Utter failure? I don't agree . . If so, the
Trax and Encore with their turbo design very much the same have pretty much the same issues, cost more and do not get as good MPG. . . with little more space.. . . See End Lists.
And wages were not cut across the board at Lake Orion. Only new hire pay was curtailed and now has increased over the past 6 to 8 years at all GM plants. You need to read the final contract deals back then. . . not the misinformation of news articles.
There is one problem that GM, Ford and other car makers and most of us are not considering in the reduction of small cars.
The fact that Spark sales went up should tell them something. A Spark can be purchased for $13,000 U.S. or less. The same is true of cars like the Yaris and cheapo Kia. They are selling.
The fact is, car makers should find a way make a bit larger vehicle like the Sonic for a similar lower price. Our daughter bought a brand new Sonic 1.8L Auto LT hatch in July 2014 for about $13.5K after all incentives and discounts. The MSRP was about $16,700 at the time. Why are they so much more now?
What is the point and why should car makers pay more attention to this rather than keep pushing another small SUV to sell? Individual household economics. The facts are the world and America have not recovered from the Great Recession of 2008 . . . I could go on about that but will provide links later for anyone interested.
Read more if you care to be enlightened - - -
https://www.thebalance.com/financial-crisis-explained-4073021
Many jobs and careers do not supply the $ buying power as in pre 2008. In fact, many have declined drastically. With downsizing and "job reassigning" some pay has been cut 25% to 50% of what it was. We now have households with 2 college educated spouses or partners and with unpaid college loans and new families of 1 or more children. The members of these households did not get the high paying jobs they were led to believe. These households often have a combined income of $60,000 to $70,000 or less. Sounds ok, right? Those who were more fortunate are oblivious to this and blame those individuals for being foolish in their career choice. Guess what. . . there are only so many Pharma, Genetic Engineering, Systems Analyst, etc jobs to go around. Someone is left with the rest of the jobs that need to be done out there and they do not pay what they used to.
Well, once you subtract rent or modest mortgage of $800 to +$1,300/mo, home and auto insurance $200 to +$500/mo, utilities/phone of $200 to +$400/mo, fuel for two (usually used) cars to get to work, child day care of $300 to +$800/mo, Food, there is little more left than $400 to $+800/mo for a car payment if that. There is not even any money left for the 401K or IRA and emergency savings (car repairs, health care deductibles, etc) they are supposed to be putting away. In other words. . . this just defined the working poor. Woo-hoo - - -:sadbanana:
Even with the new federal "tax cuts" (read individual loss of deductions) it is not much help.
If anything else happens, like rising gasoline prices, small cars will be sought after again in a hurry. In fact, it is now.
If you actually compare the interior dimensions of a Chevy Trax to a Sonic, you will find they are very, very close (most just tenths to 1 inch) with only vehicle height being the main difference. And a Trax will not get Sonic MPG.
Yet the impression and illusion is that the Trax is more desirable and practical . . . then it may really be. It just has become more trendy.
The size of the Sonic sedan or hatch back is a good alternative choice. GM is making another epic mistake if it does not find some way to continue with the Sonic. It is easier to get into and out of then the Cruze and that Cruz hatch roof line makes even that hatch back a pain to access the cargo area.
GM . . . . The Trax is not really all that efficient in many ways and the Spark/Bolt is just plain too small.
-Trax - - - - - 168″ L x 70″ W x 65-67″ H
Sonic - - 160-174″ L x 68″ W x 59-60″ H
Chevrolet Trax: - - -
Dimensions
Passenger Capacity: 5
Passenger Volume (cu. ft.): - TBD -(92.8?)
Front Head Room (in.): 39.60
Front Leg Room (in.): 40.80
Front Shoulder Room (in.): 54.10
Front Hip Room (in.): 51.70
Second Head Room (in.): 38.80
Second Leg Room (in.): 35.70
Second Shoulder Room (in.): 52.80
Second Hip Room (in.): 50.70
Cargo Volume to Seat 1 (cu. ft.): 48.4
Cargo Volume to Seat 2 (cu. ft.): 18.7
Chevrolet Sonic Hatchback: - -
Dimensions
Passenger Capacity: 5
Passenger Volume (cu. ft.): 90.3
Front Head Room (in.): 38.70
Front Leg Room (in.):
41.80 (more than Trax)
Front Shoulder Room (in.): 53.40
Front Hip Room (in.): 51.40
Second Head Room (in.): 38.10
Second Leg Room (in.): 34.60
Second Shoulder Room (in.):
53.00 (more than Trax)
Second Hip Room (in.):
51.60 (more than Trax)
Cargo Volume with Rear Seat Down (cu. ft.): 47.7
Cargo Volume to Seat 2 (cu. ft.):
19.0 (more than Trax)
