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" Athens, Greece\u2014, launched at the , isn&amp;#039;t going to have it all its own way when the Spark debuts in 2011.   Designed and engineered at GM DAT (GM Daewoo Auto Technology Company) in Korea, the Spark is a global car intended to attract a wide range of customers. Says Jim Trucksis, GM DAT&amp;#039;s director program management global minicar, &amp;quot;We wanted a car that could be a Chevrolet around the world and draw people from the `B&amp;#039; segment down with its own identity. In India, for example, it&amp;#039;s a family car with its five doors. But from a side view it looks like a coupe for a youthful appeal in developed markets. We feel that in some markets if you go smaller than this, it&amp;#039;s too small. In the U.S.A., with their aversion to small cars, this has been an issue together with safety, so we believe you can&amp;#039;t go smaller than this.&amp;quot;   At 143 in. from bumper to bumper the Spark is, surprisingly given Trucksis&amp;#039; claim, a full 12 in. shorter than its rival and, at a fraction under 63 in. wide, 5 in. narrower. This is immediately noticeable once you&amp;#039;re in the car: I drove it through Athens&amp;#039; crowded streets with another 6-ft.-plus journalist and our elbows got quite intimate at times. Despite that the Spark has a supple ride and well-balanced, informative steering and a slick manual gearbox. But don&amp;#039;t worry; U.S.-bound models will come with an automatic.   There are two engines currently available: a 1.0-liter delivering 67 bhp and 68 lb.-ft. of torque and a 1.2-liter that creates an additional 13 bhp and a like amount of additional torque. When it comes to driving, it&amp;#039;s a case of &amp;quot;less is more.&amp;quot; The smaller engine is by far the sweeter of the two and is more willing to rev, yet it runs out of puff pretty quickly, especially on gradients. The 1.2 doesn&amp;#039;t offer that much more\u2014apart from a rather raucous engine note that can be intrusive at times.   It was too early for the Chevrolet suits to even intimate a sticker price, but going by the interior trim which struck me as being a little low rent, it should be nicely affordable. It remains to be seen whether its price, combined with 46 (U.S.) mpg on the European drive cycle, will be enough to tempt those who want to move out of a clunker, or those who don&amp;#039;t really want a car but need to have one.   Cars to Compare:          "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives/reviews/a15310/2011-chevrolet-spark/>