Would you buy a small Chevy sports coupe?

By John LeBlanc Save for its ill-fated Corvair from the 1960s and the equally unremarkable Monza a decade later, General Motors’ Chevrolet brand has never had a compact, rear-wheel-drive performance sports coupe to sell below its iconic Camaro and Corvette. But a report from Automotive News says the idea of a smaller-than-a-Camaro Chevy two-door is being considered. "A really nice, light, rear-drive car that's inexpensive — we know that rings a bell," so says GM North America president Mark Reuss. If you remember, Chevrolet unveiled a pair of compact coupe concepts at the 2012 Detroit auto show: the rear-wheel-drive Code 130R (seen above) and the front-wheel-drive Tru 140S. The Code 130R looked like a mini-Camaro or a BMW 1 Series, while the Tru 140S was obviously designed to take on import-brand small coupes like the Hyundai Veloster or Scion tC. At the show, Chevy officials said feedback from customers was going to help them decide which concept to move forward with on the path to production. And although Reuss won’t say the Code 130R concept is heading to production, "Really strong" feedback on the concept from young people has fueled his desire to bring a small, RWD Chevy coupe to showrooms. Needless-to-day, the favourable attention Toyota has garnered (from driving enthusiasts and enthusiastic media) for its rear-wheel-drive Scion FRS and Subaru BRZ clones is influencing GM’s decision. And any product that will get smartphone-loving young buyers into a Chevy showroom would be a huge accomplishment. What do you think? If you are under the age of 30 years, would you consider a small, fun-to-drive Chevy coupe? Or is the GM brand too associated with aging Baby Boomers? Source: Automotive News

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