by Joe Kirkpatrick

In the late 1990's, Korean corporate giant Daewoo began to export cars from their automotive division into the United States.  This was not the first time a Daewoo was sold in the US.

In 1988, General Motors Pontiac division sold a car they named the "LeMans".  The general public was duped into thinking they were buying a car made by an American automaker, only to find out it was a Korean import that most GM dealers didn't want to support after you drove off of their lot.  GM dropped the LeMans after three or four years, and the US remained "Daewooless" until 1998, when Daewoo began to export cars under their own name.  Unfortunately, the American public was not informed of Daewoo's shaky finances, and quite a few Daewoo's were sold.  In mid 2001, Daewoo owners, many of which still had warranties on their cars, were shocked when they found Daewoo dealerships could not honor their warranties or service their cars anymore, because Daewoo had filed bankruptcy.  Some Daewoo owners literally had cars that would no longer run, but still were obligated to make their monthly car payment.  Daewoo owners who still had good running cars but saw the dilemma they were in, took their car and tried to trade it on a more reputable model, only to find other car dealers would not even take them in on a trade.

Over the past two years, GM negotiated buying out Daewoo, but at my last

account, they had purchased a minority portion of the company, which had helped Daewoo financially, but not gotten them out of the woods.

Now - follow me closely - we will get back to Daewoo in a minute, but I want to introduce you to the term of "captive import."  A captive import is a term used to describe a minor car brand being relabeled as a big brand - like the Pontiac LeMans we talked about earlier.  Some of the other "captive imports" sold thru the years are Chevrolet Luv (an Isuzu), Ford Courier (a Mazda), Ford Festiva (a Kia), Geo Metro (a Suzuki), Dodge Colt (a Mitsubishi), and for you old timers, a Plymouth Cricket (who knows where they got that thing!)  What do all of these

"captive imports" have in common?  Buying one is kind of like being on the show "Mission Impossible."  You know how in the beginning the star would always listen to the tape recorder that would tell him what his mission was?  The recording would always end with, "Should you be captured, the agency will disavow any knowledge of your existence."  That's how buying a captive import from a domestic automaker has historically been - once you buy it and your warranty is up, they want to disavow any knowledge that you or that car ever existed!

How does this tie in with Daewoo you might ask?  Chevrolet announced last week their newest model:  The 2004 Chevrolet Aveo!  The first TV commercials are out, and it is billed as "The New Chevrolet Aveo - An American Revolution!"  No doubt, many Chevrolet junkies will flock in to buy the new sub compact made by Chevrolet, so happy they will not have to buy an import.  GUESS WHAT?  It ain't no Chevrolet!!!!  And it sure ain't "An American Revolution."  What is it then????  Seems like in all the rest of the whole wide world that new Chevrolet Aveo is called a DAEWOO KALOS!  How happy do you think all the Chevy Aveo buyers will be in a couple of years if Daewoo isn't able to come out of bankruptcy?

"An American Revolution?"  Hmmm - have they ever heard the term "A Great American Fraud?"

All I've got to say is buyer beware - you've been warned!