Link from Jalopnik I didn't think this was "News and Rumors" worthy, but if someone disagrees feel free to move this or whatever. Anyway, Bob Lutz (one of the higher-up muckety mucks at General Motors) was quoted in a conference call: Given that photographs (more here) have made their way around showing a Chevrolet Beat, and given that people have speculated that it may be a TF (or a human car) and not just a production vehicle (i.e. camera work, etc) I wonder if this means anything for the movie. Of course, since the movie is a worldwide release, it's possible it means nothing - not to mention that filming and production are so far along already. I don't know - it's an interesting turn of events, IMO.
GM sells cars all over the world through various subsidiaries, and most of the cars probably won't be referred to by name. So GM can still sell the Beat elsewhere through.... I dunno, Holden, Vauxhall, Opel ect as differently named cars as required.
Too bad. If GM could make a 50mpg commuter car and stick it on the market, people would be buying the piss out of them. I am sorry, when they say 31mpg I say 'why so low' knowing that Toyota can do close to double that. I did like the beat, I was hoping it was going to be a new step un the sub-compact 50mpg+ arena.
Once again hell hath frozen over because I'm agreeing with nkelsch. But yeah, it's a shame - and damned stupid - that they're planning on skipping the vehicle. I mean hell, TF2 would be great advertising for the Beat (and Trax, though that lost the vote along with the Groove) and maybe it will be good advertising outside the USA, but Americans are clamoring for better small cars and GM doesn't seem inclined to give 'em what they want.
Funny because last saturady on a local news program they were talking about G.M. bringing some of it's non U.S. cars here that possible List included The Chevy Beat because of the MPG it gets.
And that's why they're hemoraging money in a nutshell. Bashing GM aside though, I don't think the release or non-release of the car here will effect the movie one whit.. People can't go out and buy F-22s either, but Starscream still has his fans. I *DO* think it'll hurt GM, given that everyone seemed gun-ho to buy the new Camaro after seeing Bumblebee last summer, and sales of the Mini shot up after.. what was it called, the Italian Job? But if they can't make it pass US saftey laws without spending millions to redesign it, I suppose that's a good reason to not so right now. Better to focus on getting the company profitable for the time being. So long as if the whatever TF turns into a Beat gets still gets a reasonably accurate toy, I'll be ok with it
doesn't sound like a vehicle I want to own anyway, if it can't pass US Crash safety standards. Its not a matter of "give them what they want" its a matter of doing so at a PRICE they want also.
I heard yesterday on FOX News that GM makes fuel efficent cars for overseas and not for the USA. I guess they wanted us to drive trucks and SUV's. But if they are planning to use to Beat in the TF2 movie, maybe it will pressure GM to make the car available in the U.S.
Sooner or later the Beat will eventuall make its way to U.S. streets. I've already seen several of those little rollings toy boxes called the Smart Car out there on the freeway, so I have no idea why they wouldn't want the Beat out there yet.
See, the funny thing is that apparently the Beat and Trax are based on the same platform as the Aveo. If the Aveo can pass safety standards.... I dunno, maybe engineers need to get working on deflector shields for cars so that smaller cars can be safer. (Only half kidding.)
I have yet to read what the MPG for a beat is expected to be. As far as I know it gets no more gas efficiency than other gas only sub compacts. But I doubt anyone would care or that it would impact the TF movie at all.
New car is a new car. Stringent safety regulation means that any new car is up for scrutiny even if a derivative of it is already on the market. Chevy Beat was always going to be a Asian/European car from the start. (seeing where it was developed, you can see that it was meant for the European Chevy brand AKA Daewoo) Anyways, I'm sure GM has an Aveo replacement planned for sure. It just won't be the Chevy Beat. So does this matter to TF or most of us? No. Not one bit.