1999 Daewoo Model Line | Retro Review
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- Опубліковано 5 лип 2023
- Daewoo was certainly stylish and nicely priced, perhaps they were targeting the wrong market? Did anyone here get the BOGO?
Show 1803 | Original Airdate 09-23-1998
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Even though Daewoo as a stand-alone car brand died a relatively quick death in America, their cars carried on for years afterwards as captive imports. If you ever drove a Suzuki Reno, or a Chevy Aveo, Spark, or the canadian Captiva, you've driven a Daewoo.
Daewoos legacy still kind of survives through newer Chevrolet models like the Trax, Trailblazer, and Buick models like Encore GX and Envista.
All they did was rebrand as Chevrolet Southkorea yeah they still exist and most of the modern GM cars.... those are them
Canada had the Chevrolet Epica and Optra, rebadged Daewoo Magnus.
They are now gm korea
In Mexico we had the Optra and the Beat was a facelifted Spark. It would have been great to have seen this brand expand and grow world wide. I believe it could have succeeded If only they had introduced 3 SUV models as well as the 3 sedans. Too bad!!!
Funny, I could tell a Daewoo on sight all day, but couldn't say which model it was for the life of me. Lol
They all looked the same.
Where I've lived, I've seen so many of them too. They had some funky names for cars that are not memorable. Probably one more reason that contributed to their failure
TRIVIA: Leganza is one of the many recycled Giorgetto Giugiaro designs. This was first proposed as the rejected Jaguar Kensington concept car.
Thank you for that.
When I first saw one my first thought was of a mini Jaguar.
I thought it looked like the later gen Maserati Quattroporte lol. The side and rear design shares a resemblance to it.
I always thought it had design cues from a Rover or a Mercedes C Class of it's era. But never ever liked that grill design. Still ruins my day when I see it in pics and vids. lol
Wow you are right. How did you find that out?
I helped open a Daewoo dealership in Pennsylvania in 1999. After the opening I stuck around to sell them.
I thought they were pretty decent cars for the price. I still see a few running around Phoenix AZ in 2023! Moreover, I was recently at a U-Pull-it salvage yard and saw 4 Daewoo’s there…3 of them wrecked with 200,000+ miles on the odometers! As many have commented, Daewoo was transformed into a captive import supplier. I owned a brand new 2017 Chevy Spark (5 speed manual) and LOVED IT. Not a single problem in over 5 years of ownership.
Odd as it sounds, I’m a long-standing Daewoo enthusiast :)
This Daewoo Nubira and Lanos his sold in Brazil
Maybe you've seen me driving around Phoenix. My Leganza is 23yrs old with 160K miles on it. Still a great car.
I’m looking at the newly redesigned Chevy Trax as a daily commuter to replace my Rav4. Looking forward to once again owning something with Korean build quality. My Hyundai Accent was an excellent car.
@@juanzingarello4005 So many of the lower priced GM models of today are Daewoo (GM Korea). My Chevrolet Spark was an awesome car. Fantastic build quality, Japanese level fit and finish, and 100% reliable for the 5 years I owned it.
@@seand2711 I’ll bet I have! I have peripheral vision for Daweoos!
I had a new Leganza as a demo when I worked at the Daewoo dealership. Back in the day it felt like a Lexus for the price of a Hyundai. Super nice car for the price. Enjoy your piece of Daewoo history :)
Nubira was later replaced Chevrolet Lacetti/Optra Sedan/Suzuki Reno and later Chevrolet Cruze
Lanos became Chevrolet Aveo/Sonic
Every time he says DAY-OOH 😂😂😂😂
Take a shot 😂😂😂
He couldn’t say Camry either, he said Cam-Ray.
I had one of their tvs back in the early 90s. Lasted longer then theirs cars
I still have one in storage. It was a nice TV back in the 90's.
@@OhPhuckYou are they rare
@@davey3710 Not really.
So did we. Dad bought it and placed it on the living room floor next to our Sony Trinitron after he couldn't get his picture-in-picture feature to work.
I think I may have stumbled upon one of their DVD/VHS combos while at a Goodwill once.
I definitely remember seeing these around 20 years ago, but I can’t recall the last time I’ve seen one!
there are very rare rght
“Day-hoo” not to be confused with automaker “Yahoo”
😅😅😅
Add to the list of John-isms... Day-hoo, and Cam-Ray lol
@@JKCougar “cam-rayyy” lmaoo another JD classic 😂 I shall cherish this for many years to come
Who?
@@nessuno5403 DAY- WHO!
My dad used to be a Daewoo salesman. Someday I wouldn’t mind tracking down a pristine Leganza.
I'm not sure if such a thing exists anymore. Lol. I haven't seen a Leganza in years.
And sink quickly they did. Most people don't even remember Daewoo.
Yep
The only time I think I've ever seen a Daewoo car in real life was when my family and I drove past one while we were on vacation in Puerto Rico last month.
I love the Retro Reviews 😍😍👏👏👏
I’d say 90% of people who remember Daewoo only remember it because of the yellow Lanos in Pineapple Express.
Imagine being done in by a friggin Daewoo Lanos
5:37 And 3 years later, in 2002 Daewoo sank from view. Grand opening! Grand closing!
lmaoo brutal 😂
Well it's a chevy and buick now. Chevy Trax aveo spark trailblazer Buick Encore name a few. Ain't dead at all
@@KalsRcAdventures GM bought Daewoo in the early 2000s and kept building the cars under the Daewoo name. By 2011, Daewoo relabeled themselves as Chevrolet Korea.
@@StevenEveral duh I work for gm 🤣🤣
Good, now justt got to get rid of hyunDIE and kia
I sold these back in 2000, sold about 100 daewoos and still to this day I’m atoning
No amount of atoning can make up for that 😂
lol, you are hero for korea 😆
i sold cars for a guy who owned multiple brand dealerships close to each other so you could sell all the brands. This was in 2000 and they already were not selling. Huge bonuses to the salespeople.
I still love my leganza. What a joy to drive around.
MotorWeek channel posting a DB12 and a ‘99 Daewoo in the space of a couple of days is about the most automotive whiplash possible
In Australia the Lanos hatch sold very well especially the 3 door. I knew 2 people with them and they were both manual. Both owners said they were very reliable, not fancy but very cheap to run. Loved rhe shape of the hatch. I thought of buying one for my first car but I bought a 2001 Lancer coupe GLI off a friend. Another reliable car.
I've been living in Korea for the last 25 years. You still see a few of these on the road today! They were pretty decent little cars!
There are some weird ass Korean cars that are popular in spider filled upside down land. Pretty interesting car culture there. Lots of really cool Asian cars.
"I don't think a company called 'Daewoo' is going to stick around very long "
-My high school algebra teacher
Honestly it’s not much worse than Hyundai.
@@qmto Kia, Rolls, BMW, Porsche, I mean nearly all names are quirky if you can manage to get rid of the psychological id and attachment they have.
I worked for Alamo back in the day when they were new. They weren't a bad car, i remember the Lanos had a power button, a guy at work swore that it had more power when you push it,lol.
I love the constant comparisons to Hyundai in this review, because of course now, 20+ years later, Hyundai is a titan in the industry, while Daewoo is but a footnote in automotive history. The joys of hindsight. I can't even think of the last time I saw a Daewoo in traffic.
[Updating this comment because a lot of people are correcting me to the fact that Daewoo *is,* in fact, still around and thriving, just the brand name is retired here in the US. Fair enough!]
At the time (90s) Daewoo the company whole was same as Hyundai in S Korea.
Daewoo actually employed 100,000 more than Hyundai. The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis hurt both companies, but Hyundai always received official S Korean government assistance (used to acquire KIA & LG)
2001.
Daewoo, now GM-Korea builds the 2023 Chevy Trax and Trailblazer. Also the new Buick envista.
Didn’t help that even by 1990s Korean sedan standards these thinks looked atrocious. At least Hyundai had somewhat interesting modern looking cars. Going after college kids was an interesting play as well.
@@David..yeah but korean sedans where inspired by The 90s japanese ones to like The Honda Accord or The Toyota Corolla
Nice to know: while the Lanos and Leganza were designed by Giugiaro, the Nubira was from I.D.E.A.. Thats why it looks different with its smaller and rectangular headlights.
This was an interesting experiment. Daewoo tried to sell cars by recruiting college students and tasking them with promoting the cars to family and friends, hold test drives, and refer leads to a sales center to complete the purchase. That was a dodgy sales strategy; few college students could afford the cars brand-new, and it was a stretch to think college students would buy a car based on word-of-mouth from others, especially to take a chance on a new brand only by the virtues of their lower prices and included maintenance in the initial ownership period. Eventually, Daewoo abandoned this sales model, opened traditional dealerships, and found itself in a crowded compact and midsize car market.
The Lanos and Nubira were at least competitive, but the Leganza lacked a V6 option and its four-cylinder engine was down on power, so it couldn't stand out. Daewoo tried to allude to the fact that ItalDesign designed the body, Porsche engineers were involved in tuning the car's chassis, and the suspension was inspired by Lotus, but that wasn't the best strategy, as it didn't focus on what Daewoo could bring to the table in its products.
The multispoke hubcaps, the side profile, front and rear light did give it a european-ish (Rover, MB C Class look especially in silver), but that grill used to cause an upset stomach. :)
I guess it's Daehoo now...Always interested in how John comes up with his pronunciations or mispronunciations. I'd never heard him say, or attempt to say, Daewoo before this video and he did not disappoint.
It's actually closer to the proper Korean pronunciation of the name.
It's actually pronounced Tae-woo
I remember my dads neighbor had bought one when they came out, can't remember the model, due to my dad hyping up the brand, even though my dad never even drove one, in less than 2 yrs he traded it it in. He was so mad at my dad. Said it was the biggest piece of shit he ever owned. Surprisingly they still remained friends. lol
Lol dude should be mad at him self. He bought it.
@@zachg9065 Lol true
Im suprised americans didnt like the car. In eastern europe you still see these cars, very reliable and easy to fix
@@foxy126pl6 Well for whatever reason they weren't reliable here in the USA
@@ohguy1991 weird, maybe becouse they were abused since they were cheap? Just my guess, i still see these every day
John Davis always wanted to pronounce the cars the way he wanted to.
He's the precursor to the text to voice bot. It may not be the pronunciation originally intended. But once committed he'll stick with it.
The British pronounce it the same way. Silent letter W.
Like camray for example
And Mitsubishi's Galant ("Guh-lahn" as JD pronounced it). Or, _did_ he pronounce it correctly? _(9/14/2023)_
Local dealer here was selling them 2 for 1 at one point
I remember that too 😂
One of my friends still owns a Lanos hatchback. She bought it at a police auction for 400usd in early 2020. It has about 200k miles, but it still runs pretty good.
All it needed was a fuel pump.
Please make sure that if she ever decides to get rid of it, it stays as far from the junkyard as possible!
In Australia, these were sold with a Free Care package which covered all service costs for three years and included dealer delivery charges(you only paid for registration, insurance and stamp duty).
There were quite a lot sold, but I suspect many disposed of them after the three year warranty/Free Care expired. Daewoo left the Australian market in 2004.
Yep. I remember my mum driving a maroon Daewoo Lanos for a short while before trading it in (I think) at a John Hughes Daewoo dealership for a used silver Mitsubishi Magna that was presumably in their used cars section, at least judging by the latter having a number plate frame that read "John Hughes Skipper Daewoo".
Come to think of it, I think the Daewoo car had some major faults that I didn't notice because I wasn't riding in it at the time, and presumably someone at the dealership recommended that she just exchange it for the used Mitsubishi car.
Edit: judging by other childhood memories I had, it happened some time in 2003, and the latter car was from the 2003 model year.
I remember they were selling the Lanos for like $5k new when they were going out of business.
I'de kill to get ANY new non EV car for $5k new now.
If there's anything college students want in a car, it's Taco Bell-inspired cloth seat fabric.
One of my sister's relatives had a light blue 2002 Daewoo Nubira SE back in 2004. Couple years later, she had a major accident in the Daewoo Nubira as she suffered minor injuries and the Nubira was totaled.
Wouldn't your sister's relative also be your relative? 👀
@@shamil808 it's her father's side of the family
Half sister?
@@kamrankhan-lj1ng yes.
I miss Daewoo, I don't miss the new Daewoo Buick and Chevrolets
Someone on my street had a Daewoo leganza and I thought it looked good and wanted one. I was a kid and knew nothing about cars.
Fun fact; the Leganza is based on a rejected Jaguar concept car by Italdesign.
i thought i recognized it
I don’t think the South Koreans understood the financial situations of American college students or how quickly it would get worse. Otherwise it would have been a genius marketing strategy
Lmao, Daewoo recruiting college students to sell cars sounds like a pyramid scheme
Completely misjudged the market. They tried what would later be done by companies giving "influencers" free stuff to shill. They hoped Daewoo would become an alternative for people who would normally buy a used Honda or Toyota, but wanted something new.
I remember seeing a lot of these around in the early 00's. Our local Dodge dealer broke the mold and introduced Kia and Daewoo lines in '99. They even built a separate showroom around the corner to separate them from its traditional Dodge showroom. I remember thinking at the time that with initially strong sales and a more upscale lineup, that Daewoo was going to outsell and out last Kia here at least in my area. Boy was I wrong. Now their Kia dealer outsells its original Dodge counterpart, although this is a truck town and the Dodge dealer makes its bread with strong truck sales. They stopped carrying Daewoo by 04/05 if I remember correctly.
in northern queensland, somehow we still have Daewoos pushing 30 still knocking about, and a lot of them too.
On a serious note, these engine output numbers are on par with even today’s standards
On par with a Mirage, maybe
@@lukerinderknecht2982 I’m saying for the displacement that’s good output for 1999 lol … I didn’t say this was a evo/sti killer lol
@@JDMHaze129 horses and 136 lb ft isn't bad either, even for today. Some modern compact cars on sale right now don't even make those numbers.
@@dave_riots exactly. ,,,
Still junk though, like most korean cars
designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The engine was from Opel and the gears were from ZF. At the time, Daewoo executives knew that if they brought a good designer and a good powertrain, they would succeed
At the time, Daewoo had a car named Chairman. It was a car made with the engine and body of the e-class.
Well problem is DOHC Daewoo engines love to snap timing belts and bend valves. The ZF transmission used in the Daewoo built Chevrolet Optra or Suzuki Forenza ( same car) a internal seal loves to go bad you loose 4th gear and 2nd gear slips. At the end disposable vehicles.
I have a very small soft spot for Daewoo because it's the car I trained for in getting my driver license at the time when I was living in Orlando, Florida in the late 90's at a local drivers school. The Nubira that I drove in during practice is indeed a budget friendly auto and a good starter for students entering college.
“A Daewoo!?” -Queen Latifah, the only reason I remember Daewoo making cars. We had a Daewoo CRT TV in my parents house. Green went out on it after like 10 years.
We had those 3 models in Brazil as well. They just VANISHED! Is impossible to find one, especially in good conditions!
I almost bought one of these in 1999, but didn’t didn’t cause of the lack of dealerships, I did own an 1988 lemans,
Cant help but think of the end scene in the movie Pineapple Express lol
Open the door I dont wanna get Deawoo on my hands
Haven't seen these daewoo cars in 20 years.
The car that I drove in the driving part of driver's ed was a 2004 Daewoo. It was actually really nice, I thought as a teenager, with a sunroof, and it was dark green with a tan interior, which I think might have been leather.
You wouldn't believe the quality of leganza seats. They are amazing
To spot one on the road today is like spotting a Leprechaun riding a Dodo bird.
Fun fact: Daewoo used a dog as a mascot in its Australian commercials. The dog became quite famous.
Oddly enough, I remember seeing some contemporary advertising in British publications for the Lanos, Nubira and Leganza...the one thing I remember about them was the tagline: "A quality car at a low price? That'll be the Daewoo..."
Daewoo cars are subcompact Lanos, compact Nubira, and mid-size Leganza are from 1999 to 2002 models.
An older woman in my city has a Nubira that she still drives to this day 😊
I live in Australia and I bought a Leganza. I loved it, roomy, comfy, good on fuel and cheap to buy considering it's long list of standard features. Back then you bought them through Ford dealers who multi franchised. When GM took over Daewoo all servicing had to be done at Holden (GM) dealers. Holden dealers were unable to carry out servicing because Ford dealers still had all of the diagnostic equipment. It became a nightmare, so I traded it.
I'm surprised the test driver didn't call in sick that day.
I miss the Darwin Lasagna 😢 was such a good car
Very neat fresh idea for a video, this was a win!
I choose to watch this in 240p to match the videos energy.
I was a teenage car nerd when these launched in the states and I had a Car & Driver subscription. They did a mid-size sedan comparison test for all models in the class and they said the Leganza did not finish due to throwing a rod through the block on the way to testing.
Excellent retro video.
For years there was a Nubira wagon at a local auto shop in my town. It’s the only one I’ve ever seen. When the shop got new ownership it disappeared.
Bobby Lee had the fastest Daewoooo of them all 😎
Daewoo, bounce!
TANNNNNK
LMFAO, I was scrolling down looking for this reference.
@@lucashenderson2775 One of the most underrated comedy skits out there. 💀
@@srouji6 didn't he bake chicken under the hood? 😂
I remember in my hometown of Lubbock, Texas (Texas Tech Red Raiders) when a Daewoo dealership opened. Before I graduated HS in 2011 and moved away, that dealership had went out of business. Now I believe that same building is a collision center 😅
Daewoo ended up being bought out to become GM Korea. There was a big shift sone years back in the Korean market. Samsung was trying to buy Kia and things were shifting around. It’s worth mentioning that most of the Korean brands don’t last much over 100,000 those that do often require repair costs then the cars are worth. I had an 08 Hyundai Accent, it ran fine for over 128,000 miles ( I bought it brand new btw) it was a base model with manual windows and a stick. The only problem I had was a recurring failure of the #3 coil pack and a window was not fully seated and leaked. What eventually happened was the car was mechanically totaled when the cost to repair it exceeded the value. It was worth 300 dollars, and one January the power steering rack gave out. It also needed a whole exhaust system both of which were 1200 dollars the car was worth 300 bucks and it was starting to rot out ( the quater panel dogleg section was starting to perforate). It was also burning a considerable amount of oil between changes keep in mind it only held 3,5 quarts but I was loosing over a quart between changes so I know it was blowing it off or burning it off. My friend has a 12 Elantra and he’s got 128,000 on it too. We figure we’ll see how much farther it will go for
That is why you don't do insurance claims. I just had to put around $1000 in my 98 Sentra after a wreck....it needs more to repair the compressor and lines, but I won't fix that as I never use A/C anyways.
I haven't seen a Daewoo in almost 20 years
Indeed. I haven't seen them in 20 years now.
I almost bought a new Leganza back in 99 but the closest dealer was 35 miles away and no dealer network. I had an 88 Lemans and it was a decent fun car.
Have I been mistakenly calling them "Die-Woo" all this time?
He's pronouncing it the Korean way apparently.
We pronounce it "day-woo" here in America. I prefer that pronunciation.
"...one that will either sink from view or teach us a few new lessons in auto making."
In the early 2000's my roomate worked at an auto parts store an a guy came in with what looked like a thermostate housing. He said it fell out. We said that can't be. We walked out to the car and sure enough it had fallen out....because it was GLUED in. That told me all I needed to know about Daewoo. Find on running today.
I thought this resembled a 90's Hyundai, and that's because they're both Korean cars.. I guess they liked those shapes. I like those shapes lol
Just admit it, you own one. :)
I always thought they were neat looking, especially the Lanos sedan. My grandfather had a friend from Russia and he drove a Lanos hatchback and I have not seen one in the flesh since.
3:32, "The dash is more upscale..", pans to the grayest dashboard I have ever seen.
It's hard to find Daewoos on the road today because they didn't make many of these, and a lot of them that were sold here have since been scrapped
Unfortunately, Daewoo faded away as fast as it came to the US!
Wrong.
They came as the Chevy Aveo
One of my first cars was a 02 Daewoo lanos had it right around the time pineapple express came out haha
i had a Daewoo Lanos it was an amazing little car, super reliable and dirt cheap to run, Daewoo didn't last long as a brand in NA but there cars carry on to this day
Totally right, rust was The Main issue with The Daewoo cars in my pinion, but The first 5-10 years they were ok
I had a 2000 Leganza SX, I wanted the CDX. The day they declared bankruptcy, I traded it in on an ‘01 Ford Ranger 4x4 Flareside.
Daewoo Come And Me Wanna Go Home
Come Mr. Daewoo man tally me banana
Nubria, Nubria, NUBRIA.
He was right. Definitely a DaeEWW.
I remember seeing a Daewoo Leganza on display in 1999, and thinking it was a sweet deal for $17,000. Was tempted to trade in my 1999 Honda Civic for it, but decided not to.
And that 99 Civic is probably still on the road lol
@@larkt6693 Nope! Totaled it in March 2001, unfortunately. It was a Civic HX with a 5 speed manual. A not so common trim level.
@@dragasoni oh my well maybe it was for the best .. the EX was the way too go
I owned a 2012 Daewoo Lanos 1.5L hatch,good car ,well furnished,smooth economical.engine and reliable,never regretted buying it Auckland New Zealand 2023
I remember at my shop we all thought really hard about the bogo. I think some of those cars were going for 6k at the very end. I bought a new mazda instead for 10k
John has outlived many a car company
Man I love the 90’s. It was such a weird time for cars.
I saw one about a month ago I thought they were all crushed.
I knew several people who bought these models back when the dealers were going out of business and the discounts were insane. The cars were all in the junkyard within a few years.
5:16 Is that a CD changer? The luxury!
The Daewoo Leganza got replaced with the Daewoo Magnus. However, it would be sold as the Suzuki Verona/Chevrolet Epica for the North American market.
Wow, nice cars! They will do very well in the US!!
My dad told me he had a Lanos rental car back in 1999, and every time he went over 60 mph the whole car would vibrate and shake
Sounds like unbalanced wheels.
2:19 if anyone wants to comment on the interior fabric design
remember we used to wear apparel the fine gentelman displays in a few seconds later.
So Einstein was right about relativity. lol
The Leganza had Giugiaro Design.
I had a Co-worker that had a Nubira Wagon, I remember they liked it but this was back in 2003-2004 so I have no idea how it turned out for them. A totally forgotten car that really never had a chance to begin with.
Nice profile picture!
@@ss9O Thank you
@@kingkat8080 You're welcome.
My local Daewoo dealership had a Grand Opening Going Out Of Business sale.
Once Daewoo "Free Care" stopped in Australia, people stopped buying the cars.
Fun fact, Daewoo also manufactured the USAS-12 fully automatic shotgun.
5:37 "...either quickly sink from view.." Indeed they did! lollll
Have never seen a single one of these on the road within the past 10 years lol
Like no other design ❤ miss you my leganza