US carmaker Chevrolet has announced it will be concluding a sponsorship deal with Liverpool FC early, due to the brand's impending withdrawal from Europe.
But the poor-selling Chevrolet logo on the team's shirts will be replaced by that of Vauxhall, which, like Chevy, is owned by General Motors.
As part of the original deal, Liverpool players each received a Chevrolet of their choice. These cars will now be replaced with Vauxhalls, which some commentators believe will be the rebadged Australian-built 6.2-litre V8 VXR8 GTS, a muscle saloon worth £54,500 upwards.
The deal is set to conclude after the 2015/16 season.
A similar deal was agreed with Manchester United, worth an unprecedented £338m, and lasting until 2021. The Red Devils were also offered the Chevrolets of their choice, with most opting for more practical models such as the Captiva SUV, rather than more powerful products such as the Corvette.
Pauls Scholes chose the Captiva, but his Chevrolet driving pleasure was cut short last year when a thief spotted the car in Scholes’ driveway with the engine running in order to clear a layer of frost –without the player present. The SUV’s location has proven as elusive as the top of the league table has for Manchester United.
Scholes’ luck is in, however, as Manchester United’s players are now likely to receive a Corvette each – not a car in high demand UK-side, but one that American EPL fans will appreciate is being driven by the former English champions.
With so many new cars being driven by EPL players, here at startrescue.co.uk we hope they read the respective manuals properly and preclude having to call their breakdown cover providers.
Regular-performance cars such as the Spark supermini and Trax crossover will no longer be available in Europe from 2016. The Corvette, however, will become a key focus of European operations for the world’s fourth-biggest car brand.