Daewoo Nexia
Encyclopedia
The Daewoo LeMans/Racer is a subcompact car
, first manufactured by Daewoo Motors
in South Korea
between 1986 and 1994. It was replaced by the facelifted Daewoo Cielo—a car mechanically identical to the LeMans, differentiated only by its modified styling cues. The Cielo was subsequently replaced by the subcompact Daewoo Lanos
and compact Nubira
in 1997, except in some Central Asia
n markets for which production of the four-door continues in Uzbekistan
.
Like all Daewoos preceding it, the LeMans took its underpinnings from a European Opel
design. In the case of the LeMans, the GM T platform
-based Opel Kadett
E was the donor vehicle, essentially just badge engineered
into the form of the LeMans, and later as the Cielo after a second more thorough facelift.
In markets outside of South Korea, the original version of the car bore the Asüna
GT, Asüna SE, Daewoo 1.5i, Daewoo Fantasy, Daewoo Pointer, Daewoo Racer, Passport Optima and Pontiac LeMans
names. The original Opel donor car had also been badge-engineered for the United Kingdom
market as the Mark II Vauxhall Astra
in hatchback
form and Vauxhall Belmont
as a saloon
.
The LeMans was updated in 1994 and renamed the Daewoo Cielo in South Korea and some other international markets; the "LeMans" nameplate was not used at all for the facelifted model. Five-door hatchback models exported to Europe
were badged Daewoo Nexia with the Daewoo Racer name used seemingly at random on various bodystyles. The Daewoo Heaven name has also been used.
For the 1989 model year in the US, more models were released: the new lineup included a sportier Pontiac LeMans GSE, positioned similarly to the Opel Kadett GSi, equipped with a 96 hp 2.0 litre four-cylinder engine. The GSE was available in a monochromatic paint scheme in red, white or silver with 14 inch alloy wheel
s, fog lights and a rear spoiler. The GSE also received the Recaro
-style seats of the Kadett. A Pontiac LeMans SE sedan with upgraded equipment from the base and LE models also had the 96 hp 2.0 litre four-cylinder engine, also used in the Pontiac Sunbird
. In North America, poor quality tarnished sales and the Pontiac LeMans and Asüna SE/GT were discontinued after 1993 with no replacement. Later that year, the Asüna brand was discontinued altogether.
The five-door hatchback body style was known as the Daewoo LeMans Penta5 in South Korea, while the three-door was called Daewoo Racer and only the sedan was called LeMans. Korean market cars received a 1.5 litre engine (with 89 PS) as there was a severe tax penalty for cars with larger engines. In October 1991 the LeMans received a facelift, with a reworked front and superficially changed taillights. This version was called the Asüna SE/GT in the Canadian market, where it replaced the Passport Optima. When South Korean production of the original LeMans finally came to an end in February 1997, over 1 million had been built.
, where the car sold as the Daewoo Nexia, these were GLi (8-valve) and GLXi (16-valve) for the general public, with a "base" model available for large contracts. Unlike the Kadett, there was never a station wagon
version available. Some European markets got the "Lifestyle" trim level; Spain
and Portugal
badged their GLi/GLXi equivalents "Chess"; the Benelux
countries kept the GLi/GLXi trim levels. The GLi has an average performance with a 0–100 km/h time of 11.3 seconds and 90 hp. However, the GLXi upped the power to 97 hp and the 0–100 km/h time was reduced to 10.5 seconds.
The Cielo was made in India by DCM Daewoo Motors until the Korean Daewoo company went bankrupt. GM did not take over the Indian plant in Surajpur near Delhi and it was liquidated. Production in South Korea came to an end shortly after the 1996 introduction of the Daewoo Lanos
, an original design.
, UzDaewooAuto
continues to manufacture the four-door sedan version of the Nexia, of which production began in June 1996. A number of other Daewoo/Chevrolet models are produced and sold in Uzbekistan and neighbouring Kazakhstan
, Russia
, Moldova
, Azerbaijan
and Ukraine
. Nowadays it is available with three engines: a 1.5 litre SOHC (67 kW), 1.5 litre DOHC (72 kW) and 1.6 litre DOHC (81 kW). The 1.6 version has more powerful brakes and transmission with additional long main gear. A facelift of the car, known as the Nexia II was presented at Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 2008. It was designed in the UK by Concept Group International LTD with cooperation of GM-Uzbekistan. In the Uzbekistani market, the Nexia II is sold under the Chevrolet
, as opposed to under the Daewoo brand, while some export markets continue to receive the car as the "Daewoo Nexia".
Subcompact car
Subcompact car is a North American term used to describe automobiles whose class size is smaller than that of a compact car, usually not exceeding in length, but larger than a microcar...
, first manufactured by Daewoo Motors
GM Daewoo
GM Korea Company is South Korea's second largest automobile manufacturer and is a division of the General Motors Company. GM Korea's roots go back to the former Daewoo which was split from its parent company, Daewoo Group, in 2001...
in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
between 1986 and 1994. It was replaced by the facelifted Daewoo Cielo—a car mechanically identical to the LeMans, differentiated only by its modified styling cues. The Cielo was subsequently replaced by the subcompact Daewoo Lanos
Daewoo Lanos
The Daewoo Lanos is a subcompact car manufactured by the Korean automaker Daewoo Motor from 1997 to 2002. It was manufactured under license agreements from 1997 to 2008 by Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych in Poland, where it was marketed as the FSO Lanos, from 1998 to present in Ukraine by AvtoZAZ,...
and compact Nubira
Daewoo Nubira
The Daewoo Nubira is a compact car produced by South Korean automaker Daewoo Motors from 1997 to 2008.The first generation car, model J100, was released to the market in 1997 as Daewoo Nubira, and it was sold until 1999. It was developed as a replacement for the GM T platform-based Daewoo Nexia and...
in 1997, except in some Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
n markets for which production of the four-door continues in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
.
Like all Daewoos preceding it, the LeMans took its underpinnings from a European Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
design. In the case of the LeMans, the GM T platform
GM T platform
The General Motors T-car was an automobile platform designation for subcompact cars. It was the 1970s' most prolific world car program. The original T-cars were all rear-wheel drive unibody cars....
-based Opel Kadett
Opel Kadett
The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel between 1937 and 1940, and then again from 1962 until 1991 , when it was replaced by the Opel Astra.-Original model :...
E was the donor vehicle, essentially just badge engineered
Badge engineering
Badge engineering is an ironic term that describes the rebadging of one product as another...
into the form of the LeMans, and later as the Cielo after a second more thorough facelift.
In markets outside of South Korea, the original version of the car bore the Asüna
Asüna
Asüna was a captive import automobile brand created in 1992 for the Canadian market by General Motors as a counterpart to Geo. It was one of two successors to the Passport brand, which had a similar intent....
GT, Asüna SE, Daewoo 1.5i, Daewoo Fantasy, Daewoo Pointer, Daewoo Racer, Passport Optima and Pontiac LeMans
Pontiac LeMans
The Pontiac LeMans was a model name applied to compact and intermediate-sized automobiles offered by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1962 to 1981. The LeMans was replaced by the downsized Pontiac Bonneville for the 1982 model year...
names. The original Opel donor car had also been badge-engineered for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
market as the Mark II Vauxhall Astra
Vauxhall Astra
Astra is a model name which has been used by Vauxhall, the British subsidiary of General Motors , on their small family car ranges since 1979. Astras are technically essentially identical with similar vehicles offered by GM's German subsidiary Opel in most other European countries...
in hatchback
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
form and Vauxhall Belmont
Vauxhall Belmont
The Vauxhall Belmont was a saloon car sold in the United Kingdom by Vauxhall, the British division of General Motors between January 1986 and July 1991. It was equivalent to a saloon version of the award-winning Opel Kadett E, launched in the autumn of 1984, whose other body styles were marketed...
as a saloon
Sedan
A sedan or saloon car is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with A, B & C-pillars and principal volumes articulated in separate compartments for engine, passenger and cargo...
.
The LeMans was updated in 1994 and renamed the Daewoo Cielo in South Korea and some other international markets; the "LeMans" nameplate was not used at all for the facelifted model. Five-door hatchback models exported to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
were badged Daewoo Nexia with the Daewoo Racer name used seemingly at random on various bodystyles. The Daewoo Heaven name has also been used.
1986–1994: Daewoo LeMans
The original series Daewoo LeMans was available as a three-door hatchback and a four-door sedan when introduced in July 1986. Sales of the LeMans in North America began in 1988, where it was sold as the Pontiac LeMans. The LeMans was one of the first aerodynamically designed cars to be sold in South Korea, and the first to feature a digital dashboard.For the 1989 model year in the US, more models were released: the new lineup included a sportier Pontiac LeMans GSE, positioned similarly to the Opel Kadett GSi, equipped with a 96 hp 2.0 litre four-cylinder engine. The GSE was available in a monochromatic paint scheme in red, white or silver with 14 inch alloy wheel
Alloy wheel
Alloy wheels are automobile wheels which are made from an alloy of aluminium or magnesium. They are typically lighter for the same strength...
s, fog lights and a rear spoiler. The GSE also received the Recaro
Recaro
RECARO GmbH & Co. KG, commonly known as Recaro, is a German company based in Kirchheim unter Teck in the vicinity of Stuttgart, known for their automobile bucket seats...
-style seats of the Kadett. A Pontiac LeMans SE sedan with upgraded equipment from the base and LE models also had the 96 hp 2.0 litre four-cylinder engine, also used in the Pontiac Sunbird
Pontiac Sunbird
The Pontiac Sunbird, produced by the Pontiac division of General Motors, was Pontiac's second small-car offering of the 70's. The Sunbird model ran for 18 years and was then replaced in 1995 by the Pontiac Sunfire...
. In North America, poor quality tarnished sales and the Pontiac LeMans and Asüna SE/GT were discontinued after 1993 with no replacement. Later that year, the Asüna brand was discontinued altogether.
The five-door hatchback body style was known as the Daewoo LeMans Penta5 in South Korea, while the three-door was called Daewoo Racer and only the sedan was called LeMans. Korean market cars received a 1.5 litre engine (with 89 PS) as there was a severe tax penalty for cars with larger engines. In October 1991 the LeMans received a facelift, with a reworked front and superficially changed taillights. This version was called the Asüna SE/GT in the Canadian market, where it replaced the Passport Optima. When South Korean production of the original LeMans finally came to an end in February 1997, over 1 million had been built.
1994–1997: Daewoo Cielo
The second generation LeMans launched in 1994, available as a three- and five-door hatchback and four-door sedan with a 1.5 litre eight-valve or a 1.5 litre 16-valve engine. These new models were still based on the Opel Kadett E, underpinned by the "T-car" platform. There were various trim levels available; in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where the car sold as the Daewoo Nexia, these were GLi (8-valve) and GLXi (16-valve) for the general public, with a "base" model available for large contracts. Unlike the Kadett, there was never a station wagon
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
version available. Some European markets got the "Lifestyle" trim level; Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
badged their GLi/GLXi equivalents "Chess"; the Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
countries kept the GLi/GLXi trim levels. The GLi has an average performance with a 0–100 km/h time of 11.3 seconds and 90 hp. However, the GLXi upped the power to 97 hp and the 0–100 km/h time was reduced to 10.5 seconds.
The Cielo was made in India by DCM Daewoo Motors until the Korean Daewoo company went bankrupt. GM did not take over the Indian plant in Surajpur near Delhi and it was liquidated. Production in South Korea came to an end shortly after the 1996 introduction of the Daewoo Lanos
Daewoo Lanos
The Daewoo Lanos is a subcompact car manufactured by the Korean automaker Daewoo Motor from 1997 to 2002. It was manufactured under license agreements from 1997 to 2008 by Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych in Poland, where it was marketed as the FSO Lanos, from 1998 to present in Ukraine by AvtoZAZ,...
, an original design.
Uzbekistan (1996–present)
In UzbekistanUzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, UzDaewooAuto
UzDaewooAuto
Uz-DaewooAvto is a 1992 founded joint venture between the Uzbek state owned UzAvtosanoat and the South Korean GM Daewoo. The company produces vehicles under the brand name Uz-Daewoo and is increasingly important in the markets of the CIS area. The company's assembly plant is located in Asaka. The...
continues to manufacture the four-door sedan version of the Nexia, of which production began in June 1996. A number of other Daewoo/Chevrolet models are produced and sold in Uzbekistan and neighbouring Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Nowadays it is available with three engines: a 1.5 litre SOHC (67 kW), 1.5 litre DOHC (72 kW) and 1.6 litre DOHC (81 kW). The 1.6 version has more powerful brakes and transmission with additional long main gear. A facelift of the car, known as the Nexia II was presented at Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 2008. It was designed in the UK by Concept Group International LTD with cooperation of GM-Uzbekistan. In the Uzbekistani market, the Nexia II is sold under the Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
, as opposed to under the Daewoo brand, while some export markets continue to receive the car as the "Daewoo Nexia".