Chevrolet Sonic, another repeat of failure?

  After cars such as the Chevrolet Corvair, Citation, Prizm, Monza, Chevette, Vega and the recent Aveo, we all have a bitter taste towards subcompacts that Chevrolet makes. But this time, we believe that might change. Yes Chevrolet started selling their all new subcompact "the Sonic". Yet we still have a bad taste from the the Aveo that was in the market just a couple of months ago. That car, like all of them before it; were small, wimpy, embarrassing, plastic filled crap buckets that would depreciate faster than a cheetah with a rocket strapped to it's back. But this time around car reviewers praise the Sonic for the "fun to drive" dynamics, styling, fuel economy and overall quality.

With a faulty exhaust system, poor crash rating and poorly executed engineering, the Chevy Corvair's reputation was beyond repair when the second generation appearing in 1965, the name was phased out by 1969.

The Chevrolet Vega was unpopular, and like the Ford Pinto, it was too unreliable to keep up.

As Japanese competition began gaining market share after the 1973 oil crisis, Chevrolet still struggled to make a decent subcompact, this Chevette is the clear reason behind this.

Ugly looking, cheaply built, unreliable and  wimpy Chevrolet Aveo was a major disappointment to many car reviewers and owners alike.

 Unfortunately I haven't seen it on the road yet, but at the Montreal International Auto Show I had a chance to explore this car. Let's begin with the styling, simply amazing. The car looks great even when its parked, the headlights give off an aggressive impression that will turn heads. It has a split grill that bears the Chevy emblem with pride. The whole front fascia is mean looking, showing Chevrolet's intend to sell these cars to young adults looking for an affordable yet sporty looking economical car that will deliver fun and excitement. It has refined lines that can assure that the car isn't boring. To the back, everything is packaged well to suit the front end, giving off a nice car with a nice sense of style.

The aggressive looking Sonic looks impeccable even when parked.

   In the interior, like the Chevrolet Cruze, has a high in class appearance, making the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Nissan Cube look like a toy. Unforgettably, the base price is below $14 000, therefore the interior has many plastics. Oh oh, is it the Chevy Aveo all over again? No, a decent portion of them are soft, and most of the hard plastics have a pleasant texture that wouldn't make the owner complain. Fit and finish is also stunning, considering the fact that just a few years ago that was Chevrolet's Hercules heel. Expect a motorcycle influenced gauges that will make the driver feel young and cool. The cabin is  two toned and it also features many of what the Cruze offers.

A unique yet inviting interior will help consumers trust Chevrolet once again.

   The Sonic also carries the Cruze's engine and transmission options, including the 1.4 L turbo charged "Eco" engine. With that engine, expect a fun to drive car with more than enough power under the hood. The Cruze Eco is already known to be a peppy car that delivers good steering feel, torque and fuel efficiency. Thus, since the Sonic is lighter and smaller, expect a more peppier and more fuel efficient car that has more torque than it's bigger sister.

  Sales began not too long ago in Canada, so take a look, it's really worth considering. As for the bad taste that Chevrolet has created in the past towards subcompacts, well it won't go away for now. But if the car proves to be reliable, efficient and cheap to run, then expect the "bad taste" to go away in the years to come. On paper the car is a winner, standing within the top 3 in it's segment. When the first customers will report back, then we can predict if the Sonic is a hit, or a miss. Hopefully it will be a hit.

2013 Dodge Dart, a flash from the past!

Or is it? Recently at the 2012 North American International Auto Show (in Detroit) Chrysler group unveiled the all new compact car to replace the cheap plastic hunk of the Dodge Caliber. Rumors began in 2009 about this sort of thing, only to be confirmed in 2010 by Chrysler that it would also be using the same platform of an Alfa Romeo. Later in the year of 2011, Dodge released teasers of the car by showing the LED Charger-like tail lights and aggressive looking head lights and grill. At the reveal, the car stole the show, well not exactly, the Cadillac ATS wowed many crowds also, but many were interested since that this new model will be American, yet being Italian under the sheet metal.

 The Dart name came from the previous model Dodge offered from 1960 to 1976. At first the car was a full-sized car in 1960-1961, it then became a mid-sized car in 1962, only to become a compact car from 1963 and so on. these were relativity reliable cars, a surprised since compact cars of the time was a total joke. Although numbers wouldn't outsell the Chevrolet Corvair, then again popularity isn't always right, and what is right isn't always popular. It was a good family car, and as Dodge upped its power performance increased, creating a Dodge icon.

The 1970 Dodge Dart, the compact muscle car.

 This year, with the return of the name, the car will tell a different story. Although there would be a performance trim to the Dodge Dart, it ain't gonna be no new Muscle car. In fact because FIAT practically owns the Chrysler group, new cars will be based of European platforms, which isn't a bad thing. The Dart is the first car to prove so, sharing the same platform as the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. But this is all under the skin, from the outside, people wouldn't even imagine that the car is European. The Dart has an aggressive stance, as if it's ready to pounce and kill its prey.

Watch out! It's gonna attack anytime now!

 The front-end is enveloped with a long Dodge cross grille with a black wraparound that circles it. The headlights are angled and curved with the body. As we walk through to the side we notice shapes that are not defined with sharp lines, but with curves that will show as it moves. To many this will usually make it bland, much like the Toyota Corollas. Yet with the design language Dodge adopted recently we find rather pleasing and complimentary with the front and rear fascias. As we move to the back we can see the Chargers presence, with a racing inspired LED lights that shape around the taillight blob. The car also has a body integrated spoiler, which give its sporty look.

It's a looker, even when it's parked!

It's the Charger's smaller brother... really...

 In the interior the car is revolutionary, well in terms of being a Dodge. The car has a 7 inch digital display screen between the gauges. The Dart also has a 8 inch screen in the center stack with the all new system by Chrysler, the uConnect. The interior quality is much better with more leather, soft touch materials and less hard plastic. In fact it's a better interior than the on going Civic and Corolla, which are now Japanese plastic hunks. This boost in quality is actually a surprise because, well we can all admit that Dodge for the past 20 years has given us bland hard plastic buckets that would fall apart quickly. Another neat thing in the interior, a storage space inside the passenger side chair... yes, it's quite a shocker and also quite amusing to know.

Makes Toyota's interior look like a shack again, first the Cruze and now the Dart, way to go Dodge!

 Engine wise you get the choice between 3 transmissions with three new engines; the 1.4L l4 turbo multiair  with 160 hp and 5500 rpms; the 2.0L l4 Tigershark with 160 hp and a higher 6400 rpms, and finally the 2.4L l4 Tigershark multiair 2 with 184 hp and 6250 rpms.

 In all we are pretty much impressed of what Dodge and FIAT created, and we are excited to see it run in our streets. Will it succeed the Caliber by a mile and finally compete fairly with the competition? No one's sure, but for now it seems so. Of course only time will tell.