Signs

[Gossamer 50]

The past couple of days have been interesting Spark-wise.

While travelling on I-95 on Monday with the cruise control set at 70 mph, my Spark started to slow down all on its own.

When I stepped on the gas pedal nothing at all happened - no rise in rpms or speed.

The car went from 70 mph down to just under 60 before it surged suddenly and picked up speed back to 70 mph.

The rest of the trip (there and back) was uneventful except for my gas mileage being in the low 30's on the highway, but with my POS, you never know what the gas mileage will be.

Anyway, when I got to my destination, I saw a Spark identical to my own (Salsa 1LT) pulling out of a driveway right by where I was. Since the driver had the window down and was passing right by me, I said hey nice car (sarcastically of course), and he stopped to chat with me.

It turned out that it was a rental, and he had nothing good to say about the car.

He told me he only took it because the rental was cheap and he thought it would be fun to drive, but he was actually bringing it back for a different car right now - he didn't even want to keep it for the 2 days he was going to be in town!

On Wednesday, I was on I-95 again when I saw a flatbed tow truck with two wrecked Sparks on the bed and a third one being towed behind!

Now I am not the kinda guy that believes in signs or things like that, but I'm getting the feeling that someone is trying to tell me something!

[greggb 7]

The past couple of days have been interesting Spark-wise.

While travelling on I-95 on Monday with the cruise control set at 70 mph, my Spark started to slow down all on its own.

When I stepped on the gas pedal nothing at all happened - no rise in rpms or speed.

The car went from 70 mph down to just under 60 before it surged suddenly and picked up speed back to 70 mph.

The rest of the trip (there and back) was uneventful except for my gas mileage being in the low 30's on the highway, but with my POS, you never know what the gas mileage will be.

Anyway, when I got to my destination, I saw a Spark identical to my own (Salsa 1LT) pulling out of a driveway right by where I was. Since the driver had the window down and was passing right by me, I said hey nice car (sarcastically of course), and he stopped to chat with me.

It turned out that it was a rental, and he had nothing good to say about the car.

He told me he only took it because the rental was cheap and he thought it would be fun to drive, but he was actually bringing it back for a different car right now - he didn't even want to keep it for the 2 days he was going to be in town!

On Wednesday, I was on I-95 again when I saw a flatbed tow truck with two wrecked Sparks on the bed and a third one being towed behind!

Now I am not the kinda guy that believes in signs or things like that, but I'm getting the feeling that someone is trying to tell me something!

Well if you don't see "dead people', you're probably good to go. Carry on. :-)

[Gossamer 50]

I don't see dead people, but.......

Edited November 24, 2014 by Gossamer

[Big-Bob 11]

I put about 3000 miles on 2 Sparks. One was a rental I rented just for an extended test drive. I spent 3 days on the road with it, and it performed flawlessly. The second was a loaner while the transmission in my brand new 2014 Sonic was being replaced under warranty. It also performed perfectly. I found them fun to drive (would have been more fun with manual transmissions) The CVTs felt weird, but worked ok. I am also a motorcyclist, and could easily live with this car. What I can't live with is it's lack of reliability. I recommend staying away from GM altogether. My new Sonic trans failed at 11,000 miles. I researched the Spark, Sonic, Impala, Malibu, and Equinox. About 50% of the reviews on all these cars (from several different sources) were negative. Both Ford and Chrysler/Fiat had far less negative reviews. The much maligned Aveo did much better than several newer models. People didn't like driving them, but their reliability was above average.

What I found odd about the Spark, at least in my opinion, is that the fit and finish is exceptionally good for a car in this price range. I found it noticeably better than the Kia Soul, which I am now considering. Yet the Soul has an excellent reliability record. Both the Soul and Spark are built in Korea.

I think the huge rash of recent recalls by GM points to some serious quality control issues across the line. It's almost like they are trying to put themselves out of business. GM's quality has gone way down since the bailout. Their fleet sales are also way down. They were neck and neck with Ford, but Ford is now way ahead.