I am glad I am not the only one who thinks the Daewoo Tosca is an ugly looking car, undeserving of the Holden brand. The Australian Car Advice blog lashed out last month at the Tosca, which was unveiled in Brisbane as the “new” Holden Epica. I assume capital letters are optional in Queensland:

Anyway, last friday at the Brisbane International Motorshow, the Epica was unveiled, and my god was it ugly!

The comments about this warmed-over Daewoo Magnus are interesting (two are from me). The positive ones are argued rationally, the negative ones are brand-based. Other than the few soulless fleet operators who count beans, somehow I think most of us judge products based on brands.
   I still like my comment and stand by it here:

If you must buy Korean, the Hyundai Sonata is looking a much better bet. The only reason Vectra C sold poorly is that Holden spent more on Denny Mooney’s haircuts than the marketing of the entire range over the last three years. They will push the Daewoo Tosca, a.k.a. Holden Epica, just to prove the naysayers wrong, only doing irreparable damage to their brand. …
   Remember that Tosca, the car’s original name, stands for ‘Tomorrow Standard Car’. That’s right: Standard. In other words, not Special.
   Holden Standard? Special? Where I have heard that before?

   I pleaded with Holden New Zealand not to follow the Australian example. After all, it brought in the original Vectra A when Australia was stuck with rebadged Camrys, and, in the 1980s, the superior Isuzu Aska instead of the underpowered JD Camira. Somehow, I think the Kiwis will be as gutless as the Australians, looking at the per-unit cost of the Tosca and not the cost to the Holden brand.
   I would respect Holden more if it simply levelled with the public and told us its slogan was: selling cheap-ass supermarket goods unless you pay enough for a Commodore. Posted by Jack Yan, 06:57  permalink

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