Meet the first car to be launched in the UK, and indeed in most of western Europe, with the Chevrolet badge - other than the Corvette which, for the purposes of this exercise, is not a Chevrolet.
You've probably guessed that it's a Daewoo. But Daewoo officially no longer exists; a brand with negative connotations has been replaced by a brand steeped in Americana and the image of the '57 Chevy Bel Air.
But why has General Motors done this?
Because it could and because buyers' brand perceptions tend to be less finely focused at this end of the market.
To own a Chevy is, on the whole, a cool thing. To own a Daewoo emphatically was not. There will be resistance to the strange concept of a Chevrolet supermini for a while, but we'll get over it.
The idea is to sell Euro-sized Chevrolets as a value brand, just as US-sized (that is, much larger) Chevrolets are sold in the US as a value brand.
GM is keen to point out that one car in every 16 worldwide is a Chevrolet and that the brand (for it is clearly no longer a make) is sold in 90 countries.
Even the Opel Corsa is a Chevrolet in Latin America.
So Daewoo dealers have become Chevrolet dealers and the three-year warranty and free servicing package continues. All the current Daewoo range now wears a Chevrolet badge and some have had cosmetic adjustments to their faces to suit.
Daewoo isn't dead, though; it continues in its native Korea and Vietnam, as well as some central European countries where you can still buy the old, pre-GM-ownership Daewoos made in factories not adopted by GM after the great Daewoo bankruptcy.
New cars are coming - the S3X compact 4x4 soon, a new Matiz baby car sooner - and there will be diesels built in conjunction with Italian engine-maker VM Motori. The Chevrolet-badged diesel car will become a reality.
GM's new entry-level brand gives Opel a chance to edge upmarket like Volkswagen, because there's now something more blue-collar - like the car you see here.
It's a three-door version of the car we've already seen in five-door form as the Daewoo Kalos. It's the best-selling supermini in the US - where they call it the Chevrolet Aveo - and the three-door version is a little cheaper and a little sportier.
It may sell especially well in Spain, given that country's gossip magazine's current obsession with "Carlos y Camilla", but don't expect that to be the basis of an ad campaign.
Three-door
Other than ageing but still cute Ford Ka, it's the only entry-level supermini with three doors, even though that was once the norm for the sector - that in itself could boost its appeal.
There are two three-door Kaloses (Kalossi?), the cheaper one costing £6995, (about R78 000 at 11/03/05) for which you get power windows and power steering; the pricier one at £8 395 (R94 000) adds air-conditioning, alloy wheels and a 1.4-litre engine instead of a 1.2.
That's 1.2 as in the old Triumph Herald 1200, which should really have been a Triumph 1100 by virtue of its 1147cc capacity. This bending of the truth troubled me as a child and the 1148cc Kalos is only slightly less naughty. But I'll live with it.
The cheapest five-door Kalos is £7895 (R88 000), incidentally, for which you get chilled, dried air to go with your extra doors.
Sporty seats
The Kalos feels cheap inside, of course, but its hard surfaces are solidly made and there are no rattles. The seats have a kind of sporty shape with their side bolsters and the fascia looks modern and carefree with its two dial pods under a curving hood and its prominent round, centre vents.
There's plenty of room for four, especially overhead, and the boot is more generous than the stubby tail might suggest. But you may hunt for a while before finding the offset release button in the tailgate.
The steering wheel is adjustable for rake, the rear seats have three three-point belts and a CD player is standard, although it looks like an aftermarket unit fitted by the dealer.
So the Kalos is habitable and looks smart enough outside with its rising waistline and deep front bumper - the styling was directed by Giugiaro's Ital Design, incidentally.
Unexciting driving
But there remains the matter of driving the Chevy, whether to the levée or anywhere else (probably no car brand has featured in more songs, although the Kalos is probably not what the writers had in mind).
The Kalos won't blow you away with punchy pace and keen responses; buy a Ford Ka or a Fiat Panda for that. Its steering is light and easy but there's little real sportiness.
Vigorous cornering brings on a fuzziness in directional control, which means, simply, that it's time to ease off.
You won't be going very fast anyway; the two engines' outputs sound quite promising at 54kW for the 1.2 and 70kW for the 1.4 with its 16 valves, but neither sparkles when hills or overtaking opportunities arrive.
That said, they're quiet enough, and comfortable enough over bumps to give a civilised drive. These are properly engineered, mature cars showing once again that Korea is becoming a proper car-making country.
But the little Picanto from compatriot Kia shows better what Korea can do. - The Independent, London
- The Kalos is sold in South Africa as the Chevrolet Aveo.