This sequence is all about automotive historical past, and Daewoo’s ill-fated try and promote automobiles in North America underneath its personal branding presents us some fascinating historic classes. We took a have a look at a discarded instance of the Daewoo Leganza luxurious sedan in Wyoming not too long ago, and now it is the flip of a Daewoo Lanos econobox that obtained thrown away in Northern California.
GM bought the Daewoo LeMans with Pontiac badges in the USA from the 1988 via 1993 mannequin years, so it will need to have appeared that Individuals had been prepared to purchase extra Daewoo fashions.
There have been three in whole, bought right here from 1999 via 2002: the subcompact Lanos, the compact Nubira and the midsize Leganza.
It has grow to be very tough to seek out any of those three in automotive graveyards not too long ago, as a result of most had been crushed a decade or so again. I used to be excited to identify this one in a yard simply east of Sacramento, and much more so when a quartet of navy jets screamed overhead on full afterburner.
As a result of San Francisco Fleet Week was arising, I assumed it was the Blue Angels F-18s training for the present. In actual fact, they turned out to be the Air Drive Thunderbirds of their F-16s, presumably working out of close by Travis Air Drive Base. You by no means know what you will see throughout a junkyard journey.
The ’00 Lanos was significantly low-cost, with an MSRP of simply $8,669 for the bottom three-door hatchback (the sedan model was $9,449). That is simply $15,807 and $17,229 in inflation-adjusted 2023 {dollars}. One other reasonably priced South Korean machine, the Hyundai Accent, began at $9,699 that yr ($17,685 in at present’s cash).
Sadly for Daewoo gross sales right here, the corporate’s CEO fled the nation to keep away from fraud and embezzlement prices in 1999. The next yr, Daewoo declared chapter. GM ended up shopping for the elements of Daewoo’s car-manufacturing operations that it did not already personal (whereas not shopping for Daewoo Motor America). Ultimately, guarantee service for the triumvirate of U.S.-market Daewoo fashions was farmed out to the Pep Boys.
That wasn’t the top of the road for the Lanos, Nubira and Leganza, nevertheless. The subsequent-generation Lanos was bought right here because the Chevrolet Aveo and Pontiac G3. The subsequent-generation Nubira turned the Suzuki Reno in the USA. To not be ignored, the next-generation Leganza continued its American tour because the Suzuki Verona.
This one practically reached 70,000 miles throughout its 23-year profession.
Too dangerous Manny, Moe and Jack ended up dealing with that 100,000-mile guarantee.