A GM spokesman says timing for the new small car is "still mid-2010" as originally announced.
Business Week magazine and an industry analyst reported yesterday that the launch of the Cruze was likely to be delayed six months or longer, as the automaker struggles to conserve cash during the economic downturn.
From Nsap: GMI has independently confirmed with our sources that at this time there is no additional delay on the Chevrolet Cruze timing for launch in North America. We're told that if in fact a delay does have to take place (which is a last-resort), it will only be a few months to "Fall 2010" launch. But at this time NO delay exists.
A GM spokesman says timing for the new small car is "still mid-2010" as originally announced.
Business Week magazine and an industry analyst reported yesterday that the launch of the Cruze was likely to be delayed six months or longer, as the automaker struggles to conserve cash during the economic downturn.
I have confirmed through my sources that the Cruze has not been delayed. It is still on as planned. I think Business Week got things screwed up with the fact that it is launching globally sooner than in the US, but that was the plan from day one.
I have confirmed through my sources that the Cruze has not been delayed. It is still on as planned. I think Business Week got things screwed up with the fact that it is launching globally sooner than in the US, but that was the plan from day one.
I find journalism today pathetic. No checking of sources. Just put out something that seems to work with the popular headlines, like "GM going bankrupt", "ZR1 Delayed due to money woes at GM", "Cruze delayed", ...
Sigh.
My only gripe is that the Cruze won't be here in NA next year, which would be a good time for it to arrive in NA.
i think the idea behind us getting the cruze after europe is to let them build it, see what mods need to be done, and what errors there are with production, so when we start it over here, there is little to no major errors affecting production.
No, the reason it is coming out first in Europe is because they are already willing to pay a lot for a small car. You won't see that happen here until the 2010 CAFE regs kick in, when all car prices go up.
This is the same reason why Ford doesn't have their Euro Focus here yet either...
Journalists are ridiculous these days. GM would do everything it could to keep the Cruze and the Volt on track. Both are going to be great cars for GM. This kind of reporting reminds me of the GM/Chrysler merger, we only know half the story... maybe that and they keep reporting on things that contradict each other too.
This was supposed to be a 2010 vehicle! It was never this and GM spun this yarn so that it would appear to happen sooner rather than later. They lied. The vehicle will be a 2011 model and this just shows you how utterly incompetent GM is at launching important vehicles.
Whether this is delayed 1, 2, 3, or 6 months, this never was a 2010 model vehicle and GM's management lied!
GM is waiting to launch the Cruise because they want to wait until the price of gas has come back down to $1.50 per gallon so nobody will want to buy a small car. Perfect time to launch a small car. I can't wait until these new CAFE regs kick in and the only car available to the public are a bunch of roller skates with 65hp. Only then will they raise hell, and have to wait forever before we get real cars again.
Gas here in Dallas is $2.27 per gallon today. Time to buy a G8 GXP!
We all would like the Cruze (and Volt, of course) to be here tomorrow. Between them, they will have a great impact on the media and public perception of GM, just as the new Fiesta and upcoming C2 Focus will for Ford.
But . . . . just how much more money will GM make on a Cruze than it does a Cobalt? A little more per unit, perhaps, but I, for one, don't see it as a panacea.
Keep in mind the Euro Cruze will launch with the 1.8 L Ecotec currently found in the Astra. I would rather wait and have them launch the Cruze here with the new 1.4 L once it is available than for it to launch in less than perfect form a year earlier.
There are plenty of reasons why the Cruze is being sold first in Europe.
One, the Cobalt is selling well here in the US, and the factory is working hard to make them.
Two, the engine plant isnt ready for the 1.4T motor
Three, Chevy is moving very fast over in Europe, so it needs the cars NOW where in US NA cant wait a year. GM needs to keep feeding the fire in Europe, and with proven powertrains going inside, they should be moving off lots quickly...hopefully.
Half the reason why GM is doing so well is because they actually get decent product there in a timely fashion. If GMNA managed their product lines half as well as their European (and Chinese, and Middle Eastern, and Australian) counterparts, then they'd still be dominant in the market.
Instead, the other markets get product first, and then after they've had time to be "proven" (IE 2 or 3 years to get stale compared to Toyota or Honda) they get put out on the NA market, often with little or no concessions made to the NA market.
And then they wonder why stuff like the Astra (with no sedan availible, even though they took the trouble to design and sell one in Latin America, guess Latin America is a more important market now than NA) doesn't sell well. Huh, a 3 year old small car without an availible sedan, replacing a sedan, even though GM is ALREADY PRODUCING sedan Astras, doesn't do well?
People are impressed here by the quality of the Malibu, but Europe had essentially the same car in 2003. Now Europe has the Insignia on the Epsilon 2 and we'll have an Ep2 car in what, 2010 at the earliest for Buick only? And probably 2 or 3 years after that for a Chevy and Saturn version?
The Holden Commodore came out in 2006. Within a year Buick of China had a modified version as a park avenue, and Chevrolet had one out in the Middle East as a lumina . One year after that, North America finally gets the G8 in the middle of a gas crash. Meanwhile Buick and Chevrolet in North America still have large sedans that date back to the 90s.
Oh not to mention all the GMT-900s. It's almost like GM gave NA all the cars that sell more like SUVs and trucks, sports cars, and even now are switching to giving us midsize and small cars first as demand increases. It's almost like GM gave Europe cars that sold better like compact cars because gas has been costing around $5-8 a gallon for a while. It's almost like GM knows what it's doing since very few people saw the gas or economic crisis coming in 2008.
I sure hope that there is no delay. Left Lane News seems to think there is going to be a delay. This car can't get here soon enough for GM. It should be a priority. Some of the other stuff should get shelved or delayed instead.
Nick
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