musical tie-in, Joe Dennis!!!) 🙂
OMG Mr. Cavanaugh. Later used as the title of an XXX movie.
I had an Aveo as a rental car for a few days back in 2005. I honestly didn’t hate it. I mean, I thought it was a better car than the Caviler I got the previous time I drove a rental car.
It was hard to believe they offered the Crapalier as late as 2005 and that it was built in the US. It was the drivers ed car and the interior was beyond banal. You could just tell GM didn’t give a crap about it. And I might see more A-Bodies than Crapaliers at this point lol
I’ve always kind of admired the guy driving an Aveo. It’s not that I envy his purchase but I see him as someone that knows what he can afford and refused to be up sold into something that he couldn’t afford and he is self assured enough not to care what anyone thinks about it.
It’s a little known fact that Dirk Diggler was to drive an Aveo in “Boogie Nights 2”
Some cars look their best shiny and showroom new, some cars gain character with faded paint and patina from decades of surviving, and in this case the Aveo looks its best exactly like this; ramshackle. This is the closest you get to a modern Jalopy, and for that I tip my hat to it in respect.
Original Pirate Material
Has it comes to this….
It has
My only experience with Korean cars of this vintage was my friend’s 2004 Accent and my mom’s Lanos from 1999. While not terrible, it wasn’t the gallant beast he claimed it was as compared to my Accord from 10 years earlier. That thing was still reasonably powerful and quiet as compared to the buzzy pile of Hyundai.
I’ve always thought the Aveos were sad looking and considering the mileage, which should have been this things killer app, wasn’t that good and could be bested by my CX-5, at least per EPA, I’m not sure what the use case was.
The Aveo’s fuel mileage was poor for a vehicle its size. IIRC, something like 25mpg, highway.
If the Suzuki Esteem didn’t have such a good name, I always figured Jimmy McGill would drive an Aveo sedan.
Thats a 3rd gen Holden Barina here, the first gen was a rebadged Suzuki Swift, 2ng gen GMH found a Vauxhall Corsa to rebadge and the 3 gen was this pile of shit the Barina as a popular city runabout badge sank like a stone, the second gen was a really good car handled great went ok reliable as the sun etc, Daewoos effort was none of those they are rare in NZ now but worthless if you have one stashed away.