A rose by any other name would smell as sweet as Chevy ditches the Aveo nameplate in favor of a new moniker
Bill got it right
At least William Shakespeare got it right. In one of his most well-known plays, Juliet tries to convince Romeo that what something is called hardly matters. What does matter is what it is. This also holds true in the auto industry, a case in point being the current Chevrolet Aveo.
The original
Introduced as a 2004 model, the Chevrolet Aveo went on sale in North America in the latter part of 2003. Sales peaked in 2005 at just over 68,000 when it dominated the subcompact segment, with another spike in 2007 due to high gas prices.
Despite its sales success, the Aveo received criticism from sources as diverse as Forbes.com and Consumer Reports, with the consumer magazine putting it on everything from their “worst in overall safety” list in April of 2010 to their “worst in overall fuel economy” list six months later (in the subcompact class, due primarily to a city mpg rating of anywhere from 17 to 18 mpg).
The enthusiast press was hardly kinder, with Car and Driver magazine describing the transmission as “perhaps the worst feel of any on the planet” while demonizing its “industrial steering effort” and “endless stopping distances.”
New and improved
Hoping to put those memories in the distant past, Chevrolet plans on introducing an all-new subcompact in 2011, with production moving from Korea to Lake Orion, Michigan for the North American version. With all these changes afoot, GM obviously feels that at least one more is in order. As a result, the old Chevrolet Aveo is morphing into the new Chevrolet Sonic.
According to GM’s press release, “The Sonic represents a new beginning for Chevrolet in the small car segment and so we felt it was time to give it a new name,” said Chris Perry, vice president, Chevrolet U.S. Marketing. “The new car is roomy, stylish and fun to drive, and Sonic is a youthful, energetic name that helps convey what this vehicle is about.”
By any other name
But Chevrolet’s smallest car will only be called the Sonic here in North America. “The small car will carry the Sonic name in Canada, Mexico and the United States.”
Where customer memories are shorter or where the customers, themselves, are less discerning (in more than 50 countries, according to the press release), “the vehicle will continue to be called Aveo.”
The Bard, we assume, would surely be amused by all the fuss.
