General Motors still has some good news these days.
It comes not from the United States or Europe, but Korea. GM, it will be recalled, took over bankrupt Daewoo two years ago, gave it the American-sounding Chevrolet name and embarked on the business of wooing price-sensitive motorists.
Effectively GM was doing the same as the old Daewoo company, except that there was smarter marketing and of course, the new badge.
Now there's the first real progeny from the new order and it's called the Aveo, a smart though conventional family saloon with 1.2 72bhp and 1.4 94bhp petrol engines.
The Aveo, incidentally a made-up name that means nothing, is actually based on the existing Kalos hatchback but Chevrolet don't see it as a derivative but a model that will capture a big following in its own right. It takes over from the Kalos four-door.
We drove Aveo last week in snowy Slovenia. It almost goes without saying that it offers competent if unspectacular motoring but there are all the attributes for winning over buyers with budgetary considerations - and that's a lot of buyers.
When it goes on Irish sale in April, we can expect a price tag of around €15,000.
That will be for the 1.2-litre version, which will account for probably 80 per cent of sales.
For that sort of money, most Irish customers would only get a modest supermini with possibly three doors: the Aveo is a notch above with its four doors and a much bigger car profile.
April is a favourable time for the launch, because the first SSIA money will be coming on stream then and significantly the average payment will be around €15,000.
The cabin interior contradicts the notion that it's a budget car. The soft-touch plastics don't look or feel too plastic, while there are pleasant offsetting metal trim touches like on the steering wheel.
The family aspect is emphasised through plenty of head, leg and shoulder room, both front and rear.
The rear seat folds, thus offering greater carrying capacity. With all seats in place, the boot provides 400 litres of space. One disadvantage, though, is a high loading sill.
Chevrolet's model line-up will be further enhanced later this year with the arrival of the Captiva SUV. With five or seven seats and a commercial version, it will be available with Chevrolet's first diesel engines developing 120 and 150bhp. The Captiva, due to go on Irish sale in October, will be seen as a challenger to another Korean, the Hyundai Santa Fe, which is the dominant player in the fast-growing Irish SUV sector.
Tom McQueirns, managing director of Chevrolet Ireland, is expecting 300 Aveo sales this year with this figure doubling next year.
"We see it appealing strongly on value-for-money considerations: there will be a lot of car for the money." Chevrolet of the Korean variety is a fast-growing marque and European sales were nearly 27 per cent up last year on 2004. Ireland was up 25 per cent.
It hasn't, however, yet matched sales of the former Daewoo brand before it got into trouble. "We haven't yet reached our normal flying altitude," was the comment of Hanspeter Ryser of Chevrolet Europe. The omens are good, and GM has a good news story.