QUOTE (Left Lane News)
After numerous spy shots and the leaking of a pair of official photos, Chevrolet has released official photography of its upcoming 2010 Cruze well ahead of its Paris Motor Show release. The Cruze, which will replace the compact Cobalt, is expected to be sold world-wide.
As expected, the Cruze takes styling cues from the new Malibu, and promises to be a much sharper car than the current Cobalt. Chief designer Taewan Kim says that the new Cruze’s design is meant to be “bold, not evolutionary. We wanted to take a big step forward, making a strong design statement for Chevrolet products around the world.”
The car will hit the European market in March of 2009, with U.S. production at the Lordstown, Ohio, plant where the Cobalt is currently made beginning in June 2010. Although the Cruze will replace the Cobalt, GM will likely produce both vehicles for a short time together.
At its European launch, the Cruze will offer a 16-valve, 1.6-liter four-cylinder with 112 horsepower and a 140 horse 1.8 liter. Both gasoline engines will feature variable valve timing on both the inlet and exhaust sides. Also available for Europe, though not expected in the United States, is a 2.0 liter turbo diesel putting out 150 horsepower and 320 Nm of torque (official lb-ft. figures weren’t released, but we’d expect approximately 235 lb-ft). Transmission choices will include a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic.
Based on what was once called the Delta 2 platform, the all-new Cruze will ride on GM’s Global Compact Vehicle Architecture. The primary engineering and development will come from GMDAT — General Motor’s Korean partner (although there has been strong input from the North American and European planning groups).
Codenamed GMX071, the Cruze shares many components as well as styling features with the next Daewoo Lacetti, including a large portion of sheetmetal.
Obviously Chevrolet’s Cruze and the Daewoo Lacetti will not be completely identical, as each will have different styling cues on the front and rear clips, headlamps and taillights.
Chevrolet will also offer another version for markets outside of the United States, known as the Optra. In addition to these, there will likely be up to 15 different cars for GM’s global markets based on this new “Global Delta” architecture.
As expected, the Cruze takes styling cues from the new Malibu, and promises to be a much sharper car than the current Cobalt. Chief designer Taewan Kim says that the new Cruze’s design is meant to be “bold, not evolutionary. We wanted to take a big step forward, making a strong design statement for Chevrolet products around the world.”
The car will hit the European market in March of 2009, with U.S. production at the Lordstown, Ohio, plant where the Cobalt is currently made beginning in June 2010. Although the Cruze will replace the Cobalt, GM will likely produce both vehicles for a short time together.
At its European launch, the Cruze will offer a 16-valve, 1.6-liter four-cylinder with 112 horsepower and a 140 horse 1.8 liter. Both gasoline engines will feature variable valve timing on both the inlet and exhaust sides. Also available for Europe, though not expected in the United States, is a 2.0 liter turbo diesel putting out 150 horsepower and 320 Nm of torque (official lb-ft. figures weren’t released, but we’d expect approximately 235 lb-ft). Transmission choices will include a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic.
Based on what was once called the Delta 2 platform, the all-new Cruze will ride on GM’s Global Compact Vehicle Architecture. The primary engineering and development will come from GMDAT — General Motor’s Korean partner (although there has been strong input from the North American and European planning groups).
Codenamed GMX071, the Cruze shares many components as well as styling features with the next Daewoo Lacetti, including a large portion of sheetmetal.
Obviously Chevrolet’s Cruze and the Daewoo Lacetti will not be completely identical, as each will have different styling cues on the front and rear clips, headlamps and taillights.
Chevrolet will also offer another version for markets outside of the United States, known as the Optra. In addition to these, there will likely be up to 15 different cars for GM’s global markets based on this new “Global Delta” architecture.
I still don't see the logical reasoning behind replacing the Cobalt for this. Not saying it's a terribly unattractive car, but consistancy is what you need in a market like this.
