U.S. Launch of Cruze Delayed

[Beau]

Originally Posted by Slideways

You're right, he doesn't. Nobody knows whether the Cruze will be a hit or not. To assume you know how it will sell before it's even been launched is a little ridiculous.

Wow, well we're going off of experience. Let's see.

Smaller cars usually have NEVER gone to GM. So there is history lesson #1, probably won't change now.

The actual car wise guy didn't get rave reviews as it is, this is going against current generation of vehicles elsewhere in the world.

But by saying we have no idea, makes you presumptious, by way of dismissing our [usually right] intuition based on history and fact.

Here is exactly what will happen You can literally mark this on a calander and then rub my face in it IF I'm wrong which I won't be.

The vehicle will get decent press. There will be journalist quibbles, but overall acceptance. It won't sell as well as we all had hoped and thought. It'll fade into the present, and will drum up a few staunch supporters. There will be a forum filled with broke college students. There will be hatred of the vehicles small problems, such as (insert one of 3 major problems with the 1.4). It won't have a good aftermarket support. It'll handle pretty crappy out of the gate. The gas mileage will be so so because people will be going WOT all over the place to get it to move anywhere. As soon as ANY of the other car manufacturers release a competing car against this, everyone will forget about the car, praise that car (because it would actually be better), and then GM will start slapping rebates on it. Then GMI will start going on and on about how they though the car needed this, and it should have that update. If GM listens we might get a performance option 1.8 or 2.0, but it won't be enough because the Cobalt SS would be faster so then we start to think how they should have just updated that. ANd so on and so on and so on.


SO yes, I do indeed have a decent understand of how this is gonna launch. I've been right about every other launch and vehicle ever about GM, so this won't change.

And for the record, I actually LIKE the Cruze.

[Burnout Czar]

Originally Posted by ronald mcretard

they are blaming it on "supplier issues", but i think this is really a case of someone at GM dropping the ball (likely a whole team of engineers).

the supplier is of course responsible for delivering parts, but as an engineer you have to be ALL OVER the suppliers, or they will be late and the parts will be crap. some low level GM engineer will probably become the scapegoat for this and lose his job.

I don't get it, I thought the vehicle design was finished, all that should have been required was homologation. Did someone mess up ordering tooling for the U.S.? Has Lordstown already down durability builds? When was LPB scheduled?

[CheetahDC]

I'm pretty sure the general public where I live in northeast Ohio knows what the Cruze is. It's been reported on a -lot-. We were really happy about the new car coming to Lordstown. This is not happy news for our area, and I hope it comes sooner than later.

[fp115]

Funny. People don't look beyond delays and point fingers at GM, typical.

[SierraGS]

Originally Posted by nsap

If the handling of the new Equinox is any indication, they will be keeping the Cruze fresh. Let's just say Ford isn't the only American automaker that has MCE's planned every 2-3 years.

A "freshening" would make sense before U.S. intro, I know it sounds odd to update a car that has not been sold here before, but GM has no doubt learned of some "issues" that need attention so why not fix them and make sure the Cruze is right - and there is still time to change the name to Cobalt.

[Buick61]

People, many of you are missing the point. You're making the argument that since the general car-buying public doesn't know about this car, the delay doesn't make a difference.

That's not at all the point. "What they know won't hurt them" is a dangerous way of operating, even if that was the point.

However, the point is, once gas throttled past $4.00/gallon in 2008, compact, fuel efficient cars became the SUV-craze of the late 2000s. Heck, this movement started to really gain traction after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita way back in 2005. Right around the time GM decided to put all their proverbial eggs in the GMT900 basket.

GM missed the hybrid market and is tragically overdue to be a player in the compact car market. Not having a [presumably] competitive compact car until the 2011 model year is like waiting until 1962 to put tail fins on your car.

The Cobalt should never have happened in the first place. The Cruze is the car GM should have made a splash with in 2005 to counter the Civic. But now that car is happening 5.5 years too late, 2 years after the fuel price crisis, and over a year after it was launched in other markets.

GM cannot afford to have loser vehicles in their showrooms, and the Cobalt is a loser in every way a car can be a loser. Unfortunately, the Cruze will be an aged model by the time it debuts. What would have been a smash in 2005, or a just-in-time product in 2008 runs the risk of being an also ran, just like the Cobalt was, in September 2010. I hope I'm wrong, but something tells me that the lukewarm reviews the car is getting overseas means that it won't be the white knight GM needs it to be when it finally goes on sale here. Especially not when a new Civic is due.

[jcgable]

At least now we have a board that cares enough to light a fire under the ass of someone who failed to make this happen. This is exactly the type of mistakes that got GM here in the first place, and if anything this will be a good example of the new GM proving that they are willing to hold their staff accountable. That is if Henderson does anything about it.

[Burnout Czar]

Originally Posted by fp115

Funny. People don't look beyond delays and point fingers at GM, typical.

Yup these types of things happen at companies every day, from tractors to cars and everything in between.

[2648562]

Bummer. GM needed it months, if not one or two years ago. I wonder if it has something to do with the engine plant.

[jcgable]

Originally Posted by fp115

Funny. People don't look beyond delays and point fingers at GM, typical.

No, but this is definitely a chance for GM to get tough with their suppliers. The delay is a sunk cost at this point, so using this situation as an example of how new GM intends to deal with supplier ineptitude is the best way to minimize the damage.

[jcgable]

Originally Posted by nsap

If the handling of the new Equinox is any indication, they will be keeping the Cruze fresh. Let's just say Ford isn't the only American automaker that has MCE's planned every 2-3 years.

And it's about damn time! :-) Lets hope sales and transaction prices stay sufficiently high to warrant the increased costs.

[commodore88]

I hope the delay is worth it.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by fp115

Funny. People don't look beyond delays and point fingers at GM, typical.

Right. Fingers instead should be pointed at the weather, the Japanese, the unions, the economy, the customers, and some butterfly flapping its wings somewhere.

You wouldn't have needed to tell us you have close ties to Old GM, it's easy enough to guess it...

[Burnout Czar]

Originally Posted by jcgable

No, but this is definitely a chance for GM to get tough with their suppliers. The delay is a sunk cost at this point, so using this situation as an example of how new GM intends to deal with supplier ineptitude is the best way to minimize the damage.

I'm not sure GM is in a position to be getting tough with suppliers given the whole bankruptcy issue, fences need to be mended. As Ronald McRetard said GM has some responsibility in this issue.

[Buick61]

Originally Posted by lio45

Right. Fingers instead should be pointed at the weather, the Japanese, the unions, the economy, the customers, and some butterfly flapping its wings somewhere.

You wouldn't have needed to tell us you have close ties to Old GM, it's easy enough to guess it...

Oh man, PREACH IT!