When I bought the Woo I scanned the market for cars I can buy with the budget I have.
I found out that I could get:
1) Hyundai Excel 1.5 12 valves 77 HP full option for 42,000 LE. ($7120)
2) Daewoo Lanos 1.5 8 valves 86 HPA/C and P/S for 39,500 LE. ($ 6695)
3) Mitsubishi Lancer 1.3 12 valves 82 HP A/C and P/S for 46,000 LE. ($7795)
P.S: the Lancer was that much expensive because it was not locally manufactured
Anyways I ruled out the Lancer because its price and Japanese spare parts here are too damn expensive too plus it has got the smaller engine... OK it has more top speed and the same 0-100Kms as the Woo but that is because it is 100Kgs lighter than the Woo... when passengers are in the equation the Woo will kick ass and it did.
the Hyundai was ruled out due to road stability issues... those cars bounce too much on the road as if they got no suspension whatsoever, also the Woo got more power and it was a head turner as there was not much Woos on our streets at that time so I kissed the power windows and central lock good bye.
Also the Woo got the reputation of being based on the Opel cars and those are pretty reliable here and known for being strongly built cars. the warranty was the best... 2 years or 40,000 Kms and in Egypt that is way too much... we got streets that can crack a Hummer in half and all other cars came with a 1 year and 20,000 Kms warranty... hell they even extended it to 3 years and 60,000 Kms recently.
The Woo made a big bang in here that the assembly factory had to work for 3 shifts per day yet the waiting list for the Lanos was 4 months.... I even didn't get the color that my dad wanted, actually that was a good thing as I wanted the maroon but he wanted a dark green color but at the time of delivery there was only maroon and golden Woos.
The Woo looked so pretty and rare, the country was already flooded by Lancers and Excels... seeing a Woo was really hard that I needed 3 days to show one of my friends a Lanos just like the one I am going to get.
now the Lanoses are even more that the Lancers and Excels... they are every where you go and still the waiting list for new ones is some 2 months and its price is 60,000 LE ($ 10,170)... I can sell mine for more that what I bought her for after 6 years
I now try to think if the new Chevrolet new cars will be a success here

the Daewoo is still a big reliable name here but Chevrolet is only known as a big light truck manufacturer... still I can't forecast the market's reaction but I know this: if those cars came out as Daewoos here they would have been sold in a blink of an eye, people will even kill each other to get one... they almost do to get a relatively old Lanos right now.
people around here doesn't take risks with cars... they only buy reliable cars because they cant afford to buy another one if it turns out to be a POS. the Daewoo proved through the past 6 years that it is reliable indeed so why waste that edge?? Also I am sure the Chevy here will be sold much expensive that it would have as a Daewoo... that category of potential buyers won't buy the Chevy and they will spend their money elsewhere.
I know this is world wide thing with the Daewoo name disappearing but in here it will live very long due to the nature of our market... I just wish that GM reconsider this decision in this particular market and I am sure it will be a win/win situation for them and us.
P.S: when the news came out that Daewoo went bankrupt; the Daewoos price fell everywhere except here... it actually went up as people thought "their won't be anymore new Daewoos" and they wanted to get them all before it is too late... Daewoo's name will never die in Egypt.
MMamdouh