NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR READERS’ WRITES Vauxhall Shove-it T

MAIL:

hanks for the article on the much overlooked, often ignored and usually spurned Chevette (Motorman,nz Classiccarjune 2015), or Shove-it as some call these cars.

While it was a well-written effort, there are some points that need tweaking.

a. The Chevette Enduro was already on the market before the 1980 facelift, as witnessed by the attached scan of the front cover of a catalogue showing the exposed-headlight Chevettes.

b. There must have been a typo, as the last paragraph in the first column states that the Chevette stayed in GM’S line-up until 1977, and then the article goes on to expound on assembly being carried out until 1981.

c. The Pontiac Acadian was a Canadian market derivative of the Chevette, and was not marketed in South America at all.

d. The Chevette was not Britain’s first hatchback — that honour goes to the Austin A40 Farina Countryman of 1958. There is also the matter of the Austin Maxi from 1969?

Also, there are many facts on the Chevette and its corporate cousins that the article did not touch on, probably owing to space constraints. Here are some:

1. The three-door hatch was not originally in GM’S T-car world programme, and was incorporated by Vauxhall and taken up by Chevrolet for its version across The Pond. Later, GM in the US and Canada would derive a five-door variation sold under the Chevrolet Chevette and Pontiac T1000 banners.

2. Brazil was the first market to launch the Chevette in mid 1973 (as a Chevrolet), beating the Opel Kadett C’s German debut in autumn that year.

3. Argentina and Uruguay had their own versions of the Chevette — the Opel K-180 and Ameysa Condor, respectively. For some unknown reason GM felt the need to use the Opel rather than Chevrolet name for