Chevy Spark Ready for U.S., But GM Still Mulling Minicar Demand
By Vince Courtenay WardsAuto.com, Nov 20, 2009 9:05 AM

BUPYEONG, South Korea – General Motors Co.’s Global Vehicle Line Executive Jack Keaton says the all-new Korean-built Chevrolet Spark has a future in America, and GM is seriously considering selling the A-segment car in the U.S.

However, it’s unlikely the Spark will be built in the U.S. “I don’t see something like that happening,” he says. “The minicar market probably isn’t going to be super big in North America, but it’s an interesting thought.”

Keaton has been based at GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co.’s vehicle engineering and development center here for the last three years, in charge of GM’s global-minicar development.

Although he is not an employee of GMDAT, he oversees the Matiz Creative and Chevy Spark that are produced and exported from the subsidiary’s manufacturing complex in Changwon, on the southern tip of the Korean peninsula.

“We’re working on (getting the car to the U.S. market). We’re looking very, very seriously at this,” Keaton tells Wards. “I have driven a Spark around Michigan and have had some (GM executives) out for Saturday afternoon driving. We’ve cruised Woodward.”

This refers to the pastime of car enthusiasts who in the 1960s and 1970s raced their muscle cars up and down Detroit’s main thoroughfare of Woodward Ave., from the edge of the city limits through the northern suburbs. The tradition continues today, and a nostalgic Woodward Dream Cruise now draws thousands of classic cars and more than 1 million spectators.

Keaton says when he drove his bright orange Spark down Woodward, he pulled into a side street to turn around and was inundated with photographers trying to get a quick shot of the car. He, in turn, invited them to photograph the vehicle as much as they liked.

Keaton also drove the Spark on the I-96 expressway out of Detroit, mixing in with 18-wheel commercial rigs on the heavily traveled interstate route. “I was pleasantly surprised they didn’t blow (me) off the road,” he says. “This thing (Spark) holds, tracks well, does well in evasive maneuvers, panic stops; stability is excellent.”

GM Global Vehicle Line Executive Jack Keaton test-drove Spark on crowded Michigan expressway.

Standing 6-ft., 4-ins. (2-m, 10-cm) tall, Keaton says he has no difficulty fitting into the front seats of the Spark. He also didn’t mind the back seat for a 35-mile (57-km) drive from Detroit to Ann Arbor, but says he wouldn’t be comfortable on a longer, 250-mile (402-km) trip west to Chicago.

“North America has been an on-and-off thing for (the Spark),” he says. “At the present time, though, it is very much on.”

But no one knows how big the market will be. “Most of the world’s minicars were not designed for North America,” Keaton says. “The safety and repairability standards are different for side, rear, front crash and rollovers, as are emission standards and other things. They are difficult to meet if they weren’t planned for in the original engineering build.”

However, the Spark has no problems with international variances, Keaton says. “We can meet the U.S. standards. We can even package the Spark for Big Gulp cupholders.”

Initially, all Spark exports will be sourced from the Changwon plant, but Keaton acknowledges capacity constraints could prove to be a problem. “It’s a challenge,” he says. “Our volume estimations keep going up. It’s the right time for cars like these.”

Units targeted for Europe now are in production, and the first export shipment is at sea, Keaton says, noting advance Spark orders already have outstripped GM’s best forecasts, and it may be necessary to add some plants.

“The Spark will be built in a few other places, but Changwon is the mother plant and exports to more than 100 countries. We will have some expansion at the plant, not massive, but we will have to upgrade some.”

Many of the cars produced by GMDAT in past years have been based on GM’s European Opel platform. Keaton says while some Opel engineering was involved with the Spark, it was far less than provided for GMDAT’s global Chevy Cruze, which arrives in the U.S. in 2010 as an ’11 model.

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“Opel has a minicar, and they have been involved as consultants, but the homeroom for the Matiz/Spark is here in Bupyeong,” he says. “Most of the engineering has been done right here, with some testing done in the U.S.”

Keaton has a team of 50 specialists working with him in Korea. With the Matiz Creative new to the domestic market and the first exports of the Spark at sea, further refinement of the two mincars continues.

“We are looking at integrating iPods, wireless connections and sophisticated electronics to suit the demographics of the various markets,” he says.

But Keaton also has his sights focused well down the road. The challenges posed by increasingly stringent government emissions and safety requirements will impact all global vehicles in the next five to 10 years, he says, and advanced generations of the Spark already are in the planning stages.

“We have to start thinking now about how to meet the standards,” he says. “It will be really tough, and people will be looking for minicars and small cars to lead the way.”

Keaton’s group also is exploring powertrain technology. The 1.2L in the Matiz Creative was developed at Bupyeong and is unique to Korea. However, it’s the same mill used in GMDAT’s best-selling export, the Chevy Aveo B-segment car.

The low displacement and vehicle measurements trigger a number of tax breaks and reduced road tolls and parking costs, he says. Conversely, in Europe, a larger 1.2L engine is needed because of the Alpine terrain and driver preferences.

Diesel applications are planned but limited to a few markets. Equipping the Matiz/Spark with a diesel would make it expensive, Keaton says. Gas engines with advanced injection systems and other features can yield similar emissions reductions at far less cost.