Just saying there are reasons I am not impressed.

Take care friend,

Bunter

That diesel with a 5 speed would post some pretty impressive mpg’s. Don’t let us down GM.

Does anyone at GM ever look at the competition? The Sebring has the most unattractive and awkward proportions ever. This is Sebring Jr. with a bowtie.

Of course, for 20k, we’ll get the “Cobalt” version, with the only “metal-looking” part being the pimp-tastic golden bowtie.

I drive a Civic now in my middle years because I can’t wean myself from the 32ish combined MPG that I get. So there have always been a segment of us consumers out here who value, well, value.

I’d like to the Detroit get back in the game. I may like the rice burners, but I also like to see healthy competition in the market.

Quizically,

Bunter

Also, we here at GM hear this new “Inter Net” thing is all the rage on home computers, and car phones have gotten so small you can carry them around in your pocket!

Too bad the detailing is all over the place, because its proportions aren’t bad. On the other hand, I don’t consider “longer and wider” to be positive attributes for a compact car — ditto “heavier,” which follows just as mud follows rain.

What “positive press” for the import manufacturers is that? Every time I open the local paper to the “Wheels” section, there’s a glowing article in there, fulsomely praising something from the Big 3. And, usually, it’s praise for something that gets way worse fuel economy that I would tolerate.

Nor do Toyotas and Hondas seem to automatically get 4 or 5 stars on TTAC. I think the recent Corolla review awarded 2 stars.

If you’re bent out of shape because the Prius gets a lot of attention, then I suggest you get over that. The Prius is unique. Nobody else has done a hybrid as well, as usefully or as successfully. Toyota won that round and the Prius will continue to get a lot of praise until somebody goes head to head with it and defeats it. Or at least bloodies its highly aerodynamic nose.

DetroitIronUAW:

There is some real bias, but quite frankly the best small cars are not made by the Detroit 3. I would say Toyota gets a pass too often (I drove an Echo and it was pretty terrible), but the domestic offerings are often pretty terrible (I drove a Pontiac Sunfire and it was similarly horrid). There are exceptions, like the Astra and the even the Focus (which has gotten old and been cheapened, but is still half decent), but they aren’t given serious attention by the domestics in the US market. The fact that anyone even suggests, at this time, that small cars aren’t profitable, shows that they don’t understand their business. This is the problem. Why was there a Cobalt when there is an Astra, anyway? Why doesn’t the US have the “Euro” Focus and Fiesta NOW? It suggests that perhaps small cars are not taken seriously. Honda’s small cars, on the other hand, are clearly taken seriously, which I am very sure of having driven a few.

Ford is on the right track, planning to bring over the real Focus and the new Fiesta. GM should do the same with the Cruze, if it’s serious, and have it in the US as soon as it comes out in Europe, instead of leaving us with clearly inferior, older, uncompetitive designs while Europe gets the best they can make.

“This creates an atmosphere where cars such as the Cruz would not get a fair consideration in the consumer market.”

GM created that perception all on their own. I hope that when they release the Cruze they don’t expect it to be a magic bullet that saves the company and makes everyone as rich as the trucks and SUVs that used to be their primary revenue source.

They’ll have to stick by it, fix its inevitable flaws and provide continuous improvement. There’s more than enough examples of small cars that are built and sold at a profit in the current market. GM has no excuses and they have to *earn* fair consideration.

I believe the positive press that the import manufacturers have been receiving may not be valid. Subsequently this is leading to a situation where some buyers may base their purchasing decision purely on said press and disregard the actual driving experience. This creates an atmosphere where cars such as the Cruz would not get a fair consideration in the consumer market.

Look, you’re entitled to your opinion but if you think people are buying Toyotas because the media is encouraging this or some lemming-like behavior that somehow infuses car buyers or because of some anti-American product prejudice on someone’s behalf (probably the media again), you’ve got a serious problem with denial because none of that is so.

Import buyers are not behaving like lemmings… all streaming in one direction towards a bad outcome for no obvious reason. Import buyers are like ants at a picnic… all streaming in one direction because they’ve found something good.

GM has to provide a better picnic. Or at least an equally good picnic.

I don’t see why a UAW member is complaining about customer behavior, when he could be spending his time usefully by calling for Wagoner’s termination.

You must be new here if you think all Japanese cars are universally loved at TTAC.

Indeed he is. And he has been warned about violating our posting policy. Any further remarks will earn him a permanent ban.

Make no mistake: anyone can post any opinion they like on this site. They must simply refrain from flaming the site, its author or fellow commentators.

You must be new here if you think all Japanese cars are universally loved at TTAC.

“Cruzin for a bruizin’ or ‘A new Cobalternative’ or ‘Chevy Scruze America Over’

Something!