By Robert Farago
August 21, 2008
Not to belabor the point (much), but the Chevrolet Cruze is GM's next next big thing. As such, the future Chevy needs a steady stream of spin touting it as such. And so why-the-Hell-isn't-he-embattled GM CEO Rick Wagoner cruises over to Lordstown, Ohio to announce his company's intentions to someday rule the world. I mean, design, build and sell a competitive, profitable small car for the North American market. Automotive News [sub] reports that Rick promised Lordstown $500m to facilitate Cruze control. That ain't much in the new car development scheme of things. And once again, The General's spinmeisters are using every possible opportunity to amp-up the rhetoric re: GM's impact on the U.S. economy. "The investment in Lordstown is one of several that have been announced at U.S. plants in the past five years, adding up to over $2 billion total investment in Ohio and more than $20 billion in the United States." Federal loan guarantee much?
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August 21st, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Robert-
The $500 million has nothing to do with actual car development. The money is only being used to re-tool the factory (around $350 million), advertising, and other expenses. Since this is essentially a world car whose platform will underpin at least half a dozen vehicles, the real development costs are probably closer to four times that amount.
August 21st, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Gotta love that smile and thumbs up. Whats he thinking? “Soon as this thing bombs in the market our golden parachutes will be just about to open!”
August 21st, 2008 at 6:32 pm
The Cruze will hit the market just in time to compete with the new for 2011 Civic and Focus. Good luck with that.
August 21st, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Cruze is to be introduced at the Paris show, in early October. (Why will it be shown to a primarily European audience?)
TTAC will be there, and will report.
August 21st, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I just don’t get spelling words wrong… i mean look back on this car in 40 years… i know it only matters what you sell today.. but really… its a horrible name and one of the only times i’d rather see an alpha number combo…
August 21st, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Is this car different from the Saturn/Opel Astra?
August 21st, 2008 at 7:05 pm
The current Cobalt/G5 and the Astra are on similar but not interchangeable chassis. The next gen Cruze/Astra/etc.. will share the same chassis.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Martin, is the Cruze going to be the big launch, or will the hometown heroes at Purgeot, Citroen and/or Renault have something, too?
August 21st, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Isn’t Lordstown GM’s most militant plant? Isn’t its labor force one of the most expensive? Doesn’t it have the lowest quality and productivity ratings?
Why not Ramos, or even Shreveport or Doraville? Why not keep the high margin stuff close to home?
August 21st, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Didn’t Wagoner say something about designing the Cruze to “compete with future Civics and Corollas instead of the present offerings”?
Heh…this I gotta see.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Its good to see GM putting some money into the marketing of this vehicle. Since that is what was hurting GM for not doing with other models. But starting in Europe isnt a bad move either, since their compact market is far more aggressive than here in the states.
So, if the Cruze shows and does well in Europe first, then it would have less trouble in the global market a year later after its Euro release.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:39 am
As the Wall Street Journal points out,
“The auto maker believes growing demand for nicer, well-equipped small cars coupled with a dramatic redesign for the Cruze will be enough to command sticker prices well beyond the $15,000 base price of a compact Chevrolet Cobalt.”
–They might sell a few thousand to the hyped fools but the general public knows better. Look at the hybrid Saturns Auras and Malibus sales, pancakes, freaking pancakes.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:14 am
ferrarimanf355: Paris is big, big, big. Cruze is but one premiere. TTAC will inform about expected news from Paris in mid-September.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:49 am
I think Ford is launching the new Fiesta and maybe Ka in Paris, and probably VW, Peugeot etc will also have something to show. Not sure if Opel/Astra have anything significant this year – that’s probably why they’re putting the Cruse in, plus it generates some publicity for Chevrolet in Europe.
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:25 am
I’m sure if I’m ever offered one of these at a rental counter, whether in North America or Europe, my only response will be “What else is available?”
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:09 am
Just to keep things in perspective…
GM developed the entire Solstice program on $250 Million.
The Cruze is scheduled to sell in the U.S. in 2011
This is the part that kills me. Again, GM is touting its “next big thing” LONG before its available for sale. The Cruze is getting marketed as if we were able to pick it up by the end of the year.
By 2011 the new Civic, Mazda3, Corrolla, and Focus will all be on the market. Without having the stigma of being “old news”.
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:42 am
Ahh make Money on small Vehicles eh! It will never happen really, today’s Civic and Corolla and other sub compact vehicles have the quality and the Sales to keep GM in the poor house for a long time and as other have said, why Lordstown!
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:58 am
Somebody PLEASE dig up the press releases from before the Cobalt launch – I’m sure much of the PR will be cut and pasted from the Last Next Big Thing in Small Cars. (Or was that the Ion?)
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:21 am
It may be Cruze-al for GM, but some are already giving it the Cruze-fiction treatment. (Sorry). Headline in today’s “Autobild” (Germany’s largest car mag): “Chevrolet Cruze: A Korea-Golf for a killer price”.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:23 am
It won’t get here until 2011? Nah, no need to hurry.
There’ll be pie in the sky, by and by.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:46 am
GM has $500 mil? Who knew?
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:08 am
I was watching the Olympics last night when I saw a commercial for that new Christian Slater show “My own worst enemy”. It actually had a Chevy commercial WITHIN THE TV SHOW commercial(TV Barn). They flash to split screen with two Christian Slaters and the two names under each, then it flashes “CHEVY” on the screen and then a split screen of a Traverse and Camaro with the names under each (Traverse for normal persona, Camaro for the secret agent persona). I laughed out loud at the add and my wife didn’t get what was so funny about it. They are advertising two cars that you cant buy yet?
From the article I linked to:
“Speaking for my gender, I’m insulted. It’s like carmakers are trying to fool the guys — for whom this show is obviously intended — into thinking that their product is just like a human. C’mon, give us some credit! I know good and well that one of the co-stars is an inanimate object … and that the other one is a Chevy.”
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Somebody tell the folks at GM marketing they are working off the wrong calendar. It is not 2011 yet. It’s tough being in GM marketing. People know your current stuff sucks so you can’t say it doesn’t, so you spin the new stuff that people have no experience with.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:31 am
In fairness to GM (I can’t believe I just wrote that), they are facing the same problem that VW and now Ford are facing, as they introduce European models a year or two before the essentially identical products make their US debut. You can’t pretend the Euro models don’t exist, but if you hype them too much in the US you make them sound old by the time they appear here–and you make your current lineup sound positively obsolete.
That said, the PR folks at GM seem to be running out of control. That might be good for reassuring the stockholders and for making the case for possible gov’t loans, but it’s a terrible way to sell cars. I can’t imagine why anyone would buy a Cobalt now, and yet I also can’t imagine that anyone shopping for a compact car in 2011 will recall the hype machine that was running in 2008.