Thoze of you who were wondering why Chevy would build both the Cobalt AND the new Cruze have stopped wondering by now. Last Thursday, Business Week speculated about cash conflagration-caused cuts to GM product development, including the possibile delay of the new new new Malibu and, perhaps, GM’s Next Small Thing, the Chevy Cruze. The typographically-challenged eGMCarTech.com now reports the Cruze delay as a done deal. I mean, a not done deal. “As times get worse, GM is doing all it can from laying off salaried workers, selling brands and closing plants. Latest reports from sources say that the much anticipated 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, which was supposed to be GM’s major opportunity to lure in fuel-efficient conscious customers, will be delayed almost a year. The 2011 Chevrolet Cruze was originally set to arrive in April of 2010 as a replacement to the Cobalt. Sources now say it has been pushed back to 2011.” What about that $500m investment in Lordstown for Cruze engine production? That’s SO two months ago. Hmmm. For a business operating on five-year product cycles, how bad must thingz be for the General to make such a quick– and public– about-face? Very bad indeed.
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Maybe the money is just an excuse. Perhaps the car is late for other reasons and, rather than admit, say, incompetence, GM is blaming finances.
Well this sets up something monumental. Many GM fanboys keeps saying that Cruze is amazing because it will get 40MPG on highway, which is better than competition. What they do not say is that they are comparing cars that have been developed 3 years ago to a car that is not even available for sale. But now that Cruze is delayed and it will come out in 2011 is should come out within months of new Honda Civic. Two cars in the same segment going head to head against each other, because they are coming out at the same time, this will show us if GM can make competitive vehicles and we will be able compare and contrast Cruze with the BEST car in its segment. GM has already stated that Cruze will be priced about 2K above the Civic and Corolla but it will have more features(Just like Astra, and we all know how that turned out) So if GM is still alive in 2011 ( and they will be because of all those welfare checks) we will witness a very very interesting battle. I predict Civic will win in every category, MPG, Fun to drive, looks, interior quality and more.
I think I’m going to have to give up on my hybrid Chevy Colorado…
:(
Hybrid Toyota Tacoma? Please, Toyota? Not just an A-BAT, but a hybrid Tacoma with a real body-on-frame setup?
KixStart
I am sure finances are a major part of the delay, however considering GM’s other miserable small car offerings I wouldn’t be surprised if they are taking the time to make it somewhat competitive.
Well, there’s probably a few issues here:
1. GM still doesn’t like to make pedantic small cars. They never have and I rather doubt they ever will. I suspect the Cruze, even now, is having trouble getting internal support.
2. They really are buggered for cash.
3. Lutz syndrome. They’ve promised something (fuel economy) that they can’t really deliver, and they’re pushing it back a few months in hopes they can do so. #1 above makes this very difficult.
The kicker is that GM already has a good small car platform (the Delta) that suffers from decontenting (Cobalt) or a fumbled North American implementation (Astra). A tweaked Astra with decent market support and a without the worst-of-both-worlds powertrain would do well. But rather than fix the Astra Disastra, they’re doing the usual start-from-scratch, which is going to cost them more and result in the existing Cobalt and Astra’s languishing with no marketing support or engineering improvements for three years.
The Cruz is another cruddy Daewoo design like the Aveo and Saturn Vue. It’s also very uninspired looking like pretty much every GM effort has ever been in this class.
I doubt that anyone aside from fanboys really wanted it in the first place or that it would have done anything to change GM’s fortunes in the small car market.
The Cruz is another cruddy Daewoo design like the Aveo and Saturn Vue.
I think that’s a little harsh. Daewoo may be an absolutely terrible automaker but every dog has its day, and we didn’t get a chance to see either Daewoo or GM at their best because they GM was too busy building Silverados and Daewoo was too busy being cheap to make a good small car. They might have been able to make something better with changing times and a better mindset, had it not been for all their stupidity in the past. But as usual, they’re a day late and a dollar or several billion dollars short.
On the other hand:
It’s also very uninspired looking like pretty much every GM effort has ever been in this class. I doubt that anyone aside from fanboys really wanted it in the first place or that it would have done anything to change GM’s fortunes in the small car market.
Exactly. Autoblog fanboys aside, I think just about every sane person knew that Toyota and Honda buyers are not going to risk GM to buy an unproven small car when they have car lots full of Civics and Corollas to choose from.
It would require staggering amounts of people to jump ship from Toyota and Honda for GM to even turn a profit on one of these. And that probably still wouldn’t even factor in healthcare costs and the cost of the rest of the GM mothership.
And yes, the car lacks anything really new in the styling department. Considering that style is the only thing GM/Ford/Chrysler really have to offer to the import buyers right now that’s a huge problem.
Well, thankz for uzing an image with a German number plate anyway.
Will thiz lure me into buying a GM product (Opel)?
Eh no… don´t think so. Will stick with the uzual VW.
German Guy
P.S. Can you pleaze conzider buying one of our Mercz?
So because you’re running low on cash, you’ll sell the Cobalt another year?
You’ll run even more low on cash when 2,500 Cobalts are on every dealer’s lot unsold. Just stop making it!
The Cruze would be a competitive small car as a 2009 model. By 2011 there will be a new Civic, Mazda3 and probably Corolla. The Cruze will look dated right out of the gate and be doomed to be another GM fleet stuffer. Why can’t GM ever seem to get beyond playing catch-up?
Dont believe it!
We WILL see the Cruz!
Just be a little patient and try to understand that probably 25% of these “unnamed sources” are a friend of a friend of a friend that is a file clerk at a supplier that supplies copy machine paper to a supplier of a supplier of G.M.!
Freedom of the press means JUST THAT!