One Big Car Crash - The Daewoo Story

At the end of the 20th century, it looked like the future belonged to Asia. Japanese electronics were second to none, as were their cars, and Korea wasn’t far behind. And one bright star was Daewoo. Founded in 1967, in just 30 years it was Korea’s second largest company. A meteoric rise then, but today its name has all but disappeared. Why did Daewoo decide to make cars, what’s its connection with General Motors and what became of it?
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#bigcar

[@Steve-gc5nt]

We had a Daewoo Matiz for a couple of years. You know, that was a great little car. Reliable,a laugh to drive and cheap to run. To me it was what a modern Mini should be.

[@darrenwilson8042]

we had one too - now on our 2nd Chevy Matiz - 3 in total and all told we have a more than 20 year link with them - you know what you are getting and they do the task they were designed for very well Had a Tacuma for 5 years too didn't replace that one not because it was rubbish its just UK emissions based road tax meant that it would cost about the same as would a nuclear power station lol

[@LiviuXSA]

an underpowered rust bucket that rusted out the rocker panels, failed inspections easily and gave you guaranteed death in case of a frontal accident - i had one too....

[@ethanlittle776]

Did you know that design was actually offered to fiat as the new 500 but they turned it down

[@Steve-gc5nt]

@@LiviuXSA Yep. And yet we loved it.

[@MrDuncl]

A car so good there were two different unauthorised Chinese copies. "What makes you say we copied Daewoo's design?" "Well you can swap the doors between models for a start".

[@bombardier6033]

The Espero was actually a cross-breed between the Opel Ascona and Opel Vectra (Cavalier). In Romania, Daewoo was regarded as a middle-class car. It was a big upgrade over a Dacia, but you still had a long way to go before you could buy a Passat. Ask any dad about the Espero or Cielo (Nexia) and they'll tell you fond memories of either owning one or knowing someone who had one. Daewoos were cheaper than European brands, but they still had air conditioning, standard headrests and all of these now insignificant features that Romanians first came in contact with when they sat in an Espero or Cielo. It's a shame Daewoo didn't get to spread its wings like Hyundai/Kia.

[@michaeloberholz5311]

Based on the Opel Kadett E was the Daewoo Nexia

[@Namburiadityasairam2605]

That was the same niche in the market that Daewoo held in India, seen as more premium than Hyundai too!

[@pakitoxperia]

These cars where build in Romanian town of Craiova when Daewoo bought the old Oltcit/Citroën factory

[@fluffybadger9832]

Based on the Ascona C platform I believe.

[@pakitoxperia]

@@fluffybadger9832 exactly with it's in German language known as Verbundlenkerachse rear twist beam suspension setup

[@MY-kb4ei]

My father is in his mid-80ies and he still owns and runs an ancient 1.8 Espero. This car is just under 30 years old and well over half a million kilometres on the speedometer. There is rust, of course, but the suspension and the engine proved to be bulletproof indeed. The car still serves as a supermarket/grocery cruiser, but surely is capable to comfortabley hit the highway, as needed

[@Agu_Ra]

Daewoo Lanos has truly earned "people's car" status over here in Ukraine, they also used to be popular as taxis. Also we had even cheaper Daewoo/ZAZ Sens model here, which essentially is a Lanos with ZAZ Tavria drivetrain.

[@jeff4362]

Daewoo's are still around in big numbers in Ukraine and lots of other countries like Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In Uzbekistan the Daewoo name was still locally produced until very recently. I think overall Daewoo was much more reliable than we make of it.

[@frankmontez6853]

Yeah saw a video that asked mechanics what car WOULD’NT make it to 100 K miles and I was surprised. I had a daewoo and it very reliable. I did not get to 100 K miles because I totaled it verrry unfortunately 😢

[@2010hyundaielantra]

yeah there was a Ukrainian rebadge called the zaz chance. ironically it was and still is popular in Russia.

[@lordmmx1303]

@@jeff4362 i had two Nexias [both engines], Espero, Lanos, two Leganzas and Two Evandas. All of them totally reliable. I still own leganza and evanda and while I drive leganza only in summer, I use evanda as daily car. First Evanda I had, got clutch replaced after 328000km - an original clutch, never changed before - and I sold her at 360 000km and just recenly found out that it's still driving and is for sale again. Second Evanda is literally brand new - I bought her at 78000km, now at 98000km. No issues at all. Aaand Nexia was my first car. When I took her to scrapyard with heavy heart, it had 500 000km on clock. Rust ate trough her sadly. Other cars weren't that long with me, but I managed to make around 100 000km on lanos with just oil and filters change over years. So for me, those cars are insanely reliable when you take care of them.

[@thatguyswavomeer]

Daewoo was a big name in Poland in 1990s, especially since they took over the huge FSO plant in Warsaw. I bet they were the most popular car brand till early 2000s. But other Daewoo branches were also active. In my home town there was a Daewoo house appliance factory. And the Daewoo tower in Warsaw is still standing, albeit under a different name.

[@goclunker]

Daewoo killed FSO. Fk Daewoo

[@maciejdoczyk8196]

@goclunker6821 It wasn't Deawoo which killed FSO, but circumstances, among them, intimidated government which backed off under pressure of striking FSO staff which protested against proposed factory takeover by Volkswagen. Germans wanted to introduce changes, probably difficult for some, and modernise the factory. Koreans offered sugar-coated shite with fraction of tradition and expertise that other European brands had. We could follow the story of Skoda but instead, well...welcome to Poland were we fcuk the things up and then looking for someone to blame. But I agree, fcuk Deawoo. Ps. Even Dacias starting to look good (part of Renault).

[@goclunker]

@@maciejdoczyk8196 still, if it wasn’t for Korean Garbage, FSO would be everywhere, and Skoda too since vw started to take a interest in Skoda way before FSO. Instead Daewoo added lipstick to the Polonez, Honker and started selling their crap in Poland.

[@maciejdoczyk8196]

@@goclunker I think we generally agree that going with Daewoo was a mistake but we didn't have to, and that was the original sin.

[@goclunker]

@@maciejdoczyk8196 fully agree.

[@deadp01]

Here in Greece, I think all (to be honest) the small cafes use Matizes for home delivery. Utterly reliable, small and cheap to run with their 800cc engines.

[@matthewc.419]

I worked in Greece , Zante , I borrowed a matiz ....n ended up writing it off !!!! Ooooooops

[@glurak888]

​@@matthewc.419You scratched the bumper?

[@matthewc.419]

@@glurak888 😳🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🙈 a lot worse ............

[@gg_vard]

There was also the topless Edition, with the soft retractable roof

[@loufadoros20]

So far I had driven a matiz in a greek island. I never felt like I was driving a toy before 😂

[@polska207]

I remember when daewoos first started to be sold in Poland in the 90s, they looked so fancy and the dealerships looked so rich. It was nice knowing they where made in my home country and still made the Polonez still under FSO

[@thanakonpraepanich4284]

Same here, the only thing that hobbled its launch in Thailand back in 1991 was none of their cars came with automatic in the first year. Everything else were there though; air conditioning, rear seat belts, all four power windows, remote control lock, 6-CDs radio, the works. What were launch models for Poland? Espero medium car, Cielo 3-doors hatch, Fantasy 4-doors sedan with Racer/Pontiac LeMans for taxi/fleet buyers?

[@polska207]

@@thanakonpraepanich4284 I remember the Lanos the most in the dealerships and a neighbor had a Nubira wagon brand new worlds apart from my Dads Wartburg 353. the Cabs uesd mostly to the Polonez and Fiat 125P no Daewoo taxies as I remember at the time

[@goclunker]

Daewoo killed FSO. Fk Daewoo

[@the_kombinator]

Most of my Matiz parts come now from Poland. I need a door for a Matiz.... :|

[@polska207]

@@goclunker The soviets killed FSO years of being held back then the need to compete with vehicles from the west it was just to much

[@MoultrieGeek]

Wow, what a complicated story this one was Andy! A fascinating story very well told.

[@carlosborrasetaylor7630]

Yes.

[@matthewc.419]

Il say !!!!

[@rafaelfiallo4123]

A few corrections are needed, GM is still selling Korean made cars in the US, the Chevrolet Trax, Trailblazer, Spark, Buick Encore are all Korean made and still in the US as of today with the exception of the Spark which was discontinued recently. You also didn't mention that Daewoo did come to the US in the 1980's as the Pontiac LeMans sold from 1987-1992, there were also rebranded Canadian Daewoo LeMans' sold through the Passport dealer network.

[@claycoates5056]

OOHH Thank GOD they Discontinued the Spark that was NO-MORE then a URINAL CAR OR THING That one could only Piss around Town in How Any one would want one of those things is BEYOND me they are Real JUNK

[@sonviet2137]

And first-gen Opel/Vauxhall Mokka, Karl/Viva are made in Korea also!

[@idimidodjimi6760]

@@claycoates5056 How, cause the market needed it. Its totally different thing if You didn't like it. And they sold millions of it.

[@claycoates5056]

@@idimidodjimi6760 HOW unfortunate for those that Bought one

[@glennjones6574]

​@@claycoates5056 the spark was an awesome little car

[@mikebaginy8731]

Flying into Birmingham (UK) airport almost weekly in the late 90s, I enjoyed the large advertisement sign along the motorway: "That'll Be The Daewoo". When I returned to Birmingham some 15 years later, that sign was gone.

[@DanAlexC]

My very first car was a Daewoo Tico. That thing was so much fun. Then my second one was a Daewoo Matiz. I bought that one brand new and kept it for about 5 years. Never let me down on anything. Great city runners. So many memories tie me to this brand. Nice one

[@-eili]

As a 90's kid in Korea, I've fully witnessed the rise and fall of Daewoo for past decades. But I never knew the word Daewoo's meaning (great universe) until now. Surprisingly in depth video! 👍

[@anthonyperkins7556]

I remember when Daewoo came to the UK, it was a range of sensible no nonsense motors that offered lots for a reasonable price, the reheated Vauxhall models weren't too clever, but the Matiz / Tacuma / Lanos / Nubira and Leganza were an improvement.

[@laurentgully267]

It was also a great opportunity for many people to purchase a brand new car, instead of a second hand one

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

I remember pmsl laughing at the daewoo matiz when chevy took over on the radio...promoting the matiz it shouts loudly "plus...its a chevy!!" Yea hark back to the days of muscle cars etc for the UK, when selling...well...this...faf!! (Funny as...)

[@anthonyperkins7556]

​@@laurentgully267 The Daewoos were a much better deal, and you got oodles of extras as standard equipment for the price as well as the good warranty and free servicing package..

[@TheDutchShepherd]

Fun fact; the daewoo nexia is a Vauxhall/Opel kadett

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

@@TheDutchShepherd mk2 astra

[@marieaudreyduchamp8839]

As someone who has seen Daewoo from inside, I can tell that your work is pretty well documented and spot-on ! Well done sir ! The only thing you forgot to mention is that the Chevy Cruze was primarily designed to replace the Lacetti and became a true global car ! It’s sad but we can say that Daewoo finally made it after their death with this car !!

[@FantomLightning]

The Espero is honestly to my eye one of the best looking sedans of all time.

[@torstenscholz6243]

I agree. The design of the Espero still holds up quite well despite now being almost 30 years old, it has the look of a late 80s/early 90s American middle-class limousine.

[@aradkhorsand9725]

I have a 1993 espero

[@wonjstuff]

What a great video! Wanted to add some additional info. In the mid 90s Ukrainian ZAZ signed a deal with Daewoo to assemble Lanos. Funny enough, Daewoo opted out of the deal in 2008, leaving all for ZAZ to handle. Cars were made right until 2014. Lanos, despite all of it's faults is a legendary car here.

[@yehyabadr2488]

To add to your story the Ukrainian factory was supplying knocked down kits to Egypt until the war

[@danielalejandroespinahenri7063]

Here in Chile Daewoo was quite popular, specially the low cost line Tico. Also the Espero was very popular, and actually it was quite a popular car because to the middle class was a car that looked like "premium" (it wasn't so usual at the time to see a 2.0 DOHC full equipment). It's quite silly but seriously it was looked like a "premium" car, it was used when new as a weeding car. Other models like the matiz (chevrolet spark) and the Rezzo (chevrolet vivant) were also common to see, but was a little weird to see them side to side to their chevrolet partners

[@river9632]

Great video, in Australia I think the brand was marketed as being pronounced "Day-Woo"

[@laurentgully267]

I am very happy that you finally released this video! Despite a few mistakes like the pronunciation or missing some details like the Saehan brand name, I think it is important not to forget that Daewoo became a household name for many people in Europe, between the cars and appliances, its success in the 90s was undeniable. Until today, many believe in Korea that Daewoo was not supported in Korea the way that Hyundai or Samsung was, and some fans do exist, who respect and remember the history of the group... Who knows where Daewoo would be today, had they had the chance that Kia had when they were bought out by the Hyundai Group. Until today, Daewoos can be seen everywhere in Eastern Europe, so their reliability or heritage should not be completely forgotten!

[@andrewnorth4857]

You just had to mention the mispronunciation, didn't you? 😂

[@laurentgully267]

@@andrewnorth4857 I don't mean any disrespect, I am a very big fan of the channel! But indeed, the name of the brand was not pronounced correctly, however I hope that it is not the only thing fellow subscribers will remember from my comment 😅

[@andrewnorth4857]

@@laurentgully267 I don't think any disrespect will be felt by your comment and I agree; the quality of the videos produced on this channel is excellent. I would have commented on the odd pronunciation myself except I only recently discovered Vanden Plas is not pronounced Vanden Pla. 🤔

[@laurentgully267]

@@andrewnorth4857 thank you very much! I would not pretend that I know how to pronounce every car brand myself 😂 but as a Daewoo enthusiast, I owed it to myself 😉

[@MrDuncl]

Samsung's car making went the same way as Daewoo's

[@Andronicus2007]

In Australia, we pronounce it Day-woo, perhaps how they said it in the ads. I have a 2017 Holden Spark, aka Chevy Spark made by GM Korea, the reborn Daewoo. Its actually a pretty well made car, and we've had a trouble free 60,000 kms of motoring in it so far.

[@FatHead1979]

We also use the same pronounciation in the UK.

[@konradgreen2567]

even more annoying he keeps switching between the correct (day-you) pronunciation and then back (to die-you) again. soooo annoying. it's like Dacia all over again 😀

[@dxutube]

WOW how appropriate, 1000 weeks (7000 days) since my dad picked up his nearly-new 2nd gen Nubira! He loved that car. Literally to pieces. Mum had a W-reg Matiz M100 for 9 years & we all loved that too. Whilst we as a family jumped on the bandwagon, I still appreciate the tough times the company had though. Thanks for the video.

[@philipmordaunt5341]

Very professional presentation. You make stories about cars into stories about the world we live in. From the specific to the general. Good job.

[@fatbelly27]

We had a Daewoo Nexia in the family for many years. It was excellent value (bought new) and performed well throughout its life

[@cicalinarrot]

The Giugiaro designed Daewoos are really weird. They don't look great but if you look closer at the Leganza, it shares a lot with Maserati GTs from that era, the Lacetti is quite interesting too.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

They were all cast off Giugiaro designs - the Matiz was a study for a new FIAT 500, and the Leganza a study for a new Jaguar XJ. I’m not sure how much involvement ItalDesign had with the Daewoo versions - it’s possible that they were adapted by the Korean design team. The Espero, on the other hand was commissioned from Bertone, and leant heavily on Citroens of the time. Quite a nice looking car!

[@cicalinarrot]

@@simonhodgetts6530 Cool, I knew about the Matiz story (almost forgot it!) but not about the others. Let's be clear, the rounded-lines-only era of the 90s/early2000s wasn't the greatest but whenever I see one of those cars, it's obvious that there was someone good behind them.

[@RobJaskula]

​@@simonhodgetts6530 hah, that explains why I always liked the look of the Leganza but never understood why

[@kazumakoga3066]

I almost bought a Leganza until I opened the hood! Teeny tiny engine!

[@cicalinarrot]

@@kazumakoga3066 I read it was 1.8 to 2.2 litres, not great but quite ok for the category... unless you're from the US :)

[@XxLIVRAxX]

Daewoo had a good run in South America, the Damas, Tico, Matiz, Kalos and several sedan model sold well, affordable if unrefined, those cars were a good fit for the Latam consumer I saw them everywhere in my home country as a kid and in my early teens late 90s/early 00s. After Daewoo Motors was bought by GM many of those models soldiered on, the Spark, Aveo and even the Damas continued as Chevrolets, you can still see plenty of them, second hand cars sell for peanuts, so those are popular with young first time buyers. Fun fact: GM also sold K-Cars in Latam, rebadge Suzuki Wagon R to be exact.

[@the_kombinator]

I recall going to junkyards in Korea about 10 years ago and seeing FLEETS of Matizes. I wanted some parts (the Sport packages, mostly) but I was disallowed to touch those particular ones. They were headed for Africa. A lot of them were complete, running cars, with under 100,000K on them. I bet you 90% of them are still in use today, those cars are very reliable.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

Matiz is Chevy Spark / Pontiac G2, Kalos is Chevy Aveo / Pontiac G3 Wave / Suzuki Swift +, Damas was also Chevy Super Carry / Damas / Suzuki Super Carry

[@ArlenMoulton2]

I have never clicked on a video so fast, as the proud owner of a 1999 Lanos I am very happy to see this brand get some recognition, it's a lovely little car!

[@tommydangerfyi]

Daewoo badge was everywhere when I was a kid in early 90s Busan. Ticos and Damas were so small but practical and affordable. My dad drove a manual LeMans. Great video.

[@mickles1975]

That Daewoo ad was amazing.

[@laggyluke5700]

5:41 Espero wasn't based on Opel kadett. It was build on a J-body platform used in Opel Ascona C / Vauxhall Cavalier, Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac Sunbeam and few others.

[@runoflife87]

Erm, the Espero was Ascona/Cavalier based, not Kadett (that was actually the Nexia). Btw, 90's Daewoos were good bottom-priced foreign cars overall - pretty durable and easy to work with.

[@BigCar2]

Do you have an online reference showing this? My sources show it was the Kadett (GM T platform from 1979).

[@runoflife87]

​@@BigCar2the Wikipedia - it clearly shows the Ascona C/Cavalier mk2 as similar cars.

[@laurentgully267]

The LeMans was based on the Kadett design, the Espero was not

[@jaakkoiswatching6437]

My source says Espero was based on Kadett (T platform, which was further developed into J platform (Ascona/Cavalier)). Espero had a stretched version of T platform.

[@runoflife87]

@@jaakkoiswatching6437 of course J platform was just a stretched version of T platform; still it had the own codename. That's why we can make a difference between Lemans/Racer/Nexia (T platform based) and Espero (J platform based).

[@user-wg4sm4ij9u]

Stumbled across your channel last week while looking for videos to watch during my flights away. Great videos, kept me entertained all holiday and I’ve kept a few back for the flight home. Nice work, look forward to more in the future! 👊🏽

[@NikiDaDude]

"That would be the Daewoo" I can't remember the last time my eyes rolled so hard.

[@lunaroja_ph]

Well this is a very close video to me! I learned to drive in a Daewoo Lanos, surprisingly reliable for what it was, and that’s a statement for the whole brand. Years later I bought my first car, a Chevy Spark M300, 3rd gen of the Matiz. It still has Daewoo logos on the engine and certain parts. It’s such a shame Daewoo fell by its own weight, victim of South Korea pushing the economy and GM pretty much moving shop to Brazil and China. Laugh all you want, but cars like the Aveo/Kalos, Matiz/Spark, Lacetti, Lanos and Racer/Cielo were exceptional. They’re still very much loved in my country (Colombia), more than those Chinese badged Chevys that came from Brazil and China. 

I wonder where Daewoo could be today, still owning SsangYong. Look at Kia and Hyundai on top of the world making really good cars and going strong, while Daewoo just faded into the memories of a few.

[@mikesmith5139]

(Another) Interesting video. Thank you. I worked for Daewoo for a short time. We were told that the correct pronunciation is Day-oo. (i.e. "That'll be the Day-oo") So not Die-oo. I also remember that the Espero (Esper-Oh, not Esper-ooo) was based on the Cavalier / Ascona.

[@jamesmiller113]

Even our boy slips up once or twice in this, it's definitely day-oo

[@xr6lad]

In Asia we pronunce it Day-woo as it was pronounced on tv advertising. So I’m not sure why he wants to change it to something no one recognises

[@mikesmith5139]

​@@xr6ladEven funnier, the father of one of my colleagues pronounced it DagWood !

[@xr6lad]

@@mikesmith5139 lol

[@edgarwalk5637]

@@xr6lad I'm from Australia, and I've always pronounced it Day-Woo too!

[@MrGearoid65]

Absolutely brilliant content as usual. Well done and thanks for all the hard work that goes into making these videos. 🙏👊

[@timbounds7190]

I was surprised to see a Daewoo Espero parked outside a house in Essex only a few years ago. Goodness knows who old it was (30 years?), but it seemed to have survived quite well and was seemingly still in use, so quality can't have been that bad!

[@jeff4362]

I think in Britain (and other 'wealthier' West Europe economies) we think too much about a car's age, thinking old means it's unreliable. But when we see old cars still in use in poorer and rougher East Europe and elsewhere like Africa, it is proof they actually do last. We laugh at Ladas yet look how many people still use today in Rus/Ukr/Kaz/etc.

[@torstenscholz6243]

Despite being now almost 30 years old, the design of the Espero still holds up quite well imho, has the look of a late 80s/early 90s American middle-class limousine.

[@philippvonweitershausen3076]

Worth mentioning that GM Korea developed the Gamma platform which underpinned not only econoboxes like the Aveo/Sonic but also European models like the Opel/Vauxhall Mokka or even the Chevy Bolt.

[@user-sg9iq6ns4i]

What a great video! Always wanted to hear a thorough history of Daewoo since i’m from Kazakhstan neighbor of Uzbekistan and we had a lot of Daewoos here, and now we have a lot of Chevrolets.

[@marck0060]

I couldn't be happier seeing you finally cover Daewoo!! I've beeb waiting for this video ever since I first came across your channel!! To add to it, the Lanos is still being built to this very day with a Chevy badge in Egypt. Daewoo cars simply refuse to die, the Daewoo Cielo, rebadged Opel Kadett E was kept in production in Uzbekistan and sold as the Daewoo Nexia all the way up until 2016, receiving a facelift in 2008 and several newer GM engines. Not to mention all the Lanos, Nubiras and Leganzas that were built under different brand names and lasted for longer than the original Korean ones did. People can say what they want about Daewoo cars, but not all of us can claim that they drive a car built in the same factory that builds weapons for the Korean army :)

[@TheoriginalSpaceboy]

Interesting story, I was One of the 1st Influx of sales staff to work for Daewoo in the UK, they put us up in a hotel for a Week in Rickmansworth where they were headquartered for training and bonding and looked after us very well, with all food and bar bills covered and paid with no questions and boy did we take advantage of this, we were even given a company credit card to have a night out in Covent Garden when some of us were getting a bit stir crazy with being stuck in a hotel!! I worked for their Derby store from Launch and sold many Espero's and Nexia's as the deal was very good but One mistake they made was claiming you did not need to come from a motor trade background to work in the industry and employed people as such. Our main manager was from the shoe shop background !! Many of the sales floor staff were things like ex bank staff, furniture showroom sales staff. There was a handful of us from a motor trade background who found this frustrating and knew it was a strange decision to make and would not work well and true to our predictions this proved very quickly to be a mistake and seasoned and experienced 'dealer principals' from other marques were brought in to sort things out. The Nexia GLXi with a Holden sourced 1.5 Twin cam was actually a very peppy little car and I had use of One of these and thrashed it everywhere. Ultimately in the UK they over-spent on the launch and set-up and tried to grow too quickly I think

[@MrDuncl]

My Uncle, who loved a bargain, bought a Daewoo when they launched in the U.K. Because the first cars came in many months before the yearly registration change they had an offer that when it got to that date you could swap your months old car for a brand new one ! I suspect the biggest success in the U.K. was the Matiz. In about 2005 our next door neighbour traded in her old one for a much newer one. A guy at work used to do a long commute in either his Subaru WRX or a Matiz (maybe his wifes).

[@gbode7762]

I remember seeing the Lanos around when I was a kid in the early thousands. Nowadays I’m not ashamed to say I geek out on the very rare occasion I see a Daewoo now

[@nakoma5]

Haha, wow same here! It was a handsome little hatchback, one to consider when I "grew up". No shame to like it.

[@SimonMarseille]

Very much appreciated thank you so much for the exceptional work and delivery of your videos

[@colombianguy8194]

Excellent video as always. Thank you for your time and research for the history of this complicated company. Here in Colombia Daewoo branded cars were popular in the 90's, cars like the tico, matiz, Lanos espero and racer, when the company ended in 98, GM colmotores (GM Colombia) relaunched the Daewoo line under the Chevrolet brand, the Matiz is now the spark, very popular here, the Aveo, Optra and others too.

[@johnfech3985]

I’ve got a 2022 Spark as my cheap DD. Nice little car. I’m very happy with it. Especially for the price. Nice little little car.

[@visitken]

Having worked for GM Daewoo and as a Daewoo Rezzo (Tacuma outside of Korea) owner 20 years ago, I commend the accuracy of your research. I just wish you pronounced Daewoo correctly all the time, as you did at 4:41!

[@theridgegordon]

His incorrect pronunciation of Daewoo bothered me to no end; I honestly gave up trying to watch this and read the Wikipedia article instead.

[@Jeffrey_M]

Just a small correction, Mr Big Car. The Espero was actually based on the MK2 Cavalier/GM J Car platform. Thanks for another great video. 👍

[@JeffKing310]

What a great review - thanks Andy!!

[@ronaldderooij1774]

I think the Espero is still one of the most beautiful desingns. I owned one, the most luxurious version, but without leather, the 2.0 CD automatic. It was a very comfortable car with surprising roadholding. But unfortunately the quality was very low. I had defects almost every month and some were big (like head gaskets blowing). I personally bought up all the light switches in the Netherlands (5 before they became unavailable). Those lasted on average only a week. Trunk locks lasted a year, rear springs a year and head gaskets 6 months. It was too much and I sold it.

[@dillonbussard9576]

5 of my coworkers all rode together in a Daewoo for years. It still ran when it got sold too. I have to give the little thing that much respect at least

[@adrianmonk4440]

One again Great Job. Thanks Mr. Big Car.

[@CFtablet]

I'm glad I found this channel. Pretty cool content about cars history.

[@chadgillard8473]

Just a quick correction, production for NA markets didn’t end with the demise of the Spark in 2022, GM Korea still builds the Chevrolet Trailblazer, Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore GX for us in Canada and the United States.

[@BigCar2]

Yes, GM Korea still makes cars for the US market, but they're designed outside of Korea, and nothing to do with the original Daewoo. So, I was trying to make the point (maybe badly) that the last vestiges of Daewoo design ended then.

[@TundraMC]

@@BigCar2 Actually those models were designed by GMTCK, which is the R&D division of GM Korea. Opel and Vauxhall were sold to stellanties , GMTCK is driving GM's compact car design. in 7080s GM wanted to use GM korea as CKD plant. for nowdays, GM only wants to access the resources of the GMTCK. thats why GM dIvided GM KOREA into GM korea(manufacturing, dealership for chevorlet and GMC, cadilac) and GMTCK in 2019. After that, the pricing of GM korea went wrong deliberately, end up with shutting down two factories in korea.

[@MarcusMcReynolds]

Great video, as always!

[@kellyb.mcdonald1863]

Thank You!!! I received much more information than I expected!!! This was more like a expose, and I appreciate, and respect your professionalism!!!

[@Dotman-mn8rb]

Top tier video. I took on a pair of Leganzas as projects a couple of years ago and while they were both too far gone, I loved them from a comfort and rarity perspective - there's less than 40 left in the UK!

[@HAWGGY85]

Here, in Ukraine, Daewoo Lanos was and I think still is the most popular car. In the late 90s-early 00s, for many people, it was the first new non-soviet car in their life. Truly people's car.

[@sharonec5419]

I think cars is the last thing on people minds in your country right now. Win your war first and then get back to enjoying cars. Victory to Ukraine.

[@HAWGGY85]

@@sharonec5419 Thank you for your support! 🇺🇦

[@sharonec5419]

@@HAWGGY85 You are very welcome. Stay safe and kick them evil Orcs out of your Country. Ukraine will be free, Independent and beautiful again.

[@HAWGGY85]

@@sharonec5419 we will! Thank you!

[@MrSmith1984]

​@@sharonec5419 So Russians are now "Evil Orcs" now? Despite the fact that are culturally similar to the Ukrainians? Honestly, that post is a good example of why humans would do a lot better if they didn't make additional excuses to pick fights with each other.

[@peterofenback9263]

When Daewoo came to Germany, they hired the then very famous German singer Jennifer Rush, who belted out the call from the Banana Boat song as "Dae-woo, daeaeaewoo" into the ears of the Germans. Her fate is similar to that of this car company. She is largely forgotten.

[@laurentgully267]

Daewoo und du? Daewoo und du, dein Auto, dein Freund! 😉

[@sarielle85]

Exactly what went through my mind, when I read the video title.. "Daeeeeewooo - Daewoo und du! Daewoo und du, das Auto dein Freund!" I really wondered how they were gonna sell cars with this kind commercial - well, they didn't.

[@iconicshrubbery]

​@@laurentgully267 Das ist the way to learn Deutch! Monsieur.

[@laurentgully267]

@@iconicshrubbery Mit Deutsch habe ich kein Problem, mein Koreanisch ist aber nicht so gut 😜

[@jamesbarbour8400]

Jennifer Rush was German ! ?

[@nadeemchaudhry6585]

Yet another amazing and well researched video. This video reminds me of my purple Espero 😮

[@kartdriver2009]

Great video as usual. I had no idea that they’d gone down with debts that bad! I didn’t think that most of their early cars looked that bad. I particularly remember that the Matiz was highly regarded by Quentin Wilson in his Top Gear days

[@rajjy1976]

I remember Daewoo coming with aircon as standard in all the models here in the UK. The brochure for Nexia had a moody 3/4 rear shot of the car with the drivers door open and it was like a fridge door with cold air coming out. I thought that was clever 🙂

[@volvogt21]

Loved the intro!!!!!

[@laurentgully267]

Daewoo Lanos Juliet and Romeo commercial! That was the name for the 3- and 5-door models in Korea 😉

[@mattg8369]

Fun fact: The Leganza is a reworked version of a 1990 Italdesign concept done for Jaguar called the Kensington.

[@Rom3_29]

8:00 - At least Daewoo made catchy ads. Excellent episode, thank you for difficult research work. Daewoo lasted maybe two years in USA and then suddenly disappeared like bad hair cut.

[@alibizzle2010]

does anyone remeber their first UK ad where they went through all the other things Daewoo built? there was a massive boat and even a space shuttle

[@laurentgully267]

It was an international ad showing many products of the Daewoo Group, which slogan, if I am not mistaken, was, "Designed around you"

[@JTA1961]

I'll bet rubbing in Korea's robbing Late Britain's ship building didn't go over so well

[@Daedalus-BC308]

The most surprising part of the video for me was the pronunciation of Daewoo as "Daeiu".

[@yapraksarmacimulayimreyiz8858]

Great video as always, and is it possible for you to make Alpine A110 video in future? I would love to hear about that car's or the company's the story with your commentary/storytelling.

[@Dark_Flame_Master]

Someone in my street has been having a Chevrolet Matiz (Daewoo) for as long as I can remember. Also even though I don’t see them that often, I still see them regularly. So I guess Daewoo cars are actually ok depending on what you expect from the car.

[@ThePrisma5555]

One of the first models to land in Europe was the Nexia. Actually this was the first Daewoo to be imported in Greece back in 1995. Just a re-designed Opel Kadett (of 1984). Almost no one paid attention! Daewoo had to wait until 1998 to raise sales, after the arrival of Lanos & Matiz.

[@torstenscholz6243]

The Nexia was also quite common here in Germany, despite being an obvious Kadett clone. You could clearly see that it was a slightly rounder, more modern Kadett E, but it looked actually quite neat.

[@Pandamasque]

In Ukraine the Daewoos produced at the ZAZ factory in Zaporizhia flooded the market in the late '90s. Leganza didn't sell well, Nubira saw a considerable success, but Lanos completely exploded almost unilaterally taking over Lada's place as the people's car. I think its biggest competition came from a Kadett/LeMans-based Daewoo Nexia produced in Uzbekistan. Eventually they even introduced Lanos versions with cheaper ZAZ Tavria-derived engines. By now in 2023, Leganzas and Esperos are a rare sight, most Nubiras with their notoriously fragile suspension must have rotted away too. But I'm looking out of my window and there's a Lanos parked that's still someone's daily driver. For the next generation cars Aveo (Spark), Lacetti and Evanda (Magnus) the Daewoo name was replaced with Chevrolet. I think this really hurt the brand's image since the cars filled the exact same market niche above the used beaters, Ladas and the very subpar Chinese imports, but below everything else.

[@scotthawkins1011]

Brilliant video!👍

[@BigCar2]

Errata: Yes, I know I can't say "Espero" and Daewoo. For a correct pronunciation (more like "day-oo"), see this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZLRgaCfpZ6LnJY Some have commented the Espero was based on the Ascona. I got the Kadett (T platform) reference from the Daewoo Espero Wikipedia article. It used to say it was based on the Ascona (J platform). The new data seems to come from this source (www.motoya.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=13500). If you know differently (i.e. that it was Ascona based), please reply here with a link to a reliable source.

[@alliejr]

Nor “Day-Woo” 🤣🤣🤣

[@rjft7003]

Don't worry, all of us Portuguese and Spanish native speakers always read Espero as (I'm waiting) from the verb Esperar and the Nubira as (No/Não vira) or Doesn't turn.

[@laurentgully267]

​@@rjft7003 Hence the Aranos name in Spain and some other markets!

[@razvanursache9493]

I still own an espero 1.5 16v version

[@billgallop]

You also can’t pronounce Cavalier/Ascona as it came out Kadett.

[@robincook3367]

The Espero wasn't a Mk2 Citroen BX, it was a proposal for the Xantia (which amounts to the same thing). It was based on the 1981-1988 Vauxhall Cavalier/Opel Ascona, not the Astra/Kadett

[@ashzciwobuz1277]

Daewoo and Fiat was just about every car growing up in Poland

[@JK061996]

The Matiz itself is based on a rejected Cinquecento successor (the Fiat Lucciola)

[@Healtsome]

I own ZAZ-DAEWOO Tavria and it's a fun little car. I love it. Here in Ukraine Lanos and Matiz are ubiquitous and quite legendary, honestly.

[@parkecorepersonaltrainingp2601]

Thank you for an as always a entertaining and deep looking Into a car manufacturing company I used to see around a lot in the 80, as a kid in Leicester. ❤

[@transformingArt]

Thanks for the wonderful video as always, but as a native Korean, I cannot help but to notice your pronunciation of these names: Daewoo should be pronounced as "Day-Woo", and Saenara should be "Say-Nara", Incidentally, "Saenara" means "New Nation". You got the CEO Kim's name right, though. Meanwhile, the 1937 date - which you probably found on the grossly bad Wikipedia article - is wrong; what it actually means is that one of the companies - one Korean National Heavy Machinery Production, Co, Ltd. - that the CEO Kim have bought in the late 1970s to form the Daewoo Conglomerate was founded in 1937, but this company has never produced a car; beginning in the 1960s, the Saenara company used the facility built by this Heavy Machinery company to build their Bluebirds, hence the confusion.

[@willswheels283]

Wow I never knew Daewoo’s history went so far back! I remember working at a Halfords store in late 2000 and at the time Halfords had Daewoo mini dealerships within the Stores, they seemed to be fairly popular, especially the Matiz. Thanks for another well interesting and well researched documentary.👍

[@sambrooks7862]

I used to work with a girl who had a matiz and she absolutely loved it. It was such a perfect little car for city driving, although a bit scary on the motorway (freeway to you guys across the pond)!

[@willswheels283]

@@sambrooks7862 Not many of the original Matiz cars left on uk roads now, they have a buzzy little 3 pot engine. They were rebadged Chevrolet Matiz around 2003/4 I think then replaced by the Chevrolet Spark.

[@sambrooks7862]

@@willswheels283 yeah they're getting pretty rare now, although one of my neighbours had a later chevvy badged one until recently but then again compared to other small cars, yaris, micra etc, it sold in relatively small numbers in the uk to begin with so I suppose it follows that there would be less around now, not only that because they were very cheap second hand a lot of the ended up as takeaway delivery cars and got abused to death. Still great affordable little runaround!

[@mehrdadfakhimi8833]

Great videos Thanks

[@elwinjaxx]

i remember Daewoo Cielo.. my childhood memory from India.. Luxury at its peak..

[@jakethreesixty]

I had a Daewoo VCR as a kid, and my neighbor had an Aveo he riced out 😆 There was also a Daewoo dealership in my area, which then became a Suzuki car dealership until, well, you know... Talk about bad luck lmao

[@JTA1961]

C D writing on the wall...

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

Also import Daewoo CRT TV from South Korea and shipped it to the Philippines. NTSC-M tuner, Korean menu OSD and Euro 220V plug.

[@cammyd7514]

Another banger of a video. Cheers

[@ForgotToMentionThat]

Excellent breakdown.

[@danmcdonald9117]

I've never heard Daewoo pronounced like that! Australians have always said "Day-woo"

[@netprep]

As an Australian married to a Korean I can confirm that Day woo is the correct way the pronounce the firm's name.. This is of course without any Ocker Aussie, American or English accent...

[@sinovelo]

Am having fond memories of traveling in a Daewoo Matiz with 8 people plus luggage in Ghana (to Boabeng Fiema monkey sanctuary). I am 6'5" and somehow we all fitted inside. 😊

[@JTA1961]

How are we all Ghana fit...?,😅

[@evenberg8499]

Thank you so much for another great video ! The Daewoo is known in Norway, although it's not a very common car brand.

[@OLDS98]

Thank you for telling the story quite well. Excellent footage too. It was most impressive to know how GM got so wrapped up into the company. I thought for sure you would have shown or mentioned the Daewoo Veritas which was a Holden Caprice/Statesman. There are more cars they sold that were GM vehicles. You did a great job with the video.

[@camilstoenescu]

Here in Romania Daewoo was such a big story, after decades of communism the only foreign brand to come here in the mid 90s and build new (and better) cars than the ancient local maker, Dacia. For a while, then Renault came back and bought Dacia and made it the success that is today.

[@xemike]

Great video on the history of Daewoo and GM Korea. One fact not correct in your video is that Korean made GM products are still sold in the US and Canada. Not very popular models... but the Chevrolet Traxx, Chevrolet Trailblazer, and Buick Encore GX which are sold in the US and Canada are still made by GM Korea. I think these are the only three still sold in North America.

[@dot7107]

Isn't that trax same as here in eu opel mokka?

[@henryd1981]

In addition to the Trax, Trailblazer, and Encore GX, they just began production of the Buick Envista.

[@henryd1981]

@@dot7107 The first generation Trax was related to the Mokka. GM sold Opel to PSA Groupe in 2017, which merged with Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis in 2021. The second generation Mokka, for all intents and purposes, is no longer related to any GM products.

[@thomasclayton169]

I had a 2001 Daewoo 1.5 litre 5 speed manual Lanos in Australia. A cheap cheerful yet surprisingly reliable and comfortable car. I managed a 900 km trip from Melbourne to Broken Hill in a day and enjoyed every minute of the drive nearly 700 km out of 45 litres not class leading but not horrible. Over my 14 years of ownership I clocked 230,000 km still in original clutch, granted new head gasket at 170km (but I drove this thing hard at times). Other than that just consumbles like tyres brakes (rotors were cheap $120 per wheel but only lasted 60k) timing belt every 100k so in all I was impressed a good honest reliable car that never left me stranded and held together well (no interior squeaks and rattles). The only reason I sold it was to upgrade to a larger Company car. At the time a 2013 Holden Vf sv6 sportswagon I still have today, another gem 😊

[@derbieber80]

greetings form dresden / germany - you make great conntent! so on for it its quite good!

[@willkofficialyoutube]

Did you Daewoo still makes trucks with the help of Tata. It's became some assets were acquired by Tata in 2004. In my trip to South Korea. The truck models Tata-Daewoo offered were the Prima and the Maxen

[@andrewnorth4857]

I borrowed my Mum's Matiz for a sprint down south some years ago. It was a nicely run-in 2 year old car at the time and I remember being amazed and a little bit scared as it scooted happily down the A1 at 100mph. The rubbery gearchange was so awful it was quite entertaining.

[@sharonec5419]

Jeez 100mph in one of them. You are lucky you did not crash there would have been nothing left of you.

[@andrewnorth4857]

@@sharonec5419 Quite. I don't recall maintaining that speed for very long. After all, the wheels were like castors.

[@sharonec5419]

@@andrewnorth4857 Must have took you an age to get that speed in it anyway and it was probably time to brake then lol.

[@elicaul6506]

Thanks for such an informative and fun video! You are proving that there are a lot of interesting car stories that are not obvious, and I am really enjoying this channel. When the Opel/Daewoo/Pontiac was sold in the US, the replacement part costs were far higher than any import, something that we saw with a lot of the lower volume Asian manufactures back then. That was an interesting car to drive, with European design elements in the interior but everything you touched was made out of cheap materials. They did not stay on American roads for long, probably because they were harder to work on than an average Asian import car and the repair costs meant that more were scrapped early on, I'd guess.

[@practicalshooter6517]

Here in Colorado, I had a Daewoo Lanos for many years, and I loved it. Very nice little car.

[@ilovesheryterry]

Daewoo must have been such an incredibly profitable purchase for GM in Latin America! They sold FOREVER their daewoo cars as Chevrolets and they were extremely successful and well received with the public, partially because being unbelievably cheap to maintain or fix (their only good quality at all 😂)

[@imeakdo7]

They were cheap to buy too, used and new. Today Kia and Hyundai have taken over Daewoo's market position there because their models there are still cheap, the Kia picanto, Sorento and rio, the Hyundai i10, i30, Elantra and Tucson.

[@toddhunter5693]

thhe daewoo nexiia is yhe copy of the kadett. not the espero

[@thetinysideoftiny7625]

My 2017 Spark, purchased new for $10,000 was one of the best cars I ever owned. Tight, sporty, and bulletproof reliable. A reincarnation of the 4 generation Honda Civic. A little street legal go-kart!

[@ilovetotri23]

So fascinating! I remember this name. I never knew how big the company was.

[@Vortigan07]

One "S" plate copper orange Matiz will always have a very special place in my affections for sentimental reasons that I wouldn't dream of boring you with. It also, whilst in the process being written off itself, protected me and my then 2 months pregnant wife in an accident in which we were hit on the rear wheel arch while exiting a roundabout which spun us and then rolled us over 2 or 3 times.