GM's next small car will be called the Chevrolet Cruze. The automaker says the little car will deliver between 120 and 140 horsepower, while achieving better than 40mpg. Ohio's Youngstown Vindicator reports, "Production of the Cruze is scheduled to begin mid-2010 for the 2011 model year, and it will go on sale at dealerships late summer or early fall 2010."
The vehicle will be shown to the press for the first time at the Paris Motor Show in October, but we think we've seen it before. The automotive press has been publishing spy shots of a small "mystery car," in development at GM facilities for several months, and GM sources have said that the car in the photos would replace the Cobalt in Chevy's lineup and be built for the U.S. market in Lordstown, Ohio. The Vindicator notes, "There was no immediate confirmation that this is the so-called “mystery car” that will replace the Cobalt at the Lordstown GM facility, it appears to have many of the same characteristics."
Edmunds Inside Line adds, "In Europe, the Cruze will be offered with a choice of four-cylinder gas and diesel engines. For the U.S. market, GM intends to fit a turbocharged 1.4-liter direct-injection gasoline engine that will deliver up to 40 mpg in highway driving."
Kicking Tires notes, "The five-passenger car will be roughly the same size as Chevy’s Cobalt sedan and will be sold in European markets staring in the spring of 2009."
The Cruze is a vitally important product for struggling GM. While the high-tech, 100 mpg Chevy Volt project grabs headlines, it isn't clear that the Volt is truly production ready, and its price may ultimately put it out of reach of many Americans. Affordable small cars, however, are not. Two months ago, the best-selling car in America was the Honda Civic. Last month, it was the Toyota Corolla. If the Cruze can genuinely compete with those vehicles on quality while offering higher mpg, it could be GM's best-seller in a hurry, at a time when the General needs a win badly.
In keeping with GM's usual practice, we expect the Cobalt to be phased out gradually, with less-expensive, lower-trim versions of the Cobalt sold alongside the new Cruze in Chevy dealerships for up to a year.
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