AUTO RED BOOK REVIEW: 2011 CHEVROLET SPARK

On The Cover Review: 2011 Chevrolet Spark

So this is what it has come to.  It’s hard enough for Chevy fans to swallow that the company that brought us the Corvette, the Camaro, the Chevelle, the Nova, and the big block Impala now sells the diminutive Aveo in the same dealerships.  But now there’s something even smaller—the 2011 Chevy Spark—that will also share that space.  It wasn’t hard to see this coming, though.  Techno-electro rides like the upcoming Volt get all the “buzz”, but if someone wants to save fuel, a micro car with a small engine often does the job cheaper and more efficiently.  The Spark first showed up on the scene as the 2007 Chevy Beat concept.  People were allowed to vote for their favorite among the Beat and two other cars, and they were beat by the Beat.  Now, the Daewoo-built Spark, which will be equipped with either a 1.0- or 1.2-liter four cylinder engine, will debut in Europe before reaching our shores.  Is the funky Spark the next ’70 Chevelle 454?  Clearly not.  But Chevrolet knows they need to move the needle on the public perception meter, and if this is the kind of car people want, it should give them the results they’re looking for.