Chevy Considering In-House Tuner Parts Line for Small Cars
Debuting alongside the Sonic Hatchback and Sedan at the Detroit Auto Show yesterday was what Chevy is calling the Sonic Z-Spec Concept. It’s not a concept for a new car, however, but for a line of in-house tuner parts that Chevy is considering.
Chevrolet first rolled out a lineup of Z-Spec cars at this year’s SEMA Show, although at the time the Sonic Z wasn’t there. At the time, the Z-Spec cars raised the possibility that GM was looking at a special in-house aftermarket parts program for its small cars – much in the way Scion does. This latest concept car certainly indicates that the idea is still very much alive at Chevy and Margaret Brooks, the director of marketing for Chevy’s small car division, told AutoGuide that, “we would love to offer more personalization,” adding that, if successful, it could be extremely lucrative.
Sadly, any in-house program wouldn’t feature the sorts of high dollar goodies shown on the concept, which includes items like BBS wheels, Brembo brakes and some caramel leather recaro racing seats (yummy). A suspension lowering kit, aerodynamics parts an a rear spoiler are, however, possibilities.
Rolling out the Sonic Z-Spec at the Detroit show is a strong indication that Chevy isn’t just stagnantly considering the Z Spec line but moving (slowly) closer to introducing it. Showcasing aftermarket parts at the industry-only SEMA show is hardly a strong vote in favor of any action, but testing the waters at a mainstream and high profile auto show, that also happens to be open to the general public, speaks volumes about Chevy’s plans.
GALLERY: Chevy Sonic Z-Spec
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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