It seemed like a good idea at the time? Today on OldMotors.net (link in bio) you can read all about GM and Daewoo’s attempt to build the Opel Kadett E on the cheap in South Korea and then market it in the USA as the #PontiacLeMans from 1987 to 1993. It really was a good idea, actually - the Kadett E was a very good car designed by a team of all stars, but GM’s 14th Floor in America felt it was far too expensive to build in the USA (or Canada) or import from Germany. Instead, they found a manufacturing partner they already had - Daewoo - and launched a massive joint venture to ramp up production. It was just bad luck and a serious clash of cultures that made things go south. Work on the Kadett E began in 1980, not long after the big change from the rear-drive T-car Kadett C to the modern, front-drive, Golf-like Kadett D. New Opel style boss Gordon Brown, a detroiter, worked with the likes of Hans Seer, Hideo Kodama, and some younger minds - Chris Bangle and Gert Hildebrand among them - to create the slick Kadett E, wrapped around a modern light chassis and sporting a .32 cd. The Kadett E was a big hit and a good handler and performer. While it was coming online, Roger Smith and Daewoo chairman Kim Woo-jung were signing an agreement to build a new factory and produce a version of the E for North America and Asia. The car would be marketed as a Pontiac and get two versions - the econo 1.6 and a high-performance 2.0L GSE, mirroring the Kadett GSi and featuring a close-ratio Isuzu 5M. Various elements were lightened or cost-cut to make the car cheaper to produce, but it looked promising. Just as the factory was coming online, however, South Korea erupted in protests against the military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan, triggering massive strikes for civil liberties and better wages. Daewoo doubled salaries to put the troubles behind them, which meant further cost-cutting on the cars. But GM and Daewoo never saw eye to eye and clashed on a multitude of issues, one of which was Daewoo’s lax quality standards. The partnership dissolved in 1992. The LeMans was briefly successful but the $11K GSE, a good performer, went largely unwanted and was dropped in early 1991. (at Fresno, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CD62LynlEgU/?igshid=5zo9l99wnae0