Gary Anglebrandt - Automotive News - October 29, 2008 - 1:54 pm ET
SEOUL -- General Motors' new global small sedan, which will be sold as the Chevrolet Cruze in the United States, went on sale here today.
In Korea, the car is called the Daewoo Lacetti. Its 1.6-liter engine produces 114 hp and is available with a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.
The Cruze was expected to replace the Chevrolet Cobalt in 2010 in North America. But sources at GM say it could be delayed until 2011 to help the company conserve cash. The car was scheduled to go on sale in March in Europe to replace the Daewoo Lacetti and Nubira.
GM has scheduled Cruze production in St. Petersburg, Russia; Lordstown, Ohio; and Gunsan, South Korea.
excellent point, I love this car! It has everything a cobalt doesn't and more. I can't wait to see what the SS version is going to be like. If gm uses the same setup in the Cruze as they did with the Cobalt SS and with this interior, I know what car i am saving up for.
And for the " it looks like a Accord" comments, I agree but i find the new accord to actually be a pretty good looking car. If the cruze has half the success the accord has had, then happier days await GM.
Thanks for the additional photos. That black one is sweet :dro: (or is it a dark burgundy). I would love to have it here sooner as well. Can't wait to see an SS Cruze. But hey, if the Cobalt is selling well and all of the mags and online reviewers keep writing such good things about it, might as well let it ride.
I may be out on a limb here, but I think the Cruze has a previous Mazda 3-eque look about it. I'm not as big on the new 3 anyway, so this is a good direction for Chevy.
This car has a very contemporary design - the first Korean car after the Genesis where you would't cringe looking at it from certain angles. Big improvement on the current Lacetti.
I see a lot of the WTCC(?) concept car from a few years back in this. This and things like the Captiva/Antara show if you give GMDAT designers the encouragement and freedom they can produce pretty cool cars.
I think this will be a big improvement on the current Lacetti/Viva. If the new motors are capable and it rides and handles decently a few Mazda and Honda execs might just feel a trickle of cold sweat....
WOW I find that amazing... the 1.6 makes 114hp and has a 6speed automatic. Doesn't the aveo's 1.6 only make like 106hp with a cheesy 4speed? I hope the 1.4turbo gets a 6speed auto.
No matter how good the Cruze (ugh) will be, and personally I think its going to be mid-pack and trail the Civic, Mazda 3, and Euro Focus, the name will kill sales.
First off, they have to get people to recognize a new name-again.
Secondly, the name is awful.
If Wagoner had a brain he would keep the name Cobalt or go with a heritage name. Of course we all know Wagoner has no brains.
I wonder if the Cruze 1.4 Turbo, getting 40-45 mpg, could be used in the Malibu? It would probably get high 30's on the highway, and meet the 35 mpg mandate.
The 1.4 Turbo may be an engine in search of a car. Or many cars.
How about a "T/A" -Turbo Aveo, a lightweight miata rival, the "S/T" a Spyder Turbo, and a tiny coupe, the MiniTurbo.
Move it upstream for a small alpha coupe called the TurboLite, the possibilities are nearly endless.
Wow, the cars in those pictures look really good. GM has a major hit on its hands, if they can ever get it out the door.
When is job 1 in the US scheduled to be?
I wonder how the car would look without that awful C pillar. Because that piece of plastic back there just looks stupid.
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