My uncle (American) has just bought himself a new SUV, a Chevrolet TRAX, never heard of it so asked Mr Google. It's a very well specified car with many features. The most surprising element is that the base model has a sticker price of £15,000. Because he worked a lifetime for GM, he also qualifies for staff discount which I believe is about £3500.  It has a proper ICE, none of your battery rubbish! So yes, you can 'rip' the car apart but for that sort of price, it's amazing value for money. Makes you wonder what would happen to the UK car market if you could buy cars like this for that price here?

GM Korea has really stepped up its game in the past three years. The previous generation of Trax was a rather ungainly looking car in the Korean tradition of a height to width ratio that was not quite right, I don’t know how else to describe it. But now it’s a great looking vehicle from every angle. The company that used to be Daewoo Motor has been transformed by its acquisition by GM. Daewoo produced a line of cars that had good build quality from a fit and finish perspective but were very deficient in durability, reliability and the western design philosophy of proportion.The only unfortunate part of the GM acquisition of Daewoo Motor was that for a few years they produced rebadged models of Daewoo cars under the Suzuki and Chevrolet brand names that were improved but still not “fully baked” in the upgrade process. The results of this was the utter destruction of the Suzuki brand in North America and Canada. The previous GM management was not kind to it’s own captive import partners in the way they shared the product across the different markets.

Ah, I thought that looked like a 10 year old Kia/Hyundai.  Makes sense if GM are now partly Korean.

I believe that every GM vehicle below C segment is a GM Korea design vehicle. With input from the design teams in America.

I am most interested to see what they do in the small pickup truck segment coming up. They are very capable of delivering a stunning design for a small four door unitized body light truck.

10 minutes ago, Scottman said:

... But now it’s a great looking vehicle from every angle....

Must confess to not being a fan at all of SUVs but I really like the TRAX. My Uncle told me it's a much bigger car than he wanted, but Chevrolet apparently didn't have anything smaller!

Yes. I think it grew about 20 percent in the last redesign. But it was worth the effort. I am no fan of the crossover SUV either. But I wouldn’t be ashamed to be seen driving one of these.

4 hours ago, Scottman said:

But I wouldn’t be ashamed to be seen driving one of these.

But you would draw the line at been seen driving a new Capri ? 🤣

19 minutes ago, unofix said:

But you would draw the line at been seen driving a new Capri ? 🤣

I think we'd all draw the line there 😂

On 8/14/2025 at 12:32 PM, unofix said:

But you would draw the line at been seen driving a new Capri ? 🤣

The Capri EV is not attractive. So, it would have to be a “no go” for me. In fact, even a huge incentive on it would not change my mind about it. 
The previous generation of Trax was not exactly a beauty queen, even in the highest specification trim. So, the new Trax is a massive improvement over its predecessor. 2021 version of Trax is below.

The first generation version is the same vehicle as the Mk1 Vauxhall/Opel Mokka. 

8 minutes ago, AntonovAN12 said:

That is the same vehicle as the Vauxhall/Opel Mokka. 

I'm fairly sure it's not.

I meant the First Generation Version in the post before mine.

I see that Scottman's location is Other/NonUK so he may not be familiar with them under that name. 

From the google overview:

First Generation (GM Era):

The first-generation Mokka, launched in 2012, was developed by GM Korea and shared its platform with the Chevrolet Trax. In Europe, it was sold as the Opel Mokka and in the UK as the Vauxhall Mokka.

 

9 hours ago, AntonovAN12 said:

I see that Scottman's location is Other/NonUK

Pretty sure he located in USA.

8 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Pretty sure he located in USA.

Yes! United States, metro Detroit. I’m at the Woodward dream cruise doing some video in Mustang alley and Bronco display. I will create a thread to a video in the appropriate area of the forum.

8 minutes ago, Scottman said:

Yes! United States, metro Detroit. I’m at the Woodward dream cruise doing some video in Mustang alley and Bronco display. I will create a thread to a video in the appropriate area of the forum.

Now, in 1979 I actually dragged raced down Woodward Avenue in my Uncles Chevrolet Vega LOL (He'd be horrified if he knew!) It was an absolute rust bucket, but alot of fun. I got to drive it the whole summer I was there.  Looking forward to seeing your video!

5 hours ago, Scottman said:

I will create a thread to a video in the appropriate area of the forum.

 

 

 

 

This is my 2011 Hertz Mustang rental

Ford had several Mach E vehicles that were modified on display! They are in the video. So, this is still somewhat “on topic”. Ford did announce the new Louisville assembly plant for the upcoming universal EV platform that will be the next generation of Ford EV. Development of a cost effective EV that people can afford is a good idea. It’s not surprising that the combination of attractive and affordable vehicles is so difficult to achieve. I don’t see any signs that Ford will pivot away from the SUV in the near future. The Escape is going away soon here. I don’t think the Kuga will. The demise of the Escape is due to changes in buyers tastes. It simply looks too mundane.

On 8/16/2025 at 5:00 PM, unofix said:

This is my 2011 Hertz Mustang rental

Ford and Shelby American have collaborated on some distinctive versions of the Mustang for the Hertz rental Ford fleets at major airports in America. It is not possible to just “blend into the crowd” when you rent one of these special Mustangs. 
this program seems to be perpetually popular with the customers and profitable for Hertz. 

Very nice looking.

It reminds me of the old Capri 'JPS Special' that we used to have in the UK.

The Mercury division released a black and gold option package for the 1982 Capri here in the states that the first time I saw it I thought of the earlier JPS Capri that we never got. The U.S Capri never offered any special or limited editions for the original, imported version.