Chevrolet Trax

The Chevrolet Trax is a subcompact crossover SUV manufactured by Chevrolet since 2013. The car is based on the GM Gamma II platform, which is shared with the Chevrolet Aveo/Sonic, as well as the Opel Mokka/Buick Encore.

History

2012

The concept was first unveiled at the 2012 Paris Auto Show, with the final model unveil having happened at the 2013 North American International Auto Show. It was then available for test driving at the 2013 Montreal Auto Show, with four essay models shown.

2013

During 2013 and early 2014, it was only sold in Canada, Mexico, Germany, South Korea, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates and Europe. It was also marketed as the Holden Trax in Australia, and as the Chevrolet Tracker in Russia and South America.

In Canada, the Trax was the first compact Chevrolet crossover SUV since the discontinuation of the Tracker (read below). The vehicle started shipping on April 2, however pre-sales began as early as the fourth quarter of 2012 for both Mexico (1.8L) and Canada (1.4L Turbo). Korean sales started at late February 2013.

Chevrolet

Chevrolet (/ʃɛvrəˈleɪ/ shev-rə-LAY), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet and ousted General Motors founder William C. Durant started the company on November 3, 1911 as the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Durant used the Chevrolet Motor Car Company to acquire a controlling stake in General Motors with a reverse merger occurring on May 2, 1918 and propelled himself back to the GM presidency. After Durant's second ousting in 1919, Alfred Sloan, with his maxim "a car for every purse and purpose," would pick the Chevrolet brand to become the volume leader in the General Motors family, selling mainstream vehicles to compete with Henry Ford's Model T in 1919 and overtaking Ford as the best-selling car in the United States by 1929.

Chevrolet-branded vehicles are sold in most automotive markets worldwide, with the notable exception of Oceania, where GM is represented by its Australian subsidiary, Holden. In 2005, Chevrolet was relaunched in Europe, primarily selling vehicles built by GM Daewoo of South Korea with the tagline "Daewoo has grown up enough to become Chevrolet", a move rooted in General Motors' attempt to build a global brand around Chevrolet. With the reintroduction of Chevrolet to Europe, GM intended Chevrolet to be a mainstream value brand, while GM's traditional European standard-bearers, Opel of Germany, and Vauxhall of England would be moved upmarket. However, GM reversed this move in late 2013, announcing that the brand would be withdrawn from Europe, with the exception of the Camaro and Corvette in 2016. Chevrolet vehicles will continue to be marketed in the CIS states, including Russia. After General Motors fully acquired GM Daewoo in 2011 to create GM Korea, the last usage of the Daewoo automotive brand was discontinued in its native South Korea and succeeded by Chevrolet.

Chevrolet Camaro

The Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car and some versions also as a muscle car. It went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang. The car shared its platform and major components with the Pontiac Firebird, also introduced for 1967.

Four distinct generations of the Camaro were developed before production ended in 2002. The nameplate was revived on a concept car that evolved into the fifth-generation Camaro; production started on March 16, 2009.

Background

Before any official announcement, reports began running during April 1965 within the automotive press that Chevrolet was preparing a competitor to the Ford Mustang, code-named Panther. On June 21, 1966, around 200 automotive journalists received a telegram from General Motors stating, "...please save noon of June 28 for important SEPAW meeting. Hope you can be on hand to help scratch a cat. Details will follow...(signed) John L. Cutter – Chevrolet public relations – SEPAW secretary." The following day, the same journalists received another General Motors telegram stating, "Society for the Eradication of Panthers from the Automotive World will hold first and last meeting on June 28...(signed) John L. Cutter – Chevrolet public relations SEPAW secretary." These telegrams puzzled the automotive journalists.

Chevrolet Spark

The Chevrolet Spark is a city car, produced by GM Korea and originally produced as the Daewoo Matiz. It has been available solely as a five-door hatchback.

The first generation of Daewoo Matiz was launched in 1998 by General Motors' South Korean division GM Korea, previously known as Daewoo Motors, replacing the Daewoo Tico. After the General Motors company took control over Daewoo Motors in 2002, it has increasingly been marketed under the Chevrolet badge. The second generation model was introduced in 2005, with the third generation launched in 2010.

An all-electric version, the Chevrolet Spark EV, was released in the U.S. in selected markets in California and Oregon in June 2013. The Spark EV is the first all-electric passenger car marketed by General Motors since the EV1 was discontinued in 1999.

First generation (1998–2005)

M100 (1998–2000)

The production of Daewoo Matiz started in 1998 and it was sold in South Korea and many European markets with the code name M100. The exterior design is based on the Lucciola, a Fiat Cinquecento concept by Italdesign Giugiaro which had been rejected by Fiat. The 0.8-litre gasoline engine and the transmission were carryovers from the Daewoo Tico, but it was now using a multipoint injection fuel system. Engineering was carried out at Daewoo's Worthing Technical Centre in England. The car became the best selling Daewoo model in Europe and in India for the next four years.