Chevrolet Cruz - Is This The Car That Can Save GM?

General Motors is a large corporate conglomerate which operates around the world. As such cars that they design should be marketable around the world. Here is a car that fits that requirement. The Chevrolet Cruze is essentially a world compact car that will replace the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5. The current Cobalt will continue to be offered, probably thru June 2010, with the 2011 Cruze built alongside it until the Cobalt is phased out.

Since the Cruze is a world car, it was engineered at GM’s Russelsheim, Germany, development center, and was designed in Korea by GM Daewoo. The Cruze will be assembled in plants in the U.S., Mexico, various parts of Europe, South Korea, and Brazil.

The interior was done by GM Daewoo in Korea and appears to be the best interior in the compact class.....and arguably makes the car. The attention to detail is what sets the Cruze apart from the competition....it has a nice mixture of textures, including inset panels in the doors and on the dash of metal mesh, as well as satin finish on the center console. The seats have the mesh look along with accented stitching. An interesting feature is a sunglass holder that is built into the headliner above the drivers door.

Production has already started with Europe, with the Cruze going on sale as a 2010 model. In the Australian market, it will be sold as as the Holden Cruze starting in June 2009.

Production in the U.S. will be delayed until the remodeling and retooling of the Lordstown, Ohio plant is completed. GM is investing $500 million to build the car at the Lordstown plant. Plant capacity at Lordstown will remain unchanged at about 330,000 units annually.

The Cruze will be powered by GM’s new family of direct injection four cylinder engines, with a displacement of 2.0 liters, and with some turbocharged. Mileage will be in the 40 plus mpg range.

The European lineup of powertrains includes 112-hp, 1.6-liter and 140-hp, 1.8-liter gasoline engines as well as a new 150-hp, 2.0-liter turbo-diesel. Five-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions will be offered.

And with North America such a major piece of GM's global business, "we have to get our U.S. business turned around for GM to succeed," CEO Fritz Henderson said in an interview.

Summary:

General Motors is starting to build some good cars! The inevitable GM bankruptcy will impact GM in the short run, but Chevrolet will remain a viable brand. Producing products like this they will eventually recover. The Chevrolet Cobalt was a good step in that direction, but did not beat the best of the competition. The Chevrolet Cruze is the next generation....and I anticipate that it will be highly competitive.