Rename the CRUZE

[dwightlooi]

The Cruze is a nice enough car. Unlike some others I think the styling is nice and clean for the most parts and the interior is a huge leap forward for Chevy. I have some reservations about a 1.4T being more economical than a 1.8 DI, but at least it serves to differentiate the car from the flock.

However, there is nothing to like about the lame name that sounds like "Curse" or (Tom) "Cruise". So, I am proposing that we come up with some alternative names for this bread and butter Chevy of the future.

I propose that Chevy name all their mainstream vehicles after places or cities. There is already some sort of a tradition in that direction -- Malibu, Tahoe, Colorado, etc. Naming vehicles after American cities makes them sound American and this is also an unpretentious, unsnobbish way of naming products.

For a compact car designed for fuel economy and with a focus on urban driving in mind, why not Chevy Manhattan?

[Robert Hall]

I think Nova would have been a good name... like Malibu and Impala, it's a long time Chevy name with a good image overall...

[Blake Noble]

I think Nova would have been a good name...

+1

*Waits for some uneducated individual to post their "nova means 'no go' in Spanish" rebuttal.*

[PurdueGuy]

I'm already seeing Cruze misspelled a lot by regular people... "Cruize, Cruse" etc. That's the problem with taking a real word, and purposely misspelling it to try to make it cool. It's not cool, it's misspelled. It's not really a big deal, but they could certainly pick a better name.

Nova seems good. If not for the overlap with the Cobalt, and an apparently higher price, I'd say they should stick with that name. I'll have to think of more...

[loki]

how about the Chevy Con, lol KAHN!!!! then hopefully in reviews after Pros, next to Cons: the name, the price. that's it.

[Robert Hall]

I'm already seeing Cruze misspelled a lot by regular people... "Cruize, Cruse" etc. That's the problem with taking a real word, and purposely misspelling it to try to make it cool. It's not cool, it's misspelled. It's not really a big deal, but they could certainly pick a better name.

Nova seems good. If not for the overlap with the Cobalt, and an apparently higher price, I'd say they should stick with that name. I'll have to think of more...

I would assume the Cruze won't overlap w/ the Cobalt, won't it replace the Cobalt for NA?

[Satty]

Corvair

*runs and hides*

[smk4565]

Nova doesn't work in Spanish speaking countries, GM went down that road before. They should just call it Cobalt, so they aren't changing names with every new model launch. Civic and Corolla have been around 35 years or so, people know what they are. Chevy's small car in 2030 should still be Cobalt.

[Robert Hall]

Nova doesn't work in Spanish speaking countries, GM went down that road before. They should just call it Cobalt, so they aren't changing names with every new model launch. Civic and Corolla have been around 35 years or so, people know what they are. Chevy's small car in 2030 should still be Cobalt.

Cobalt would be consistent with Civic and Corolla--- C-segment cars with C-names (not that there is any significance to that factoid). As far as 'Nova' not working in Spanish speaking countries, that is an urban legend, not fact.

[Sixty8panther]

Corvair is just not appropriate.

The Cruze is not rear engined, not air-cooled, does not have a

semi-exotic and super-efficiently packaged flat-six and is not

even RWD, Nova would not be a bad choice I guess.

Manhattan: too upscale & reminds of alcohol.

SMK has an excellent point. I've said the same for years.

[PurdueGuy]

Manhattan: too upscale & reminds of alcohol.

That's funny - it made me think of food. (Turkey Manhattan)

[Satty]

Manhattan makes me think either "cocktail" or "nuclear weapon" while Cobalt makes me think of the big box of Crayola crayons.

[PurdueGuy]

Manhattan makes me think either "cocktail" or "nuclear weapon" while Cobalt makes me think of the big box of Crayola crayons.

Oooh, there's a good point - it'd be fun to modify a car called the Manhattan & get to call it the "Manhattan Project". I could forsee that being overdone to the point of being sickening, though, and a buncha people running around with radiation symbols on their cars (and almost as many mis-labelling theirs with biohazard labels. lol)

[Satty]

Didn't Scion offer a Bio-Hazard applique on the xB? I know they had the big fingerprint, which just seemed weird because the supposed goal for Scion drivers was for them to be different, yet I assume every car sold with that graphic had the same fingerprint.

[Blake Noble]

Nova doesn't work in Spanish speaking countries, GM went down that road before.

*Waits for some uneducated individual to post their "nova means 'no go' in Spanish" rebuttal.*

Thank you!

[haypops]

For a compact car designed for fuel economy and with a focus on urban driving in mind, why not Chevy Manhattan?

The car's development could be referred to as the Manhattan project and a model specific insignia would look like:

[dwightlooi]

Manhattan makes me think either "cocktail" or "nuclear weapon" while Cobalt makes me think of the big box of Crayola crayons.

Honestly, Cruze REALLY sucks. Even Cobalt is better than Cruze. I'll rather stay in the periodic table and pick another metal or something. Nicer elemental names include:-

At (85) - Astatine

Os (76) - Osmium

Pm (61) - Promethium

Ir (77) - Iridium

Xe (54) - Xenon

Y (39) - Yttrium

Of these... I think Chevy Iridium sound the best.

[Sixty8panther]

along the lines of the last three posts:

One day I was delivering Chinese food (like a year ago)

and this guy gives me a nice tip, happens to have a big

driveway with mostly if not all GMCs & Pontiacs.

I complement him on his all American driveway and all

of a sudden I glance at his t-shirt which shows a

mushroom cloud with the stereotypical asian-restaurant

font on top saying:

The Atom Bomb: Developed in the USA, tested in Japan.

I found this hilarious (if a bit dark) and mentioned it to a

friend (and motorcycle enthusiast) who told me of an old

T-shirt he used to have that showed a world map with a

bunch of BMW emblems all over the place...

(mostly Europe, Russia & North Africa)

the caption down bottom said:

BMW world tour: 1939 to 1945

[dwightlooi]

The car's development could be referred to as the Manhattan project and a model specific insignia would look like:

That's actually relatively cool. Better than looking like GM product planners flunked out of grammar school and can't even spell Cruise.

[Blake Noble]

Honestly, Cruze REALLY sucks. Even Cobalt is better than Cruze. I'll rather stay in the periodic table and pick another metal or something. Nicer elemental names include:-

At (85) - Astatine

Os (76) - Osmium

Pm (61) - Promethium

Ir (77) - Iridium

Xe (54) - Xenon

Y (39) - Yttrium

Of these... I think Chevy Iridium sound the best.

You know, I read this post and then began to realize that the name "Cobalt" sounds maybe a little too close to "Neon" (both are elements of the periodic table after all).

[daves87rs]

I didn't like Cobalt when it came out..but it grew on me.

I'm getting used to Cruze already.....

[Oracle of Delphi]

Well since it was designed and engineered by GME, I think they should call it the Chevy Europa.

[Blake Noble]

Well since it was designed and engineered by GME, I think they should call it the Chevy Europa.

I believe your friends at Lotus might have something to say about that. :wink:

Edited October 5, 2008 by YellowJacket894

[Oracle of Delphi]

I believe your friends at Lotus might have something to say about that. :wink:

Screw them, GM should have never sold them. I will see them once again under GM, cough, cough, GME. If it's the last thing I do.

[z28luvr01]

Cruze is stupid - my hatred of the name hasn't worn off in the two months we've known about it. There's really no glaring reason to get rid of Cobalt, and I don't see a problem with calling it Cobalt across the globe.

[Z-06]

Screw them, GM should have never sold them. I will see them once again under GM, cough, cough, GME. If it's the last thing I do.

I agree with it my friend. Lotus would have given GM an excellent platform to test vehicles, and would have sat like SAAB with no ultra high development cost.

[Lamar]

Nova doesn't work in Spanish speaking countries, GM went down that road before.

Know what "nova" really means in Spanish?

"Nova." Same as English.

You've lost your right to post in this thread.

[SoCalCTS]

Call it the Chevette or Cavalier.

[cire]

Call it the Chevette or Cavalier.

I don't know why GM dropped the "Cavalier" name when it introduced the Cobalt. The Cobalt's styling looked like an evolution of the last gen Cavalier anyway. I know the Cavalier name was a bit damaged, but a great product can do wonders for a model name. Look at the transformation of the "Malibu" name that came about with the wonderful 2008 model. "Cobalt" just sounds so sterile, clinical, and passionless to me. "Cruze" just sounds childish and ridiculous. I think they should resurrect one of the following names: "Monza", "Nova", or "Cavalier".

Edited October 6, 2008 by cire

[Blake Noble]

I really like the Monza name. I don't know why.

[haypops]

I really like the Monza name. I don't know why.

Me too! I think Monza fits in with the Malibu name nicely (popular during the same glory years of Chevy? ).

[Camino LS6]

Cruze is stupid - my hatred of the name hasn't worn off in the two months we've known about it. There's really no glaring reason to get rid of Cobalt, and I don't see a problem with calling it Cobalt across the globe.

I have never had a problem with the Cobalt name, and it now has positive name recognition.

Dumping Cobalt is foolish at this point.

Cruze is just inane.

I do like the Monza name though.

[cavalier36]

they probably would have kept the Cobalt name, but they are planning on building both cars for the 2011 model year. the cobalt sedan will die after 2011, but the coupe will live through the 2013 model year. so they really couldnt keep the Cobalt name.

id be all for bringing back the Nova badge. although it might have been damaged when the name was used on a rebadged Toyota in the 80's.

id like to see a four door version of the camaro called a Chevelle. it would be sort of like the Dodge charger.

[MyerShift]

I support the name Cobalt!

[biff]

Citation!!

Or not. There are a lot of options better than Cruze. I'd go for Nova. Designa cool car, use your heritage, Chevrolet.

[Robert Hall]

Nova would go well with Viva. And why not develop a uniquely styled coupe or 3dr off the 'Cruze' and call it Monza---to replace the Cobalt coupe?

[ZL-1]

I don't mind Cruze... it reminds me more of Penelope Cruz than of Tom Cruise

[A Horse With No Name]

I really like the Monza name. I don't know why.

I like it also.

The Chevrolet Monza of the 70's was not a terrible car for its era, either.

But I do like Monza.

Chris

[Camino LS6]

I like it also.

The Chevrolet Monza of the 70's was not a terrible car for its era, either.

But I do like Monza.

Chris

A lightweight, nimble, inexpensive, well-styled, RWD coupe with a V8 available along with a manual?

Yeah, the Monza was a proto-Alpha in many ways.

A fine recipe for a new car from Chevy.

[A Horse With No Name]

I would like to see GM build a series of small, nimble, RWD cars.

Still wonder what a small, RWD Pontiac would have been like.

Chris

[Camino LS6]

I would like to see GM build a series of small, nimble, RWD cars.

Still wonder what a small, RWD Pontiac would have been like.

Chris

It would have been more right than any product could be for any brand.

That car was what the G6 should have been.

[ZL-1]

Still wonder what a small, RWD Pontiac would have been like.

In an ideal world that car would have been the G6...

That new Hyundai coupe is, in terms of its concept/philosophy, pretty close to what a RWD G6 could have been.

[the_yellow_dart]

They change names when the f*** something up. Cavalier needed to change after the last generation soldiered on so long. Cobalt has positive connotations to most people, why change it?

[Robert Hall]

They change names when the f*** something up. Cavalier needed to change after the last generation soldiered on so long. Cobalt has positive connotations to most people, why change it?

Probably because Cobalt is an NA only name...Cruze is going to be their world car...

[the_yellow_dart]

So... if they haven't wrecked the name in NA and the rest of the world doesn't know it, then what's the problem with it?

[Robert Hall]

So... if they haven't wrecked the name in NA and the rest of the world doesn't know it, then what's the problem with it?

The marketing geniuses somewhere figure Cruze works better than Cobalt? Who knows? Anyway, it's a new car, not related to the Cobalt, so they want to give it a fresh start...

[ShadowDog]

I get the feeling more people spend more time thinking about what to eat for breakfast than the name of a car.

I also get the feeling Jack and Jill Consumer will think the name is just fine.

[regfootball]

cobalt is a good name. the car was not quite as good as the name. i would have kept cobalt name and sold the cruze with the cobalt name.

[hyperv6]

I get the feeling more people spend more time thinking about what to eat for breakfast than the name of a car.

I also get the feeling Jack and Jill Consumer will think the name is just fine.

I have to agree as look at some of the names out there on some of the best selling cars.

If this car is priced right and is as good as it needs to be you could call it a Chevy Turd and people will buy it.

The group this car is aimed at only worry about

MPG

Quality

Price

Warranty

Reliability

Lets face it these are Consumer Report reading non car people or Toyota/ Civic/Hyundia owners. They do not care about what the care looks like as long as it is not offensive. They do not care what it is called.

Besides this is not a Vette or some image car. It is an appliance.

You guys are spending way too much time on worrying about the name. We should be more worried if the 1.4T will be enough power vs MPG to make the average American consumer happy enough to replace his Civic with this car.

This is not a car for most here it is a car that sells in numbers great enough to permit Chevy ability to sell cars like the Camaro and Vetter.

Edited June 7, 2009 by hyperv6

[Robert Hall]

I have to agree as look at some of the names out there on some of the best selling cars.

If this car is priced right and is as good as it needs to be you could call it a Chevy Turd and people will buy it.

The group this car is aimed at only worry about

MPG

Quality

Price

Warranty

Reliability

Lets face it these are Consumer Report reading non car people or Toyota/ Civic/Hyundia owners. They do not care about what the care looks like as long as it is not offensive. They do not care what it is called.

Besides this is not a Vette or some image car. It is an appliance.

Ya, the challenge for GM is to make a generic appliance as good or better than the competition, and to market it such that the Genericans will give it a try, as opposed to the obvious default choice of a Toyota, Honda, etc.