2011 Chevrolet Cruze preview

2011 Chevrolet Cruze preview

Recently, there was an article on Usatoday.com that spoke to General Motors’ past with small cars in the American market. Specifically, Chris Woodyard ends his piece by saying, “A good small car from GM? We are still waiting.” The facts aren’t wrong; GM didn’t have great success with the Corvair, Vega or the Cruze. However, no one mentioned the collectible and long running Nova (originally a Chevy II in the early ‘60s) or the Caviler, a model that sold for decades before they retired the name. Were they blockbusters like the Corvette or Camaro? Perhaps not in the same light, but I bet you see more Cavaliers on the road than other GM models.

2011 Chevrolet Cruze

2011 Chevrolet Cruze

2011 Chevrolet Cruze

2011 Chevrolet Cruze

The point here is, we can remind GM of the past, but we have to let them try to make changes. The Cruze, so far, has impressed in the global market where it has some pretty stiff competition like the 2011 Ford Fiesta, Mazda2, Honda Fit and Nissan Versa. Back in April, we reported on the safety ratings expected on the Cruze. Just to make my earlier point, the Cavalier was sold to many fleets and households in the U.S., but it had a nasty reputation for be unsafe and the stats to back it up. The Cruze seeks to correct that by being rated with the highest rankings from both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Bottom line—the Cruze starts around $16K, is safe and is definitely one of the best looking small GM cars to come out of the company in years. Maybe it is just me, but I am willing to “wait” until fall to see GM bring the Cruze to market.

 

Be sure to check out all the High Gear Media coverage on the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze here.

 

[Source: USA Today]