Re: New Car On The Block (Zero Audi Content)

[Tom Nas <tnas@euronet.nl>]

Aleksander Mierzwa <alex@matrix.pl> wrote:

>[...]
>>Does anyone else know more on the subject of Daewoo?

>They've recently acquired FSO, the biggest Polish car manufacturer. Since
>Poland is soon to become member of the EU, they're hoping to produce cars
>here, where labor costs are still ridiculously low and export them to EU
>without import taxes. As for now, they mainly sell them here. You can see
>more on http://www.daewoo.com.pl/sam.html (unfortunately only in Polish).
>In fact, I have two uncles who both drive Esperos. They both say they're
>satisfied, but OTOH, neither of them is a "car person" type.

I've driven both an Espero and a newer Nubira. The Espero is basically an
'80s Opel Ascona, down to the harsh, uneconomical and noisy engine. Finish
is really bad- the _new_ car I drove had a hole in the dash. They're cheap,
and loaded with extras (by European standards) but little else.
The Nubira has come some way, but looks like any Japanese sedan and still
lags behind its competitors on the driving front. Engines and suspension
are still thinly-disguised Opel.

The cheapness that was the distinguishing feature of early Daewoos has now
disappeared. Here in Holland, Daewoo has no USPs. They'll have a hard time
selling 'em in a couple of years...
That's quite different in the UK, where Daewoos are sold 'factory direct'
and with three years of free service.

Tom