Filed under: Spy Photos, Minivans/MPVs, Euro, Crossovers/CUVs, Chevrolet
Spy Shots: 2011 Chevy Tacuma minivan
by Jonathon Ramsey on Aug 27th 2008 at 1:58PM 
Jalopnik has caught spy shots of a fleet -- well, two -- of the new Chevy Tacuma minivans bound for Europe. If they are indeed replacing this Chevy Tacuma as well as that aardvark masquerading as a minivan, the Uplander, then it looks like things are about to get a lot more spacious over yonder pond. Supposed to be about the size of a Mazda5, the Tacuma appears to have front-hinged rear doors, which might make it more CUV than minivan. Also, the Tacuma is also supposed to be built at GM's Hamtramck plant in Michigan. If so, that would make it bedmates with the Chevy Volt, and, as Jalopnik speculates, perhaps another good home for a hybrid drivetrain...[Source: Jalopnik]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
AntBee 2:23PM (8/27/2008)
The name is a joke, right? Toyota Tacoma vs. Chevrolet Tacuma.
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Ricky 2:28PM (8/27/2008)
Took the words out of my mouth... is this the new marketing ploy? Name your car after the one that sells better than yours?
Jj 2:40PM (8/27/2008)
This is a Euro model. They have the Hilux in Europe, not the Tacoma.
why not the LS2LS7? 2:46PM (8/27/2008)
I don't get the sales crack. The Tacoma isn't a minivan, how can you compare sales between them?
martin 4:47PM (8/27/2008)
it's kept the name from when it was the daewoo tacuma, so its not chevrolet trying to confuse people
why not the LS2LS7? 2:31PM (8/27/2008)
Change the name. Too close to Tacoma.
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BoneHeadOtto 2:48PM (8/27/2008)
sliding doors are the best invention since sliced bread. Without then you cannot have the automatically opening doors without serious issues. When you have an arm full of kids and bags a click to open is great. Plus you dont have to worry abou the fids opening the doors into others cars. Honestly more cars should have sliding doors not just minivans.
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Corey L 2:18PM (8/27/2008)
+1, not to mention the increased opening for loading bulky items.
Jim in Tampa 3:36PM (8/27/2008)
Yea, it needs sliding doors to be a minivan. With front hinged doors, it's really a CUV.
And once you've experienced remote control electric sliding doors with kids, nothing else will do!
Benfolio 5:10PM (8/27/2008)
I agree, as I had a Mazda5 and have two kids. It's the cat's meow when in a parking slot between cars and you need to wrestle a kid out of the car, especially with an infant car seat.
It's just a shame that sliding doors make the general public think "MINIVAN!!! ARG! RUN AWAY!! I DON'T WANNA BE A SOCCOR MOM!!".
Otherwise, yes, more cars should have them. Or gullwing doors.
Very practical.
As these CUV's get longer and longer, so do the rear door openings. Without sliders it's very hard to open them fully at the mall without dinging the car next to you, which for some reason no longer has rubber side mouldings to prevent dents. Hrm.
I sense a conspiracy.
HAWC1506 2:52PM (8/27/2008)
Looks like the Journey from some angles.
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toronado455 3:44PM (8/27/2008)
About the size of a Mazda5? Why the heck don't they sell this here???
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rwcmick 4:03PM (8/27/2008)
Could this be the next HHR?
To quote Automotive News:
"The redesigned 2011 wagon will abandon the retro styling theme and become what one insider called "radically modern." It also will be bigger, with possible seating for seven. Essentially, it will be a mini-minivan. The vehicles will be developed on GM's next-generation Delta vehicle architecture. A concept may be revealed this year"
Well, I ask you is this not what the above spy pix is? A Delta based, mini-minivan?
I've spent quite a bit of time writing about the MPV-7, so if you want to check my work you can visit this link
http://allcarsallthetime.blogspot.com/search?q=chevrolet+mpv-7
I'll freely admit that I could be off on this one, but one way or another we're going to get this vehicle, of that I'm pretty sure. Will it be called HHR?
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Wingbat 4:43PM (8/27/2008)
People get really tipsy with little things like car names. It is unknown whether Chevy will badge Chevy Tacuma as "Tacuma" in US. The name Tacoma of Toyota only exists in US. It is called Hilux in other parts of the world. The name Tacuma of Chevy exists in others part of the world. It used to be Daewoo Rezzo/Tacuma/Vivant since 2000. Not sure what they are going to call it if Chevy brings it to USA.
There are many no-search and know-nothing people commenting things where they have no idea what they commenting about.
Some of you doh dohs can only comment about the name. That's your biggest problem. Maybe Chevy should name the car AntNotSobee or RickyNotSoMartin. Imagine how confused these two intellectual giant will be.
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The Other Bob 4:50PM (8/27/2008)
Whatever it's called, I like it. I would like to get a minivan-like car that is still mini. I am not a big fan of the Mazda 5, so this would fit the bill.
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Dave 5:04PM (8/27/2008)
GM wonders why they have problems: they take a POS/junk van (Venture), put different "bolder" fenders on it to make it more SUV appearing and try to sell it. And it didn't sell - imagine that. Consumers can actually see what's happening. My in-laws own one - part time. The GM dealer's shop owns it most of the time.
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Tyler Mayes 7:55PM (8/27/2008)
Chevy has to rip off names now? I thought designs where bad enough.
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youknowit 10:57PM (8/27/2008)
When spy shots go wrong - you guys will post anything...a little self editing would be appreciated.
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