GM fights back: $9995 2016 Chevrolet Spark Canada's cheapest new car

[MetroMPG]

Ever since the $9998 Nissan Micra arrived on the scene in Canada, things have been interesting. A month later, Mitsubishi slapped a perpetual $2500 manufacturer discount on the base Mirage to bring its starting price down to the same number.

See thread: Price war in Canada: base Mirage now $9998 (plus delivery, dealer fees, etc.)

Today things got more interesting:

Chevrolet announced at the Montreal International Auto Show that the all-new 2016 Spark will start at just $9,995 plus freight – the lowest MSRP of any car in Canada, all while being packed with standard features.

Source: http://media.gm.com/media/ca/en/gm/n...114_Spark.html

Before this announcement, you would be forgiven for wondering why GM even bothered with Canada's subcompact segment. The car has never sold well here.

Canadian sales...

	Mitsubishi Mirage	Nissan Micra	Chevrolet Spark
2015	3361	11,909	1561
2014	4048	7815	1577

And this isn't just fresh lipstick on an old pig, either. The $9995 starting price comes attached to a completely redesigned Spark, with a bunch of features that Nissan & Mitsubishi don't have.

Big standard equipment differences from the Mirage, just from a quick look at the base Spark:

• 10 airbags
• reverse camera
• 7-inch touchscreen infotainment with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
• in-car capable Wi-Fi hotspot via OnStar
• 6-way adjustable driver's seat

The Spark's engine is a 1.4L with 98 hp. I dunno how much the new Spark weighs, but the old one was pretty portly and had a worse power:weight ratio than the 74 hp Mirage.

Like the base Mirage, there's no A/C. And it appears you can't add A/C to the base trim, meaning a big price jump to get it (just like Micra & Mirage). So the big question is: how much for a Spark with automatic & A/C? Because that's what most people will probably buy.

The gloves are definitely off in Canada -- this is pretty unprecendented. That makes THREE subcompacts available for under $10k + shipping.

[Daox]

It'll be interesting to see how it effects Spark (and Mirage/Micra) sales...

[cyclopathic]

I just read a review on 2016 Spark, and I don't think I would be interested.

http://cars.about.com/od/chevrolet/f...ark-review.htm

Small trunk, cramped rear, and now you can't even lay rear seats down without moving fronts all the way forward.

[MetroMPG]

I wonder if they'll do anything like this with the pricing in the States. I guess they don't really need to since it seems to sell well enough already, unlike in Canada.

[MetroMPG]

TTAC:

Cheap Car Wars Canada: 2016 Chevrolet Spark Gets $9,995 CAD Price Tag, and Americans Should Be Seriously Pissed Off

[nickpon]

That makes THREE subcompacts available for under $10k + shipping.

Ends up being quite a bit more than that once all is said and done, believe me ;P

I wouldn't ever consider buying a Chevy. Despite my bias, in complete honesty, I can say that not a single one of those features (or 5 of them bundled together) would sway me towards any car of any make.

[gone.a]

Its great to see competitive pricing but I'd like to comment on the Spark. Before I bought my Mirage I rented a Spark and took a long 5 day road trip. Now, the Mirage is clearly a very very budget car. But it feels like a bunch of good designers and engineers got together to make a purpose built budget car with the intention of saving money and weight everywhere. The Spark however feels like a bunch or rookie Jr College level designers and engineers came together and gave their best effort to make a decent car, failed miserably, and because of their low pay grade the car ended up being cheap. The ergonomics are worse, its not quieter, the trunk is smaller, etc etc. The Mirage is def nicer.

[davidricardo86]

That new Spark looks a bit more grown up. I like it, but how much does it weigh? GM must've been feeling the pressure from Mitsubishi and more so from Nissan to go forward with this move.

[Cobrajet]

I think if Mitsubishi was the first of these companies to go $9995 US for a (very) base Mirage, they could really get a jump on this. In Canada, they were playing catch-up with Nissan and didn't get the splash of publicity a car like this would undoubtedly generate here. I understand that it costs a bit more to do business in the US, but they'd still be getting about 25% more than they get for the same car up north.

Lotta folks could do without AC, and I am one of them.

What I don't understand is the faux indignation of this article. I mean, professional reviewers already pan cars like the current Mirage and Versa for being hopelessly spartan and utterly horrible (compared to the used Corolla or Civic that any 'sane' person should surely buy instead)...do they really believe we would listen to them cheer-lead for a de-contented $9995 version of any of these cars? Put another way, would a Mirage with crank windows, no AC, less soundproofing, and black door handles make them like it....MORE??

Auto reviewers...almost to a man...want more power, more weight, more luxury, better handling, more noise dampening, etc, etc, out of cars like this, and in markets like Canada where these are sold under $10k the OPPOSITE is being done.

[nickpon]

I understand that it costs a bit more to do business in the US, but they'd still be getting about 25% more than they get for the same car up north.

I don't know how true that normally is, but it definitely isn't right now. As that last part of the quote seems to allude, the Canadian dollar is utter garbage right now. $10,000 CAD is only $6879.47 USD. The starting price of the Mirage in the US is basically double.