After this summer, there will no longer be a sub-$14,000 new car in America.
Chevrolet has announced the end of America’s least-expensive vehicle, the Chevy Spark. “The Spark is being produced through August 2022, then it will be phased out of Chevrolet’s product lineup,” a Chevrolet spokesperson tells us.
The New Champ: Mitsubishi Mirage
With a 2022 starting price of just $13,600, the Spark has been on Chevy lots for a decade. It’s been the least expensive new car for sale in the United States for at least three years. It leaves a cute hatchback-sized hole in a lot of hearts that the Mitsubishi Mirage will try to fill… for $14,645.
The move snatches away automotive journalists’ favorite frame of reference. When a celebrity sets a new record for the most expensive car ever bought, we can no longer measure it in terms of thousands of Chevy Sparks.
Tiny, Practical, Under Warranty, and Gone
More importantly, it brings an end to the inexpensive, practical domestic car. The Spark, long available in sedan or hatchback form, has always been a budget choice. But it is also a solid one. Its 98 horsepower would never impress anyone in a chatroom, but it offers reliable zip at neighborhood speeds. A 5-speed manual transmission even made it fun for those who love the old ways.
For just a few months longer, it’s the cheapest way to get new transportation under warranty.
But the Spark also has personality. Modern car designers are depressingly unadventurous with color. But you can still get a Spark in candy-coating hues like purple (Chevy calls it Passion Fruit) and Enya’s beloved Caribbean Blue.
Sure, it’s budget-minded. This move may leave the Jeep Wrangler the last new vehicle for sale in America with hand-cranked windows.
But it’s not without modern amenities. The 2022 Spark comes standard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, powered through its 7-inch touchscreen.
American Cars are Disappearing
Chevy’s announcement hints at another sad truth. That Chevy spokesperson tells us, “Customers seeking comfort, function, and style at an approachable price still have strong options within Chevrolet’s family of compact SUVs.”
SUVs.
Because the end of the Chevy Spark is almost the end of the Chevy 4-door car. Chevrolet still makes the midsize Malibu for 2022, but that will soon be the last 4-door car on Chevy sales lots. Ford has already abandoned sedans, building just the 2-door Mustang and a stable of trucks and SUVs. Chevrolet may soon join them, given slow Malibu sales and big plans for a future full of electric trucks and SUVs.
Aging stalwarts like the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger are almost the last American 4-door cars standing. Americans have moved their affection to SUVs. After August, Chevrolet dealers will point budget shoppers to the Trax crossover, starting at $21,400. Ford dealers will lead them to the Maverick small pickup, with its $19,995 starting price.
The Maverick, for its part, is an excellent vehicle – our Best New Model for the year.
But it’s not a tiny roller skate of a car with less than 100 horsepower and a price lower than any import. That counts as a loss in a time when the average new car sells for $47,077. Or, as we can think of it for just a little while longer, 3.46 Chevy Sparks.
