Gentlemen, Behold!
... or in this case, do not Behold if you can get away with it.
The 2008 Sydney Motor Show saw the debut of the brand new Holden Barina. By brand new they mean that they... facelifted it. Every panel forward of the A-pillar has been made afresh. It's just a pity about the crud that still lurks under the skin.
Holden in all their wisdom decided the replace the 2006 XC Barina which was really the Opel Corsa, with the 2006 TK Barina which was really the Daewoo Kalos. In fact with the model change came a considerable drop in prices from $16,499 to $12,990. As well all know that when it comes to cars and especially in the "budget" end of the market, you get precisely what you pay for. Thus Holden managed what had never been done before... replaced a 4-Star NCAP safety rated car with a 2-Star NCAP safety rated car - oh dear.
What it meant in reality was that Holden had effectively managed to produce a car which on price would compete with it's own second-hand nameplate but because it had a lower spec of kit and a worse safety rating, was actually worse value for money. The thing is that the public knew it. Holden at one stage was actually shifting 400 more second-hand XC Barinas as they came back through the dealers than the new TK Barinas on a per month basis.
I should mention the Kalos. Daewoo under its own badge had a terrible reputation, in fact so bad was this reputation, that GM actually removed it from sale in Europe before relaunching the whole lineup under the nominally American label Chevrolet. Perhaps realising that this would not fly with the Australian public, they snuck in under the radar by slapping the apparantly unsoilable Holden badge on the front in the hope that no-one would notice. On the face of it, Australians aren'that stupid - or at least they're told they aren't by Holden marketing executive Jason Laird.
"safety is not a concern in this segment and sales have proven this, therefore we will not be importing the Opel Barina" - again, oh dear.
I think that it's best to let the actual numbers speak for themselves. The plucky little Mazda 2 has jumped straight to the top of the sheets with a full kit and safety spec that makes the Barina look quite frankly... like a Daewoo.
Back in Europe and in fact Korea, GM are realising that they have a case of duplication. So the 2010 or 2011 small car will probably be based off the GM Gamma platform which the Corsa is currently based and which the next car will be developed.
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051129/FREE/511290701
It follows that the styling of the 2008 TK Barina should look like the Opel Corsa D if they are both going to be replaced by the same car. I do wonder though what this does mean for the Chevrolet badge in Europe. Does this mean to say that both badges will sit side by side, because I very much doubt that Europeans would fall for the same trick Australians did... er, didn't do with the Kalos.
Perhaps Shakespeare said it best when he penned the following in one of Juliet's speeches:
"What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;"
In the case of the Barina, the name has changed... but the product still stinks.
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