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Chevrolet Cruze has been delayed

Drew Dowdell

By Drew Dowdell
in Chevrolet

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Drew Dowdell Grand Master

Drew Dowdell

Posted
Posted
Chevrolet Cruze has been delayed



2011_chevy_cruze2.jpg




General Motors Co. has decided to push back by about three months the launch of a critical new small car for its Chevrolet brand, a spokesman said.

The auto maker had been aiming to launch the Chevrolet Cruze next April, but the company is pushing the launch back until at least July. GM spokesman Klaus-Peter Martin said the move is "to ensure a flawless launch" and make sure the Cruze debuts with an array of available options, including a variety of fuel-efficient engines.
Justin Bimmer Newbie

Justin Bimmer

Posted
Posted

If they are doing it to get it right then do it.

Also, remember the other article today where the transaction prices of the Cobalt are improving? Well, the longer you sell that car the better it is for profits. New car = taking some hit in the beginning on a lot of fronts. So maybe they are milking the Cobalt.

Camino LS6 Newbie

Camino LS6

Posted
Posted
If they are doing it to get it right then do it.

Also, remember the other article today where the transaction prices of the Cobalt are improving? Well, the longer you sell that car the better it is for profits. New car = taking some hit in the beginning on a lot of fronts. So maybe they are milking the Cobalt.

I'd bet that is part of it - Cobalt has done better than expected.

loki

loki

Posted
Posted

overstock / decent selling of Cobalts came to my mind immediately. C4C sold a lot, right? ramped up production...now they have alot left on the lots and in inventory.....

daves87rs Collaborator

daves87rs

Posted
Posted
overstock / decent selling of Cobalts came to my mind immediately. C4C sold a lot, right? ramped up production...now they have alot left on the lots and in inventory.....

That's nice. I don't want another one.... :alcoholic:

As far as GM models, it's either the Cruze, Cruze Jr., or Cruze Jr. hatch........

Satty Newbie

Satty

Posted
Posted
My gut tells me that hey are trying to line this up againist the new Civic, which should roll out around the same time......

I hope thats not the line of thinking GM is using, thats just Astra all over again.

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

Posted
Posted
I hope thats not the line of thinking GM is using, thats just Astra all over again.

Well, the Civic is the target of any mainstream FWD compact, isn't it? Got to aim at the market leader and try and surpass them. I assume the Euro 3rd gen Focus will also be here in a couple years, and Chrysler will have a compact Fiat sooner or later. The Sentra, Corolla and some Kia and Hyundais are out there also in this space...

Satty Newbie

Satty

Posted
Posted

Why would you hold a car back to compete with an unknown entity when you could release it to compete with a known (an not universally loved) one?

regfootball Community Regular

regfootball

Posted
Posted

yes they want to milk the cobalt. also they want to launch the new model closer to traditional model year time frame.

also i bet they have learned some of how cruze design could be faulty and try to fix more of it before launch.

i bet the 1.4 was not supposed to be in the car, now it is, and its not ready in some ways to hit the showroom in april because of it. whether its the line, or problems with the final spec of it, whatever.

daves87rs Collaborator

daves87rs

Posted
Posted
Why would you hold a car back to compete with an unknown entity when you could release it to compete with a known (an not universally loved) one?

Because it's time to shake things up.

It should catch people by suprise.....

daves87rs Collaborator

daves87rs

Posted
Posted
yes they want to milk the cobalt. also they want to launch the new model closer to traditional model year time frame.

also i bet they have learned some of how cruze design could be faulty and try to fix more of it before launch.

i bet the 1.4 was not supposed to be in the car, now it is, and its not ready in some ways to hit the showroom in april because of it. whether its the line, or problems with the final spec of it, whatever.

:scratchchin:

Satty Newbie

Satty

Posted
Posted

I ask again, in what way does it make sense to take a car thats ready for sale in the U.S. and hold it from the market? And early production bugs would have already been discovered in Europe, Asia or Africa, so its unlikely there is going to be a mass recall.

As for the suggestion that they want it to go head-to-head with the new Civic, thats just asinine. The Civic has a huge following and has been a top-10 seller for years. The Cruze will be the 3rd name for a Chevy compact this decade, people will say, "I know what a CIvic is, but wtf is a Cruze?" so it would be in GM's best interests to get it here as soon as possible so it can become better known in the market without being overshadowed by any of its competitors.

pow Newbie

pow

Posted
Posted

The plant in Lordstown isn't ready yet? The Cruzes in Europe, I believe, are made in South Korea, while the ones in China are made in China.

The US-market Cruze will be assembled locally.

Cmicasa the Great Rookie

Cmicasa the Great

Posted
Posted
If they are doing it to get it right then do it.

Also, remember the other article today where the transaction prices of the Cobalt are improving? Well, the longer you sell that car the better it is for profits. New car = taking some hit in the beginning on a lot of fronts. So maybe they are milking the Cobalt.

By George I think U've got it. Word is that because of the Cobalt's inventory and transaction price... no to mention the push that Chevy gave it inadvertently, in it's "Let the Best Car Win" ad where it is shown to have better fuel economy than the PERCEIVED fuel economy leader, the Corolla... a lot of buzz is surrounding the Cobalt both in eyes of the public but also back at RenCEN.

Truth be told... I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see Cobalt production continue on past the start of the Cruze 6 months out. I wouldn't be surprised if the Cruze name got ditched and the Cobalt one used here in the U.S., which is not unprecedented considering that the established name for Korea's "Cruze" remained Lacetti due to existing name cachet.

hyperv6 Newbie

hyperv6

Posted
Posted

I was at Lordstown a while back and the Cobalt and Cruze will be built on two different lines. I was told they will redo the body shop to do the trim and body then sent the car into the main assembly building to be completed throught the bridge.

Seem like GM will have the Cobalt production will be closed down about a year after the Cruze is on line.

They have just stepped up production on the Cobalt recently and this anouncmentmakes sense of this.

Once the Cobalt is done they will have a entire line to add another car to the plant. The UAW has been working well with GM and I would expect them to get another car there soon after.

Continuing the Cobalt along side the Cruze was in the plans since last year. I wager there is another reason to this as the Cobalt was not going away as soon as the Cruze showed up anyway.

They will have to kill the Cobalt since the Transaxles will run out as a Friend who works in that plant said they were set till 2011 and no more for the 4 speed Auto transaxles. This is why the HHR and Cobalt both die in 2011. He told me the dates for the last build and there was no plans for any after that.

CARBIZ Newbie

CARBIZ

Posted
Posted (edited)

Critics aside, the changes made to the Cobalt in the 2007 and 2008 model year, the upgrades to the 2.2, and the features enhancements in '09 make it a true bargoon.

Up here in the hinterland, Honda has bleated about having the #1 selling car, but for 10 years, but that is total BS: even in the Cavalier's last year ('05), the J-car outsold the Civic. That is just sad, on Honda's part. But like Ford bragging about being #1 in pickups (again, not true), this was always GM's Achille's Heel: split platforms. Especially in Canada where Pontiac nearly outsold Chevrolet and where the GMC Sierra does outsell the Silverado!

Cash starved dealers would love to have a $10,000 special edition Cobalt to blow out the door sitting next to the 'all new Cruze.' That is a win-win combination for GM to tackle Honda AND Hyundia/Kia.

One of the benefits of seeing Pontiac gone will be GM can focus on gaining back bragging rights in sales where it never could before (the Uplander/SV6 comes to mind). :duck:

Edited by CARBIZ
CSpec Newbie

CSpec

Posted
Posted

While a few months isn't that big a deal, the Cobalt looks ridiculously dated when they put it next to the Civic in their own commercials. If anything a pull-ahead in the other direction (like they did with the GMT-900s) would be best, but I guess if the plant can't build it, it can't build it.

daves87rs Collaborator

daves87rs

Posted
Posted
I was at Lordstown a while back and the Cobalt and Cruze will be built on two different lines. I was told they will redo the body shop to do the trim and body then sent the car into the main assembly building to be completed throught the bridge.

Seem like GM will have the Cobalt production will be closed down about a year after the Cruze is on line.

They have just stepped up production on the Cobalt recently and this anouncmentmakes sense of this.

Once the Cobalt is done they will have a entire line to add another car to the plant. The UAW has been working well with GM and I would expect them to get another car there soon after.

Continuing the Cobalt along side the Cruze was in the plans since last year. I wager there is another reason to this as the Cobalt was not going away as soon as the Cruze showed up anyway.

They will have to kill the Cobalt since the Transaxles will run out as a Friend who works in that plant said they were set till 2011 and no more for the 4 speed Auto transaxles. This is why the HHR and Cobalt both die in 2011. He told me the dates for the last build and there was no plans for any after that.

Makes sense.

What I figured too.... :)

daves87rs Collaborator

daves87rs

Posted
Posted
Critics aside, the changes made to the Cobalt in the 2007 and 2008 model year, the upgrades to the 2.2, and the features enhancements in '09 make it a true bargoon.

Up here in the hinterland, Honda has bleated about having the #1 selling car, but for 10 years, but that is total BS: even in the Cavalier's last year ('05), the J-car outsold the Civic. That is just sad, on Honda's part. But like Ford bragging about being #1 in pickups (again, not true), this was always GM's Achille's Heel: split platforms. Especially in Canada where Pontiac nearly outsold Chevrolet and where the GMC Sierra does outsell the Silverado!

Cash starved dealers would love to have a $10,000 special edition Cobalt to blow out the door sitting next to the 'all new Cruze.' That is a win-win combination for GM to tackle Honda AND Hyundia/Kia.

One of the benefits of seeing Pontiac gone will be GM can focus on gaining back bragging rights in sales where it never could before (the Uplander/SV6 comes to mind). :duck:

Might not be a bad idea....

But not for 10 grand though. 12, maybe.....

daves87rs Collaborator

daves87rs

Posted
Posted
I ask again, in what way does it make sense to take a car thats ready for sale in the U.S. and hold it from the market? And early production bugs would have already been discovered in Europe, Asia or Africa, so its unlikely there is going to be a mass recall.

As for the suggestion that they want it to go head-to-head with the new Civic, thats just asinine. The Civic has a huge following and has been a top-10 seller for years. The Cruze will be the 3rd name for a Chevy compact this decade, people will say, "I know what a CIvic is, but wtf is a Cruze?" so it would be in GM's best interests to get it here as soon as possible so it can become better known in the market without being overshadowed by any of its competitors.

Well, the same could be said for Kia..so.......

hyperv6 Newbie

hyperv6

Posted
Posted
Critics aside, the changes made to the Cobalt in the 2007 and 2008 model year, the upgrades to the 2.2, and the features enhancements in '09 make it a true bargoon.

Up here in the hinterland, Honda has bleated about having the #1 selling car, but for 10 years, but that is total BS: even in the Cavalier's last year ('05), the J-car outsold the Civic. That is just sad, on Honda's part. But like Ford bragging about being #1 in pickups (again, not true), this was always GM's Achille's Heel: split platforms. Especially in Canada where Pontiac nearly outsold Chevrolet and where the GMC Sierra does outsell the Silverado!

Cash starved dealers would love to have a $10,000 special edition Cobalt to blow out the door sitting next to the 'all new Cruze.' That is a win-win combination for GM to tackle Honda AND Hyundia/Kia.

One of the benefits of seeing Pontiac gone will be GM can focus on gaining back bragging rights in sales where it never could before (the Uplander/SV6 comes to mind). :duck:

It is nice to sell in great numbers but when you have a dated car that has been getting large discounts and has poor resale value you still have work to do.

GM needs this car to come out trouble free with great reviews and sell with few if any major rebates. If it becomes a true demand car because it is a damn good car then resales will increase. As it is now many people buy it just because it is a ok car and they can afford the monthly payments. In other words they settled only for what they could afford not what they wanted. I hope to see this change with this car.

As for the name this is a take it or leave it class of cars. The names Cavalier and Cobalt do not present images like the names Camaro or Corvette does. If anything it reminds many of the rusted out Cavalier they had in Collage.

I checked around and word is they are holding up for quality issues to be all addressed at the plant. I am not sure how much of this is true but that is what I was told. There were no major issues but they want a zero error quality new car to come out. The last thing GM wants is it to come out like the Camaro and have a rubbed through battery cable or other small issue that will make some say it is the same old GM.

Besides the car will not be late it is a 2011 anyway and will just not have a early intro.

I wish GM and the others would just intro the cars in Sept like they used to years ago.

ZL-1 Newbie

ZL-1

Posted
Posted
Apparently not. The UK model has a 1.6, 1.8, and a 2.0 diesel. No 1.4.

The 1.4T's 1st application is on the new Opel Astra.

Drew Dowdell Grand Master

Drew Dowdell

Posted
  • Author
Posted
It is nice to sell in great numbers but when you have a dated car that has been getting large discounts and has poor resale value you still have work to do.

Read the other post on the front page. Chevy is enjoying higher transaction prices than Toyota... even on the Cobalt over Corolla.

Chevy might be discounting the Cobalt, but it still selling at a higher price than Corolla.

hyperv6 Newbie

hyperv6

Posted
Posted
Read the other post on the front page. Chevy is enjoying higher transaction prices than Toyota... even on the Cobalt over Corolla.

Chevy might be discounting the Cobalt, but it still selling at a higher price than Corolla.

That has not changed the resale. Also see me when the the Cobalts they are now building flood the dealers. They are in short supply right now since the clunker deal and Lordstown being shut down for 2 months. Not too many deals on cars that are not on the lot.

The transaction prices on the new cars like the Nox and other I expect to be retained since they are new. But again they are also in short supply and few discounts apply. I just hope GM controls the inventory to the point they can keep the value in the cars.

z28luvr01 Newbie

z28luvr01

Posted
Posted
I still think the Cobalt name would be a better choice than the inane Cruze moniker. The Cobalt has made serious inroads that previous compact Chevys could only dream of.

Agreed - Cruze is still lame.

Has there been confirmation that there's no coupe?

  • 1 month later...
cavalier36 Newbie

cavalier36

Posted
Posted

<!--quoteo(post=550218:date=Oct 29 2009, 07:11 AM:name=hyperv6)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (hyperv6 @ Oct 29 2009, 07:11 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=550218"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I was at Lordstown a while back and the Cobalt and Cruze will be built on two different lines. I was told they will redo the body shop to do the trim and body then sent the car into the main assembly building to be completed throught the bridge.

Seem like GM will have the Cobalt production will be closed down about a year after the Cruze is on line.

They have just stepped up production on the Cobalt recently and this anouncmentmakes sense of this.

Once the Cobalt is done they will have a entire line to add another car to the plant. The UAW has been working well with GM and I would expect them to get another car there soon after.

Continuing the Cobalt along side the Cruze was in the plans since last year. I wager there is another reason to this as the Cobalt was not going away as soon as the Cruze showed up anyway.

They will have to kill the Cobalt since the Transaxles will run out as a Friend who works in that plant said they were set till 2011 and no more for the 4 speed Auto transaxles. This is why the HHR and Cobalt both die in 2011. He told me the dates for the last build and there was no plans for any after that.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Makes sense.

What I figured too.... <img src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

Lordstown also is going to produce the compact Buick model. It will be announced when the production model is shown at one of the major auto shows this winter.

cavalier36 Newbie

cavalier36

Posted
Posted

<!--quoteo(post=550433:date=Oct 29 2009, 06:15 PM:name=Camino LS6)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Camino LS6 @ Oct 29 2009, 06:15 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=550433"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I still think the Cobalt name would be a better choice than the inane Cruze moniker. The Cobalt has made serious inroads that previous compact Chevys could only dream of.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Agreed - Cruze is still lame.

Has there been confirmation that there's no coupe?

they almost had to change the name because the two cars will be built at the same time. they are working on a two door cruze but that wont be out for another year or so. the current cobalt coupe will be built until it comes out

daves87rs Collaborator

daves87rs

Posted
Posted

they almost had to change the name because the two cars will be built at the same time. they are working on a two door cruze but that wont be out for another year or so. the current cobalt coupe will be built until it comes out

Yep....

Croc Newbie

Croc

Posted
Posted

I think this is good news. When I was at LAIAS, I asked about the availability of fog lamps vs. the cheesy plastic inserts on display at both of the floor models. The rep wasn't sure, but she pulled out her PDA and started typing in notes when I told her that in my opinion, since the Cruze had foglamps in the rest of the world, GM either needed to redesign the front bumper without the cutouts, or to at least offer Cruze buyers the option of having foglamps. I also mentioned that GM regularly gets pounded in the press over things like this, and for over $20k those plastic inserts were unacceptable and cheap-looking, marring an otherwise beautiful car. It should also be noted that the floor models were "LTZ" and were supposed to be approximately fully-loaded. My parents were with me, and also let the rep know they were potential buyers and generally liked what they saw.

I'm guessing GM is using these extra 3 months to launch this car right, and I applaud them for that. They definitely were taking feedback from people on the floor.

hyperv6 Newbie

hyperv6

Posted
Posted

There will be fog lamps. What they showed is a preproduction car and it is not allways 100% done when they show them. It could be as simple as the lights they plan to use in the states are not fully done yet. Till they are they are not showing them. How late into the deal did the Camaro have the little mocked up headlights that many complained about. We just need to let GM finish the car before we worry about little details.

I would be more upset that the Fogs will most likely only be on the LTZ and not an option on any of the other models. Not the Bu and Nox are like this.

As for the coupe. They may just be working on something special so it may be worth the wait. Let hear why and what they are doing first as it may suprise.

daves87rs Collaborator

daves87rs

Posted
Posted

No Saturn

No Pontiac

= no excuse not to have a Cruze coupe at launch. With foglamps.

It's called money, ocn.

Man. it's coming....

I think this is good news. When I was at LAIAS, I asked about the availability of fog lamps vs. the cheesy plastic inserts on display at both of the floor models. The rep wasn't sure, but she pulled out her PDA and started typing in notes when I told her that in my opinion, since the Cruze had foglamps in the rest of the world, GM either needed to redesign the front bumper without the cutouts, or to at least offer Cruze buyers the option of having foglamps. I also mentioned that GM regularly gets pounded in the press over things like this, and for over $20k those plastic inserts were unacceptable and cheap-looking, marring an otherwise beautiful car. It should also be noted that the floor models were "LTZ" and were supposed to be approximately fully-loaded. My parents were with me, and also let the rep know they were potential buyers and generally liked what they saw.

I'm guessing GM is using these extra 3 months to launch this car right, and I applaud them for that. They definitely were taking feedback from people on the floor.

True...

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