As U.S. carmakers get serious about building first-class compact cars, one of the most enthusiastically awaited entries is the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, which will face off against a entirely new 2012 Ford Focus as well as revised models of the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic as well as Nissan Sentra.At present reports say that General Motors will push back the Cruze introduction by three months, from next spring or summer into the third quarter of 2010, to make sure a perfect launch.
The upside is that the extra time will permit all models of the Cruze--presumably meaning different trim levels--to be built prior to the car goes on sale.
The Cruze has received excellent reviews in Europe and Asia, where it is already on sale and it will be built for the U.S. market in GM's Lordstown, Ohio, plant.
Possibly the extra time is good, because the U.S. taxpayers who bailed out GM can only expect the 2011 Cruze does better than the first compact Chevrolet built there: the disreputably unreliable Chevrolet Vega.
The Cruze is powered by a turbocharged along with direct-injected 1.4-liter engine that will offer fuel efficiency as high as 40 miles per gallon, with the equal power as the 2.4-liter engine in today’s 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt and the Cobalt will remain in production until the launching of Cruze.
