When a car's gone skydiving for ad purposes....

We've seen car ads from all over the world doing exciting ways to please the crowd but nothing got us better than ads of cars skydiving.

This here is the debut commercial for the Mazda Premacy back in 1999 in Japan. Of course, the Premacy debuted in Japan in 1999 and the slogan was "Premacy Capsule". What you can see here is the Premacy gone skydiving but that's just special effects you can see. Yep, just special effects.

Anyway, when we say the advert for the new Toyota Spade, which is just a Porte with a different styling, this is what we saw...

This one's real, right. No special effects involved. The Toyota Spade just got dropped for some skydiving. PROFFESIONAL STUNT. DO NOT ATTEMPT, FOLKS. That gave us thinking, this Toyota Spade commercial we just saw kinda reminds us of Chevy Sonic's first skydiving...

Yep, that's that. Toyota took the idea from General Motors to drop the Spade from the sky just like what happened to the Chevy Sonic.

Now, if I were going to steal the idea from Clarkson's Duel DVD, where he dropped the Ford Scorpio and a coin to the surface, I would rather drop the first-generation Mazda Premacy, Toyota Spade, and the Chevy Sonic, to see who can fall but in order to do that, I have to be in Japan. For the first-generation Premacy, which was built from 1999 to 2005, I have to find one at the used car dealer, which sounds reasonable. For the Toyota Spade, as I said, it's available at Corolla and Netz dealerships for 1,450,000 Japanese Yen. For the Chevrolet Sonic, I have to find one at a Chevy dealer for 1,890,000 Japanese Yen.

Now, all I need now is some cranes to hang those three, no wait, have them bolted with a giant parachute and place it to the cargo plane. If all according to plan, I would want to see if these three did exactly as they did on these ads and find out which is the best skydiving car from the ads. This is a duel but it's not because it's three cars. See about that and I hope someone got my memo...He he he he....SPOILERS!

World's Largest Claw Game by (NO, NOT TOYOTA) Chevrolet!!!

World's Largest Claw Game from
Chevrolet Sonic

Remember last year in Japan where Toyota made the world's biggest claw game at the Roppongi Hills as a PR Stunt for the Toyota Ractis Verso? Yes, we know. The largest claw game most Japanese are playing while the Ohashi Trio are singing the commercial song for the Ractis Verso.

Guess what? Ractis Verso, someone's whoop your rear bumper because the Chevrolet Sonic's Let's Do This campaign takes the center stage for the world's most biggest claw game, something that Chevrolet snags the Guinness World Record. Check it out!

Yes, this is how you Sonic.

Scoop: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/01/22/chevrolet-takes-the-guinness-record-for-the-worlds-largest-claw/

This is how they Sonic - 2013 Sonic RS

2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS

The 2013 Sonic RS enhances the styling of Chevrolet's wild compact and yes, it doesn't get any wilder than this because of its even more aggressive front face, 17-inch rims, lowered suspension, standard MyLink infotainment system, sports seats, and much more. Seems that it will go on sale late next year but it will make a premiere at the 2012 NAIAS in Detroit!

Further reading: http://www.netcarshow.com/chevrolet/2013-sonic_rs/

This is how you Sonic

2012 Chevrolet Sonic

With the initiation of the Let's Do This campaign to celebrate the launch of the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, this compact hatchback pulled a skydiving stunt that is nearly impossible for a car brand to do that. Seems that the small Chevrolet Sonic can do that, just.

The cool part is seen on the official Chevy Sonic Facebook page and yes, we are getting eager to have one.

Scoop: http://www.autoindustriya.com/auto-industry-news/chevy-sonic-jumps-out-of-plane.html

Chevrolet Sonic 4-door Sedan and 5-door Hatch

How did a car brand like Chevrolet name this compact "Sonic"? This new compact wants to be as fast as Sonic the Hedgehog and as delicious as the Sonic drive-in. Let's see if we can park, browse, press, receive, pay, and enjoy with the new compact sedan and hatch that targets the likelihood of the Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent RB, and the upcoming Kia Pride/Rio UB.

2012 Chevrolet Sonic Hatch

2012 Chevrolet Sonic Sedan

Most of them already know that this was sold worldwide as the Chevrolet Aveo (even South Koreans called it 쉐보레 아베오), but we're talking about the Chevrolet Sonic so what the heck, time for a quick refresh. Time for some SONIC 101 - a comprehensive study in all things SONIC. Let's begin, shall we?

The Sonic's exterior design was heavily inspired from the Chevrolet Aveo RS Concept car, providing an aggressive look to this compact car and it hints at the new trademark Chevrolet design as part of the brand's 100th anniversary. The 4-door sedan is a little bit more Chinese but the 5-door hatch is more like the Spark's big brother thanks to the sharp rear view and the secret rear door. It was guaranteed to be the sharpest compact car ever made to satisfy young drivers.

2012 Chevrolet Sonic interior

The interior view of the Chevrolet Sonic looks reasonably made from the future for the future and the new dynamic instrumental cluster really puts a smile on the driver, making it a driver's high. On the 5-door hatchback version, there is space provided for your luggage needs, making room for your endless possibilities. You should be grateful for this car because it has USB connectivity that allows you to plug your favorite mobile devices, your iPhone, iPad, or iPhone, so you can play some more music while driving around from San Francisco to New York. For the fun of it, the Chevrolet Sonic is focused more on entertainment on the inside because Spotify is now here.

For those who haven't heard of it, think of it as your new music collection, but it's vast, over 15 million tracks and growing. Spotify lets you share some music you're listening. You can feel free to share everything to your friends such as tracks, playlists, everything. Spotify is been proven popular in Europe and now for the first time in North America, thanks to the Chevrolet Sonic, you can enjoy music all you want, wherever you want. For more info, go to http://www.spotify.com/us/hello-america/comb/

Now, onto the performance side. The all new Chevrolet Sonic is offered in two available engine types such as a 1.8L L4 ECOTEC engine and the high-performance 1.4L L4 ECOTEC TURBO engine. The natural-aspiraiton 1.8L ECOTEC engine provides 138HP of power and 125lb-ft of torque while the turbocharged 1.4L ECOTEC engine provides the same power output from the NA 1.8L ECOTEC engine but with the added 23lb-ft torque, making it 148lb-ft. The 1.8L L4 ECOTEC only offers a 5-speed manual but the 1.4L L4 ECOTEC TURBO offers either a 6-speed automatic or (whoa) a 6-speed manual transmission. Good to say that most customers would go for the turbo variant with 6-speed manual because this is a fun-to-drive variant. Think about the endless possibilities they would do with the Chevrolet Sonic, especially when they bring it on track day events.

For a peace of mind, the Chevrolet Sonic offers 6 months of OnStar subscription, 10 airbags, standard theft protection system, and a standard driver info center that keeps checking what's what around the Chevrolet Sonic.

Both the Chevrolet Sonic 4-door Sedan and 5-door Hatch offers six color variations such as Inferno Orange Metallic, Silver Ice Metallic, Victory Red, Black, Summit White, and Crystal Red Tintcoat.

My Comment:
With the available turbo engine and loaded with interior features, plus available Spotify, it's good to know that THIS IS HOW YOU SONIC. Sounds delicious but for one question though, if that new model come to the Philippines soon (if TCCCI approves), what should we call it? A new Aveo or a Sonic? I had my fingers crossed...

Photo: General Motors

GM Korea Chevrolet Aveo Sedan

2012 GM Korea Chevrolet Aveo Sedan

The addition of the 4-door sedan variant to GM Korea's Chevrolet Aveo (coming soon to North America as the Sonic) marks the sixth Chevrolet out of the eight models to arrive in South Korea thanks to the company name transition from GM Daewoo to GM Korea, using the Chevrolet brand as a front. The first five were the active life vehicle Orlando MPV, the Aveo 5-door hatchback, Bumblebee Camaro, C6 Corvette coming soon, and the real SUV Captiva (changed its name from the highly criticized Daewoo Winstorm). The last two remaining are the Cruze Hatchback and the global Malibu mid-size sedan, which they will be built at Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, South Korea. Seems that GM Korea Company's aggressive launch portfolio seems to be working after all and everyone appreciated the positive tactics done by GM Korea Company CEO, Mike Arcamone.

The same fun riding goodness from the Aveo five-door hatchback now in the 4-door sedan form. This will be the hardcore compact sedan Koreans would love to have it since the Aveo hatchback went on sale at March 2011, which is the date when GM Daewoo changed it into Chevrolet officially except for the Damas van, Labo mini truck, and the Alpheon flagship sedan. The four-door look of the GM Korea Aveo sedan makes it even more enticing but the lines made it more disappointing in the eyes of design-conscious consumer. Most of them think that the Aveo 4-door is more poorly designed and some would prefer the Hyundai Accent RB or the upcoming Kia Pride/Rio/K2 in my opinion. Once they look at the Aveo sedan, they would react that this car was made in China because it looks similar to the China-made Chevrolet Sail. It was a rather disappointing design but will this work against the Hyundai Accent RB and the upcoming Kia Pride/Rio/K2 in terms whatever the heck is?

Despite the design is mistakingly Chinese, the Korean-made Aveo sedan comes with the 1.6L 16-valve DOHC engine, capable of releasing 114ps/6000rpm of power output, 15.1kg-m/4000rpm of torque output, and it comes with two transmission types; a 6-speed automatic transmission and a 5-speed manual transmission. The 6-speed automatic transmission comes with a Manual Mode that allows the driver to press the "+" button to shift up and the "-" button to shift down. This would be rather disappointing and the 5-speed manual seems to rather redundant even for those young Korean drivers who have desires over manual transmission cars. In terms of fuel economy, the Aveo sedan's 1.6L 6AT grade can go up to 15km/L while the Aveo sedan's 1.6L 5MT grade can go up to 17.6km/L. I would recommend them the 5MT variant of the Aveo sedan because of its fuel efficiency.

2012 GM Korea Chevrolet Aveo interior

Despite the ugly exterior design on the Aveo Sedan, the interior looks cool enough to please the customers. With the Dynamic Meter Cluster penned from the Chevrolet Spark, three-spoke steering wheel, ice blue ambient lighting, and a hint of entertainment system, the Aveo sedan satisfies the customers' cravings over compacts.

My Comment:
It's rather disappointing about the Aveo sedan's design and I still prefer the 5-door hatchback variant of the GM Korea Aveo because the rear view was heavily inspired from the Chevrolet Spark. Despite the troubles I said, the Aveo 4-door sedan is the sixth Chevrolet out of the eight models coming to South Korea thanks to the transition from GM Daewoo Auto and Technology to GM Korea Company. With the arrival of the Orlando, Aveo 5-door, Camaro, Corvette, Captiva, along with the remaining two Korean-made Chevrolet cars to be built in the Bupyeong plant soon are the Cruze Hatchback and the new Malibu mid-size sedan, the sixth member makes GM Korea's aggressive launch campaign more interesting and this latest variant matches up against the Hyundai Accent RB and the upcoming Kia Pride/Rio/K2. If it hits the Philippines soon, if TCCCI has the chance, this would be a fierce rival against our compact favorites such as the Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Belta, or even the Mazda 2/Demio.

Photo: GM Korea Company

GM Daewoo (GM Korea) Chevrolet Aveo

2012 GM Daewoo (GM Korea) Chevrolet Aveo

The second out of the eight Chevrolet vehicles announced by GM Daewoo CEO, now GM Korea CEO, Mike Arcamone, is the Chevrolet Aveo (쉐보레 아베오). In other countries considering this is the new generation Aveo, and in North America with will be known as the Chevrolet Sonic (and the Sonic will be built in Michigan), the South Koreans seek the Chevrolet Aveo name as a debutante and it will be built in the Bupyeong plant in South Korea.

Available only in hatchback this March following with the 4-door variant this May, GM Korea's Chevrolet Aveo is a fun-loving vehicle intended for fun-loving young Koreans looking for some fun-to-drive cars. The outside view features dual crystal headlamps, sporty allow wheels, aggressive design in front and back, secret rear doors just like the Matiz Creative (soon to be renamed as GM Korea's Chevrolet Spark) and some hamburger-shaped grille. Although the hamburger-like front looks somewhat plain to me, the GM Daewoo/GM Korea Chevrolet Aveo looks like it's ready to show the rivals such as the Mazda Demio and the Ford Fiesta who's the man.

On the interior, it looks more similar to the Matiz Creative because of the high-tech dynamic meter cluster. Once you are inside the Aveo, there's no way you will ever go back to your ordinary hatchback again because this looks more enjoyable like you are playing your favorite racing game. Anyway, the rear seats of the Chevrolet Aveo can be folded for added space.

The main engine for GM Korea's Chevrolet Aveo is the 1.6-litre 16-Valve DOHC engine that produces 114hp of power and 15.1kg-m of torque. It comes in two transmission types; a 6-speed automatic and a 5-speed manual transmission. The fuel economy of the Chevrolet Aveo 1.6L 6AT grade is 14.8km/L while the Aveo 1.6L 5MT grade is positively 17.3km/L. Oh my gosh, if that arrived in the Philippines soon (if TCCCI has the chance), we could just go for the manual version because not only this 3-pedal bad boy is fun to drive, its fuel efficient than the Auto variant. If easy driving is just one thing, even the female drivers out there, we could just go for the Chevrolet Aveo 1.6L 6AT grade.

My thoughts about the Chevrolet Aveo:

Koreans prefer fun-to-drive compacts because they are suited on their free-time getaways and GM Daewoo (now GM Korea) has the answer to that. GM Daewoo/GM Korea Chevrolet Aveo is a mixture of business and leisure for the young Korean drivers in their 20's and 30's and guaranteed to be a global success. Like what Mr. Arcamone said, the 5-door hatchback is available in March while the 4-door is expected to be here this May. It will arrive in Europe and Asian markets soon, even in North America as the Sonic.

Do you think TCCCI will bring the Chevrolet Aveo soon? I hope so but I hope they'll offer the manual variant because of its fuel efficiency. I believe this is perfect for a night out at Manila or Metrowalk. A great urban hatchback for the urban egoists everywhere.