C O V E R     S T O R Y

Buying a new car creates more dilemmas than it solves.  Not in running them, of course; most modern cars are far too reliable for that.  There's the problem of making those monthly payments, especially if you mortgaged your house to buy that Ferrari, but we refer here to the more pressing concerns.  Like plowing your shiny new car through a flood.  Wishing your date wouldn't munch on that hamburger and leave a lasting impression on the upholstery.  Leaving it all alone in the garage when you go to sleep at night.  It’s difficult not getting emotionally attached to your new toy.

On the other end of the spectrum, sticking to an old clunker leaves with you with none of those concerns, but then you worry about the car stalling its engine in traffic or blowing a hose while running on the highway.  Somewhere in the middle lies the perfect transport: utterly reliable yet completely emotionless.  Corollas used to play that role perfectly, until they got all jazzed up in design and execution.

Car markets abhor a vacuum, so here Chevrolet steps in with its proposition, the new Optra.  The car itself was co-developed with Daewoo and Pininfarina.  Korean cars are getting better all the time, and the Optra does stick to the low-price, high-value formula, so that shouldn't be much of a problem.  It's difficult to pin down the car's origins, too: the company is American, the shape Italian, and the assembly Thai.

NEXT PAGE >>>