Is The Cruze The Answer For GM?

GM will roll out their next generation of compact cars this September. Really? They will take another stab at the industry segment they just can't seem to figure out. But, according to Tom Krisher of the Associated Press, "General Motors thinks it can finally sell a good small car.

Hopefully this will be the case. GM has a long, embattered history with the compact car market. Remember the Geo, or the Corvair? Or more recently the Cobalt? Or what about the old-school Vega? Just the thought of these unsafe heaps makes me cringe.

GM is looking to the Cruze to be its answer. The Cobalt only sold 105,000 copies last year. This pales when compared to the numbers posted by the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla. Trust me, GM knows this. They know they are strong in the Truck and SUV segments, but they lose big time when it comes to compact cars.

Today's youth feels GM is out of touch. That is evident by the fact that GM's average buyer is 51 years old. That could be why they mistakenly threw the boring, cheaply made Cobalt into the mix. Maybe they learned something from Scion and Mitsubishi, who tout average buyers around 40. Those guys definitely win with the younger crowd.

Enter the Cruze? Can it compete in this segment? Will it be able to withstand the tough competition? Can it bring the youth to the buyer's table? We will see. Michael Robinet, an automotive analyst with CSM Worldwide in Michigan says, "They can't afford to get it wrong."

Gone are the past issues GM dealt with when it came to producing small cars. The Cruze is already selling in other countries. It has a smooth transmission and softer, less noisy tires. They also claim it can get 40 miles to the gallon. GM has lowered the production costs for the Cruze, which allows them to poor more in to quality and dependability.

The Cruze was designed in Korea by Daewoo, a division of GM. It was engineered in Russelsheim, Germany and will be assembled in plants around the world. It is 180 inches long and powered by a new family of direct-injection, turbocharged four-cylinder engines that range from 1.4 liters to 2.0 liters. Recent test drives do show it to be quieter, nimbler, and more robust than anything GM has ever brought to this category.

It may be nicer looking, have a better interior, and pack a better punch that its predecesors, but is is quality? If GM expects younger buyers to look at the Cruze, it will have to compete with the Corolla and the Civic for quality. GM thinks they have this worked out. They plan to invest in quality, saying they have learned people will pay a bit more for superior dependability. They even held up production several months because managers were unhappy with performance.

GM plans to ask around $17,000 for a base model Cruze. Even though this is more than most of the competition, they claim it has a lot more standard features. There will also be a package with leather seats and other gadgets that starts around $22,700.

According to the article by Tom Krisher of the Associated Press, Tom Stephens, GM head of product development, says the company has tried to make sure the Cruze will be better than Corolla and Civic. We will see when it hits the showroom.

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