Holden Considering the Daewoo Matiz
24 May, 2007
28 Comments 
We thought Holden’s marketing department had learned a lesson from the disastrous Holden Barina, but we were wrong. GoAuto reports Holden are considering importing the next generation Daewoo Matiz to sit below the Holden Barina - as a Holden Matiz.
John Elsworth (GM Holden marketing director) was reluctant to confirm whether or not the plan was confirmed, perhaps waiting for some public opinion prior to making an official announcement one way or another.
“I would never say never, based on our desire and global car industry desire to get cars cheaper in terms of production, and sometimes that means you can pass it on to consumers,” Mr Elsworth said.
Well if public opinion is keeping Holden back, than let us share our thoughts, despite the Barina’s poor performance (both in sales, and as a car itself), the main reason for our hostility has been its 2-star safety rating. There should be no reason why a vehicle sold ion 2007 should carry such a low rating.
If the new Daewoo Matiz (pictured) can out perform its bigger Korean brother in the safety department, Holden should have no problems moving the light cars. But the big question remains, is it safe? Given its currently in development, no official safety testing has been done, but time will tell.
With rumours flying around that cars from India and China will flood the Australian market in the next 3-5 years, Holden needs to position it self with an ultra cheap car to compete.
“The cost of producing cars is coming down and the transaction prices are coming down. All we have said in the past is that light-car segment prices have come down to the point where cars are pretty cheap these days. How low can you go?” Mr Elsworth said.
How low can you go? Lets hope he is talking about the price, and not Holden’s reputation.
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May 24th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Eew! Give warning before showing photos like that!
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May 24th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
oh god no, dear lord HAVE MERCY ON US ALL!
not more KOREAN KRAP!
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May 24th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Alborz you should be horse whipped for subjecting me to this photo?? God forbid what if my kid logs on your site ?? LOL
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May 24th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Why don’t they just rename Holden to GM-Daewoo? or better still “Quality Challenged Cars PTY” :)
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May 24th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Looks like something someone blew out their nose.Hang on that would go fast though! That isn’t going on the cool wall!!
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May 24th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
The Matiz is never going to make large sales, I don’t see the point. If they wanna go supermini I much prefer a Opel/Vauxhall Agila. In fact I probably would prefer most European Opel/Vauxhall compared to their money saving Korean ‘equal’.
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May 24th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
I heard about this a few days ago from a contact. Apparently this piece of crap is to be called the Holden Pka or something. Pronounced “Pika”. It’s pretty shocking, Holden means a great deal to someone though… I think.
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May 24th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
LOL ,very well put!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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May 25th, 2007 at 7:16 am
HAhahaha, I just opened this and the boss happened to walk past, seeing the pic and saying “OMG, Not safe for work dude”
Steve
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May 25th, 2007 at 10:27 am
What kind of journalism are we subject to on this site? The current TK Barina has a big question mark hanging over it for sure, but in terms of sales, it is doing much better than the Euro XC it replaced.
If you think for a minute that a car built on an all new platform (the pictured concept Chevrolet Beat) will be a 2 star safety performer then there’s something wrong with you.
To even hint in a news report that this might be the case is irresponsible and immature. Speculation in the media is one thing, but this sounds like your crystal ball wasn’t even switched on.
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May 25th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
^
Lol please enlighten us how hinting at the next Daewoo Holden is going to potentially have bad safety is immature? Going off what they currently offer, the 2 star safety rated Barina or the non-esp Epica… its quite a reasonable claim!
And who cares, even if it does have reasonable safety, we all know the quality of the Koreans is below that of the Japs… so why would you bother with the Daewoo when far more superior alternatives like the Corolla are available. Sure it will cost more then the Daewoo in the short term, but long term it will save you hundreds if not thousands with trouble free driving.
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May 26th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Paul the Corolla doesnt have ESP either, so I find it rather odd you’d critise the Epica for the same reason. Also considering the Corolla (should) sell in much larger numbers. Only the TK Barina received a 2-star safety rating, the Viva and Captiva both received 4-stars.
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May 29th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Have holden sold an epicaca yet?
damned if ive seen one? seen a few craptivas, but not many. and i cant help but feel sorry ( or a little worried ) for people with new Barinawoos.
sad sad state of affairs!!
people need to be told their brand new car isnt very safe. how come this 2 star rating has been swept under the CARpet???
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May 29th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
well people seem to be bashing on holden a hell of a lot for the barinas 2 star safety rating
what about the latest mitsubishi triton and its 2 star safety rating?
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May 29th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
I saw an Epica a week ago in Melbourne and saw two a couple of them months b4 it was released, being tested. Seen quite a few Captivas, in April the Captiva made the it into the Top 20 on the Sales Chart selling 955.
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May 30th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Sam the 2 star safey rating is for the old Triton. The new Triton got a good rating. The base model gets at least 3 stars and the top of the range GLX-R variants should achieve higher scores.
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June 1st, 2007 at 8:23 am
guys, i own a 1999 daewoo matiz, the car achieved the guiness book of world records for the lowest fuel consumption, I LOVE THE LOOK OF THIS NEW ONE & would easily buy one, it has GM standards, I have had no problems with mine 800 kgs 800 ccs Park it anywhere. GOOD ON YOU GM & KOREA DAEWOO, the future is in your hands, I know for a fact they will sell well because they are eco friendly infact better results from this car than a Toyaota Prius would you beleive, for fuel coinsumption, they easily hold 5 people max speed of 150 km an hour i have done on the free way.
I also know for a fact they will be alot cheaper than Toyota as well.
GO GO GO GM DAEWOO !
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June 1st, 2007 at 1:23 pm
” infact better results from this car than a Toyaota Prius would you beleive”
Lets compare apples with apples. The prius is a far bigger car with an engine thats almost double the size. We’d need to see a synergy drive yaris to be able to compare.
As for doing 150km in this thing with 5 people, JATO Assisted speed runs don’t count :)
“GO GO GO GM DAEWOO !”
Yeah, I wish they would :)
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July 22nd, 2007 at 10:14 pm
I will say i like the look of this matiz (maybe not the color in the photo)…at least it shows a more aggressive stance and appearance than previous matizes. I have a 2003 matiz that i cant complain about at all…other than its underpowered, but ive done, and am doing, some things to change that a little.
the car has been great for getting around and great of fuel. and for a 3 banger its quite peppy at times.
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September 26th, 2007 at 12:29 am
Warning! Warning! Worst car ever Built, Please don’t consider, your life is at risk and is too precious..
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November 14th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Stephen,
are you saying that you are MODIFYING your daewoo?
what the heck are you doing to it other than trading it in on another vehicle and most importantly WHY?
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January 3rd, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Looks great if they brought this out with a holden badge on it i would buy it but only if it was safe!
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February 20th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Happy will I be on the day that Australians see more than just Hoden (GM) and Ford. I suspect that ignorance and lack of choice still is the rule around here. One day, one day.
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April 16th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
you all need to check this web sight www.globalautoindex.com
I’am sick of everyone saying korea is such a bad place to make cars.
What about the c and e class comming out of vietnam????
mazda3 tiwian etc.
what about the nissan navara 1 star safty. holden are adressing these issues like one would expect.
grow up. only reply when you have checked out this web sight
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April 26th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
My son still owns a Matiz after 8 years. It has 150,000 km, never misses a beat, goes well, has great paint and no rust. This car has saved us a fortune in fuel and maintenance. It also has dual air bags which we haven’t used yet. I had to ditch my Commodore with less mileage than this as there was always a $1,000+ problem every service. Bring back the Matiz.
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May 2nd, 2008 at 1:08 pm
A lot of you are putting down the Matiz saying it dose’nt compare to Euro cars, but you forget or don’t know, that the Chevy Matiz as it is known over there, is a big seller in Europe, I have know doubt that the new model will be too.
It would be welcome here in Australia, we have a Matiz in the family and it is a good little car.
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July 9th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
We got rid of commodore to purchase a matiz.This proved to be an excellent move.Its about time aussies realized the benefits of small cars. I ask how many of the critics of cars such as the matiz are now having trouble with the cost of fuel or are their egos so big they they dont notice it
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November 25th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
lol the older 3 banger ones are good town cars, i know someone who has one with 170 000 kays now and it still hasnt needed any attention, safety? well take one of these on the highway at your own risk :), but hey if your gunna be in an accident its going to hurt no matter what your in. would these be around 11 grand drive away again? or cheaper
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