Autoweek likes the Cruze

[hyperv6]

Autoweek has a report on the new Cruze and has said the following.

"We were pleasantly suprised at how well the Cruze performed."

"The Cruze proves GM is putting some real development dollars the small cars."

"Now all the Gneneral needs is gas to spke up to more than $4.50."

"The Cruze drives like a small car for grown ups. GM spent a lot of effort on cutting NHV and it shows."

Traits were low road noise, smooth engine, stiff chassis, Felt compsed,

Driven back to back to the Civic the interior was more roomy , felt and looked more upscales and refinded. Rode better than the Civic and was quieter and more refined.

THe cruze offers more than we expect for a car of $17K and $18k for the Turbo.

They went on to say now they only have to get people to come in and drive this car. That will be the greatest challange. They said other will have new cars soon but Chevy has a very good car here and they were very pleased with it. I really saw no complaints in the story on the car including any mention of a lack of power as some feel is a major issue. Note they said 9 sec 0-60 times with out a complaint. They did not say if it was the turbo or 1.8.

Let just hope the public accepts the car like they did with Equinox. That one suprised everyone how well it was accepted so they may have a chance with this one too.

Edited August 27, 2010 by hyperv6

[FAPTurbo]

I really saw no complaints in the story on the car including any mention of a lack of power as some feel is a major issue. Note they said 9 sec 0-60 times with out a complaint. They did not say if it was the turbo or 1.8.

Of course there were no complaints. Autoweek realizes this is an economy car, and 0-60 times are really not a priority for their its intended customer-base. Only a grand total of three people in North America care about the Cruze's acceleration.

[hyperv6]

Of course there were no complaints. Autoweek realizes this is an economy car, and 0-60 times are really not a priority for their its intended customer-base. Only a grand total of three people in North America care about the Cruze's acceleration.

No there is about 7 people here that bring up the HP numbers all the time as if buyers in this class are worried about HP numbers.

Now if it had an SS on it they may have a point. But I am sure when it arrives it will be taken care of in abundance.

[2QuickZ's]

Are these officially out yet? I bet i've seen at least 6 of them on the road in the last 3 days. None of them had manufacturer plates on them either.

[daves87rs]

No there is about 7 people here that bring up the HP numbers all the time as if buyers in this class are worried about HP numbers.

Now if it had an SS on it they may have a point. But I am sure when it arrives it will be taken care of in abundance.

lol.....

[Z-06]

Are these officially out yet? I bet i've seen at least 6 of them on the road in the last 3 days. None of them had manufacturer plates on them either.

Get out in October.

[daves87rs]

Are these officially out yet? I bet i've seen at least 6 of them on the road in the last 3 days. None of them had manufacturer plates on them either.

Yes....

[cavalier36]

I hope this car does well. It is built near my hometown in Ohio. I have several friends and family that work at that plant. I worked at that plant myself in 2002 and 2003. My father also worked there for 33 years. I still have an uncle that works there. I plan to check one out when they come in at the dealer here.

[Intrepidation]

No there is about 7 people here that bring up the HP numbers all the time as if buyers in this class are worried about HP numbers.

Now if it had an SS on it they may have a point. But I am sure when it arrives it will be taken care of in abundance.

Well if they had an SS people would piss and moan that it's not a coupe or a hardtop or RWD or BOF and it's committing sacrilege to the badge...

[CanadianBacon94]

nice to see it is refinded

[jlgolden]

The current Malibu finally gave Chevy a credible family sedan, and that car has been positively reviewed and heavily advertised for some time now. It's really the first Malibu which is honestly worth comparing to a Camry-Accord-Altima. Finally. Now, if the Cruze gets plenty of good press, along with a good marketing push, I think it will be a nice, high-volume car. As always, the hardest people to lure will be the two entire generations of buyers who were once stung with a flimsy Corsica-Beretta-Cavalier-Sunbird-Skyhawk-Cutlass Calais - which forced them into a Civic, Protege, Corolla, Sentra. These are the folks who really, really need to wake up, tune in, and forget the past. By the way, my 1988 Corsica V6 was my favorite "college days" car. And today, if I were shopping for a new car at the $20K price zone, Cruze would be at the top of my list.

[hyperv6]

Well if they had an SS people would piss and moan that it's not a coupe or a hardtop or RWD or BOF and it's committing sacrilege to the badge...

I am already bracing for this when they do get the SS out. It is not a matter of if but when. You also left out that those who piss and moan would never even consider ths car anyway. They only look at GM with only their own needs or wants and not what the majority of the market is buying or wants.

Time moves on and some people don't.

Edited August 28, 2010 by hyperv6

[hyperv6]

The current Malibu finally gave Chevy a credible family sedan, and that car has been positively reviewed and heavily advertised for some time now. It's really the first Malibu which is honestly worth comparing to a Camry-Accord-Altima. Finally. Now, if the Cruze gets plenty of good press, along with a good marketing push, I think it will be a nice, high-volume car. As always, the hardest people to lure will be the two entire generations of buyers who were once stung with a flimsy Corsica-Beretta-Cavalier-Sunbird-Skyhawk-Cutlass Calais - which forced them into a Civic, Protege, Corolla, Sentra. These are the folks who really, really need to wake up, tune in, and forget the past. By the way, my 1988 Corsica V6 was my favorite "college days" car. And today, if I were shopping for a new car at the $20K price zone, Cruze would be at the top of my list.

The keys here for Chevy is to get peoples attention. Most that buy this car are not car people and are not Honda, Ford or Chevy loyal. They are loyal to the brand they are happy with at the moment.

Chevy right now has a better package per the review and if they can show that they may be able to move some these people from brand to brand. It will not happen over night and it will take continued tweeks to the car to keep it at the front of the pack. This is one class they just can't put the car out there and let it sit for 5-6 years unchanged.

If Chevy could just get buts in the seats they could make some head way of changing minds in this class. This is not the same as trying to get a Mustang guy into a Camaro. This is more like getting a guy away from his Samsung and into a Sony.

The Staggered model released will help keep the line fresh too. It will be interesting to see what models they have planned.

Like em or not CR review of this car needs to be at the top of the list in their recomendations. GM needs to find who Toyota has been paying off to get to the top of the list. These buyers take their word in large chuncks and it helps sell a lot of cars.

The time is right to pull this off. Toyota is in trouble, Honda is not really standing out anymore. Nissan never really grows or shrinks much and Hyundai tends to be winning on style and price but not on quality. The one issue GM has no control over is the Economy but then who does?

IF fuel jumps up it will make this car an over night secess but if it fails to go up in the near future GM will have to win the buyers the hard way and earn them. Marketing will have to be right on on the mark for this one.

[Mike The Canadian]

The current Malibu finally gave Chevy a credible family sedan, and that car has been positively reviewed and heavily advertised for some time now. It's really the first Malibu which is honestly worth comparing to a Camry-Accord-Altima. Finally. Now, if the Cruze gets plenty of good press, along with a good marketing push, I think it will be a nice, high-volume car. As always, the hardest people to lure will be the two entire generations of buyers who were once stung with a flimsy Corsica-Beretta-Cavalier-Sunbird-Skyhawk-Cutlass Calais - which forced them into a Civic, Protege, Corolla, Sentra. These are the folks who really, really need to wake up, tune in, and forget the past. By the way, my 1988 Corsica V6 was my favorite "college days" car. And today, if I were shopping for a new car at the $20K price zone, Cruze would be at the top of my list.

Not everyone as gotten stung when owning those cars.

My brothers Cavalier has probably one of the most abused cars I've seen.

It just keeps going and going and has had nothing done other than a wheel bearing (Excluding oil changes, brakes, tires etc).

[hyperv6]

Not everyone as gotten stung when owning those cars.

My brothers Cavalier has probably one of the most abused cars I've seen.

It just keeps going and going and has had nothing done other than a wheel bearing (Excluding oil changes, brakes, tires etc).

Many of Chevys cars may never had the highest praise but they are the ones in the northern states that go on and run forever.

THe Cavalier and Beretta were cars that may have had cheap interiors and the paint flaked off but they are still running and are cheap to fix. It has been years since the last Beretta and there are many still on the road here in Ohio when it is rare to find a Honda of the same vintage.

Often the Honda is rusted out or just got to the point it cost more to fix than it was worth.

[PurdueGuy]

Many of Chevys cars may never had the highest praise but they are the ones in the northern states that go on and run forever.

THe Cavalier and Beretta were cars that may have had cheap interiors and the paint flaked off but they are still running and are cheap to fix. It has been years since the last Beretta and there are many still on the road here in Ohio when it is rare to find a Honda of the same vintage.

Often the Honda is rusted out or just got to the point it cost more to fix than it was worth.

And Beretta = 2dr Corsica, so the same applies there. I had a '94 Corsica, and it was a very nice car for what it was. Unfortunately, I knew nothing about proper maintenance at the time, and the auto trans at 185k miles likely had the original fluid, and went kaput too far from home to have it hauled home & fixed. $50 from the junkyard didn't even pay for my rental car to get home. 3100 V6 scooted though, and got reasonable fuel economy.

[hyperv6]

And Beretta = 2dr Corsica, so the same applies there. I had a '94 Corsica, and it was a very nice car for what it was. Unfortunately, I knew nothing about proper maintenance at the time, and the auto trans at 185k miles likely had the original fluid, and went kaput too far from home to have it hauled home & fixed. $50 from the junkyard didn't even pay for my rental car to get home. 3100 V6 scooted though, and got reasonable fuel economy.

I have seen the same out of many W bodies. If the rockers did not rust our 200,000-500,000 miles out of these cars on the original tranny and engine. It usally the small electrical things in side the car like power windows and AC that usally fail. But the car will keep running and running.

[RjION]

Make it EIGHT people that say it's an under powered turd. Larger, heavier, then the Saturn Astra thats a slug to drive. The only people that care if the car performs are the people that are willing to pay for the car to perform.

[cavalier36]

As always, the hardest people to lure will be the two entire generations of buyers who were once stung with a flimsy Corsica-Beretta-Cavalier-Sunbird-Skyhawk-Cutlass Calais -

I had alot of those models.. 88 Corsica. 96,97,98,04 and current 03 Cavalier. and 89 Cutlass Calais. And im still buy GM products..

I guess if all those didnt scare me away NOTHING WILL!!

[Drew Dowdell]

Make it EIGHT people that say it's an under powered turd. Larger, heavier, then the Saturn Astra thats a slug to drive. The only people that care if the car performs are the people that are willing to pay for the car to perform.

You haven't driven it, so you don't know.

[hyperv6]

You haven't driven it, so you don't know.

Olds some will not understand what we mean since they have spent little to no time with some of the 6 speed cars and understand GM has the driveline figured out. I was a unbeliever in the Nox with the 2.4 till I drove it and I now see the light as you do.

Also some here are going to expect the 1.4 to be 0-60 in 6 sec too. It's hard to convince the uninformed or ones with unreasonable expectations.

Edited August 30, 2010 by hyperv6

[regfootball]

wow, car and driver wasn't so kind about the equinox and the 6 speed.

gm is not the first manuf to have 6 speed autos they are one of the latest. my 05 ford 500 had a six speed back then, 6 model years ago.

the reason it seems like a godsend now is because the old models with the pushrod motors and 4 speed automatics were another level down on the food chain.

cruze shoulda had a 1.6t

Edited August 30, 2010 by regfootball

[hyperv6]

The 6 speed just opens the door to getting much more out of the modern engines. With better Torque curves and better gearing it can give the perfromance we want and save gas. GM has been lacking this in many of their cars. The 4 speed served well but it's time has passed as new combinations will be needed to meet expectations of customers and goverment.

The only thing I worry about is the price of the Cruze. Hyundai has sold more cars based on price than any other point. Will the standard features and higher level of refind ride and quiet of the Cruze make people willing to pay more? This remains to be seen.

From all the reviews I have read the refinment of this car is class leading. How will GM get the people into the car to find out for themselves? And is it enough to win buyers?

[Drew Dowdell]

It's not just the 6-speed... it's the DI + 6-speed that really works. The 4-cylinders with DI have a fair amount of grunt in the low RPM band (for this, it doesn't matter where the peak is, just as long as 95%+ of peak is available at lower RPM) that 4-cylinders from a single engine generation ago couldn't dream of.

You can rant about the horsepower peak of the Sonata all you want, but the fact remains that your engine will be living in the sub 3500rpm range most of it's life. And like it or not Reg, your engine is not going to be putting out 200hp at 3000rpm unless it's also putting out 350 ft/lbs of torque at the same time..... no production 4-cylinder is going to do that.... certainly not without some turbo charging help.

Even the SHO engine, which can put out 350ft/lbs at 2000 RPM is only putting out a "measly" 133hp...... but I bet (I haven't driven one) that 350ft/lbs @ 2000rpm feels like it's going to rip the car out from under you.

Are you beginning to see how irrelevant the HP figure is yet?

[67impss]

Yeah I'm still for torque ratings to be marketed as the real measure of performance, that may happen when diesels become a viable part of the market

[regfootball]

The 6 speed just opens the door to getting much more out of the modern engines. With better Torque curves and better gearing it can give the perfromance we want and save gas. GM has been lacking this in many of their cars. The 4 speed served well but it's time has passed as new combinations will be needed to meet expectations of customers and goverment.

The only thing I worry about is the price of the Cruze. Hyundai has sold more cars based on price than any other point. Will the standard features and higher level of refind ride and quiet of the Cruze make people willing to pay more? This remains to be seen.

From all the reviews I have read the refinment of this car is class leading. How will GM get the people into the car to find out for themselves? And is it enough to win buyers?

I've said this, this is where pricing and advantages on the spec sheet are what lures the skeptical buyer in

it's why even though it may meet baseline standard to simply

match the others in things like hp or having DI or Usb and Bluetooth standard.......

Example. Malibu can't get real wheels until 2LT and like a 25k sticker.

Other cars in class you can get alum wheels for 21 and change. The customer feels ripped off before they even consider what to go out and drive.

It's why numbers on a spec sheet are more powerful in the sales experience than everyone wants to fess up and admit.

[regfootball]

It's not just the 6-speed... it's the DI + 6-speed that really works. The 4-cylinders with DI have a fair amount of grunt in the low RPM band (for this, it doesn't matter where the peak is, just as long as 95%+ of peak is available at lower RPM) that 4-cylinders from a single engine generation ago couldn't dream of.

You can rant about the horsepower peak of the Sonata all you want, but the fact remains that your engine will be living in the sub 3500rpm range most of it's life. And like it or not Reg, your engine is not going to be putting out 200hp at 3000rpm unless it's also putting out 350 ft/lbs of torque at the same time..... no production 4-cylinder is going to do that.... certainly not without some turbo charging help.

Even the SHO engine, which can put out 350ft/lbs at 2000 RPM is only putting out a "measly" 133hp...... but I bet (I haven't driven one) that 350ft/lbs @ 2000rpm feels like it's going to rip the car out from under you.

Are you beginning to see how irrelevant the HP figure is yet?

All I know is the regal, equinox, and cruze all have been called slow in reviews so far. So much for that gut wrenching gm torque. Your argument becomes valid when the cars are not ripped for being slow.

[hyperv6]

It's not just the 6-speed... it's the DI + 6-speed that really works. The 4-cylinders with DI have a fair amount of grunt in the low RPM band (for this, it doesn't matter where the peak is, just as long as 95%+ of peak is available at lower RPM) that 4-cylinders from a single engine generation ago couldn't dream of.

You can rant about the horsepower peak of the Sonata all you want, but the fact remains that your engine will be living in the sub 3500rpm range most of it's life. And like it or not Reg, your engine is not going to be putting out 200hp at 3000rpm unless it's also putting out 350 ft/lbs of torque at the same time..... no production 4-cylinder is going to do that.... certainly not without some turbo charging help.

Even the SHO engine, which can put out 350ft/lbs at 2000 RPM is only putting out a "measly" 133hp...... but I bet (I haven't driven one) that 350ft/lbs @ 2000rpm feels like it's going to rip the car out from under you.

Are you beginning to see how irrelevant the HP figure is yet?

VVT is the key with the DI that make for the flat curve.

FYI just to pass this along I just got off the line with someone who got seat time in the new Cruze at the Warren proving ground. This non GM employee had this to say about the Cruze.

Very quiet and stable car. It drove and felt like a better more expensive car.

Size of the interior felt on par with the Malibu or Impala. As for qulity interior it was good but not earth shattering that they recalled. But it was much better than the Cobalt.

I asked what engine did you drive. Answer the 1.4 Turbo. I asked how did it drive. Answer Very good. It was very peppy. It was not sluggish or felt in the lack of power anywhere. They said for this class of car power was very good.

They also drove the Camaro Convertible , Was very stable with no cowl shake and any other normal convertible issues. It has less nose dive vs the new Mustang convertible under handling and hard stops. The CTS V coupe and sedan and the feedback was one word amazing they loved the coupe. They also drove some other future model, most of the models impressed. But I did not hear much excitment over the Escallade Hybrid.

They also got to see some future things but could not and would say anything other than the future will be very interesting in a good way.

[Drew Dowdell]

All I know is the regal, equinox, and cruze all have been called slow in reviews so far. So much for that gut wrenching gm torque. Your argument becomes valid when the cars are not ripped for being slow.

You know what I feel about most reviews and reviewers.... Everything is compared to a freaking M3.

The Nox and Terrain are no remarkable amount slower than a CR-V or 4-cylinder RAV-4. It's the V6 that usually gets called slow... but that's only in comparison to other V6 models.

The non-SS Cruze was never going to be a 5 second car.... but that's OK because the Civic, Corolla, Elantra aren't either. As long as the Cruze scoots around the city and gets people up to 75 mph without getting run over by a tractor trailer, it'll sell decent.

You seem to be concentrating waaaaay too much on an aspect of the Cruze that will be an afterthought to most people. You keep saying that GM doesn't have the ability to be mid-pack because of it's history.... well Hyundai didn't have a good history either and the 138hp Elantra did fine.

[FAPTurbo]

All I know is the regal, equinox, and cruze all have been called slow in reviews so far. So much for that gut wrenching gm torque. Your argument becomes valid when the cars are not ripped for being slow.

They can't build the Equinox fast enough to meet demand. Obviously people totally care about how 'slow' the vehicle is. Problem is, the Honda CRV is even more gutless than the Equinox, and yet it sells by the boatload. All this talk of power being a determinant factor for vehicles like the Cruze and Equinox is sheer bupkis. Reviewers are notorious for wanting to drive everything like a Subaru WRX; regular people don't typically drive the way reviewers do.

[Intrepidation]

Reviewers are notorious for wanting to drive everything like a BMW M3; regular people don't typically drive the way reviewers do.

Fixed.

[hyperv6]

Olds the best way to state the Nox is it is a real car for real people.

It gets MPG that is very good for it's class. It also offers what most buyers today want in this kind of car.

And it sells like it is going out of style at near or at sticker price. What more could a car company want.