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More than any other vehicle we've seen from The General recently, the Cruze is proof positive of the company's new attentiveness to market needs, customer desires and quality construction. Do we wish GM had taken the time to put the Cruze through all of the necessary changes to bring the car to the U.S. when it debuted back in 2008? Sure, but after generations of choking down the company's interpretation of a small car, it's better late than never.
Now, make me an SS version with the same capabilities as the last-gen Cobalt SS and I'll take a serious look at it.
speaking of that I bet there are some great deals right now for cobalts and the turbo SS was pretty impressive for a something based on a FWD economy car.
The Cruze is such a good compact, anyway, with a semi-premium look and feel, that I'd rather see Buick scrub a Delta compact and let the slightly larger Regal, with its tight back seat, continue to be the "entry" Buick. If GM hadn't set forth on its long, slow decline beginning in the Roger Smith years, the Cruze exemplifies what Chevrolet would have been if GM had invested its Saturn money in its most popular division, instead. Chevy has been losing the struggle with the small car since the 1960 Corvair. Now, in GM's brave, new, government-reorganized world, a car that began development back when GM was merely losing money and not out of it, is poised to lead its renaissance. If Chevy can deliver the Cruze to customers the way it delivered the car to us, it will finally have won the struggle.
They really need a Buick version. I saw a spy shot somewhere of a Buick hatchback. The uplevel Cruzes are far too nice for a small Chevy. It's a nice car but there's no way in h-e-double hockey sticks I'd spend that much on a compact Chevy, without the heavy discounting GM is known for. MSRP starts at $17K, don't know what it has on it for that money though. If they don't discount much I think it's going to be a tough sell, considering how downright cheap Cobalts can get nowadays.
Just found this. The LTZ seems to be priced high. GM is aiming more for the Jetta/Impreza crowd at that price point, a crowd that barely even knows GM exists. The $17K LS doesn't even have automatic at that price. Also, does the turbo require premium fuel? I sure hope Hyundai keeps the prices down on the new Elantra; these prices for small cars are getting ridiculous.
Just found this. The LTZ seems to be priced high. GM is aiming more for the Jetta/Impreza crowd at that price point, a crowd that barely even knows GM exists. The $17K LS doesn't even have automatic at that price. Also, does the turbo require premium fuel? I sure hope Hyundai keeps the prices down on the new Elantra; these prices for small cars are getting ridiculous.
Interior space of the Cruze approaches 'intermediate' class. You're thinking of one-class smaller vehicles like the Fiesta, Aveo, Yaris, Fit, etc. If you want "big" and cheap, then you have the Nissan Versa, but you really get what you pay for.
Which leads to my point (and I'm not talking about you, US66)--Why do people correlate size with quality or luxury? I'd like to see more premium small cars.
I don't know that they correlate size with quality or luxury, but Americans do associate it with utility, and in the alternative we also associate price with performance. And at that price tag, we are accustomed to getting more performance or more utility. But now we want quality too. Something has to give, and I don't know if American car buyers have come to terms with that just yet.
Interior space of the Cruze approaches 'intermediate' class. You're thinking of one-class smaller vehicles like the Fiesta, Aveo, Yaris, Fit, etc. If you want "big" and cheap, then you have the Nissan Versa, but you really get what you pay for.
Which leads to my point (and I'm not talking about you, US66)--Why do people correlate size with quality or luxury? I'd like to see more premium small cars.
I'd love to see the Acura CSX brought to America. I wouldn't buy one, but I do like them. I also liked the Cimarron and Infiniti G20. I do not equate size with quality or luxury. Automotive luxury means nothing to me; I don't even want power windows. All I'm saying is that if I can buy an Impala or a Silverado Work Truck for under $20K (heavily discounted) why would I buy a Cruze for $21K? I know the Impala is a has been; it's just a lot more car for the same money. The Cobalt makes sense at $14K but a $21K...Chevrolet... in that size class? (Then again, my free association with the Chevy name brings to mind such classics as the Citation and Corsica.)
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Size<>Luxury
