New Chevy Cruze Is Best Small Car GM

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
And most American don't know what European classification is, and we don't care about it either, simple reason is we don't live in Europe and we simply don't give a rat about their rules or regulations.


And that's the problem.

If you walk around with your nose in the air pretending nobody else builds a better mousetrap.... Sometimes other people do things better. Acknowledging that; being humble, allows for and drives improvement. What do you think the opposite does?

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
Originally Posted By: opus1
The deal-breaker for me is that Chevy is starting to import Cruzes (Cruzi?) from Mexico, and the upcoming hatch is going to be built exclusively in Mexico for import here.


See, I don't understand this line of thinking. GM turned to Mexican production at Ramos Arizpe because Lordstown is at capacity. They're running three shifts in Ohio and still need more vehicles. Ramos is picking up that excess need. It's a bad thing that people want to buy the car and GM is adapting to demand? What is the alternative? Not build and sell as many cars?

For the hatch, Ramos already builds a hatch for other markets. Stamping is already done there and all the tooling is already in place for hatch assembly. Lordstown isn't tooled for hatch assembly. Hatchback demand is an unknown at this point and I'd imagine production will be limited when compared to the sedan. Why would GM make a significant capital investment based on unknown demand when there is already a plant available that builds the hatchback and has the capacity to build in the quantities needed? Also, as noted above, Lordstown can't build enough sedans as it is. How are they going to add another variant to a plant that already running three shifts?


Since almost nobody sells a hatchback in the US anymore, I would think that pent up demand might be huge. Not everybody will buy a SUV or Scion tC (which gets poor gas mileage).

That and with current demand being more for trucks and SUV's at the moment due to temporary drop in gas prices, I would think that there would be capacity in Lordstown.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: userfriendly
opus 1;
That may require more 'right to work' legislation.
Personally, I would rather not belong to a terrorist organization called union.


I was proud to be a union member when I had a union job. I even helped organize. You don't know what you're talking about LOL.

 

[sciphi]

Glad to see that GM is building on the success of the previous-generation Cruze with the new one. The previous generation Cruze is a good, reliable car that can be pretty fun to drive in certain configurations. For the new one, it seems that GM heeded Colin Chapman in adding lightness. They also seem to have managed that without taking away from the solid feel of the car. That's always a good thing. I'm also glad to see they managed to get 40+ highway mpg out of all the model lines instead of one specific fuel-sipper model, and only with a stick-shift.

The new 1.4T's power figures are decent. I'm assuming that GM is sandbagging the ultimate power a little by publishing the 87 octane horsepower figure since that's what they did for the previous one. They assumed that most of the Cruze owners would only run 87 octane, so that's what they officially rated the engine on. If they did, that likely means that 93 octane will net a decent bump in power. An aftermarket tune should net even more.

Here's hoping the new one is as reliable as the old one. Mine's been pretty reliable, even after accounting for the design flaws that got an extended warranty to fix.

 

[hillclimber]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx

Since almost nobody sells a hatchback in the US anymore, I would think that pent up demand might be huge.


I don't know about that, I've been looking at cars lately and there are several hatches out there:

Ford Fiesta
Ford Focus
Chevy Sonic
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Prius
Scion iM
Hyundai Accent
Hyundai Elantra GT
Kia Rio5
Kia Forte5
Kia Soul, arguably
Mazda 3
VW Golf

and I'm certainly missing many. And Honda is bringing the Civic Hatchback here and the Cruze will join the hatchback parade. Pretty good selection really.

It's interesting, I saw almost none of these cars on the road in Houston but see a great many here in Northern Virginia. And almost no pickups here. It's like alternate reality. Makes sense of course, I'd hate to park a pickup in my parking garage; the Lexus is large enough, but there is someone with an F-150 who does.

 

[hillclimber]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
I can't believe a loaded Cruze is 30 grand. 30 grand! That's more than half of the average American's household income before tax, for a 150 horsepower compact car.

Unreal.


I guess, but what's unreal to me is that there will apparently be demand for a $30K Cruze. Consumers are willingly paying more for leather, sunroofs, AWD, bigger wheels, and lots of technology. So be it. Have you priced a pickup lately?

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: hillclimber
Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
I can't believe a loaded Cruze is 30 grand. 30 grand! That's more than half of the average American's household income before tax, for a 150 horsepower compact car.

Unreal.


I guess, but what's unreal to me is that there will apparently be demand for a $30K Cruze. Consumers are willingly paying more for leather, sunroofs, AWD, bigger wheels, and lots of technology. So be it. Have you priced a pickup lately?


Not everybody buys a car by the pound. Some folks want all the bells/whistles in a smaller package without the BMW/MB price tag. Or fuel bill for a larger, less efficient car.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Not everybody buys a car by the pound. Some folks want all the bells/whistles in a smaller package without the BMW/MB price tag. Or fuel bill for a larger, less efficient car.

Agree.

If I am in market for a new car that I am using for travel with 4 person, then let say base Accord without much bells & whistles is about the same price with Civic with some option, which one I would buy ? Accord is better buy for me, but someone may like bells & whistles more than room and comfort then Civic may be the car he/she wants.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: sciphi
Not everybody buys a car by the pound. Some folks want all the bells/whistles in a smaller package without the BMW/MB price tag. Or fuel bill for a larger, less efficient car.

Agree.

If I am in market for a new car that I am using for travel with 4 person, then let say base Accord without much bells & whistles is about the same price with Civic with some option, which one I would buy ? Accord is better buy for me, but someone may like bells & whistles more than room and comfort then Civic may be the car he/she wants.


City dwellers might prefer a smaller car for good reasons.

I know when I bought my loaded Jetta I very much enjoyed it. It had more options that I wanted, but in the end, I did keep it for >300k. It was what I wanted. I have my doubts that I would have kept a different/larger vehicle for quite as long.

 

[Mr Nice]

A base Accord is still better than loaded Civic.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: sciphi
Not everybody buys a car by the pound. Some folks want all the bells/whistles in a smaller package without the BMW/MB price tag. Or fuel bill for a larger, less efficient car.

Agree.

If I am in market for a new car that I am using for travel with 4 person, then let say base Accord without much bells & whistles is about the same price with Civic with some option, which one I would buy ? Accord is better buy for me, but someone may like bells & whistles more than room and comfort then Civic may be the car he/she wants.

City dwellers might prefer a smaller car for good reasons.

I know when I bought my loaded Jetta I very much enjoyed it. It had more options that I wanted, but in the end, I did keep it for >300k. It was what I wanted. I have my doubts that I would have kept a different/larger vehicle for quite as long.

Different situations different vehicles are easy to understand.

Per your signature you currently have 2011 Camry, after 5 years do you think you made a right choice or if you can do it over you still buy that Camry, or you may want to buy a Corolla with a little more options or same equipment to save few grands ?

Remember that Camry and Accord sale is a little more than Civic and Corolla, we don't know the average sale price of each models but this is telling people buy what they need/want and nothing wrong with their choice.

 

[supton]

Good question. I've thought about posting a mini-review on my Camry, as next month it'll be 5 years.

Honestly, no, not a Corolla with more options. To get more options on most vehicles means the manual transmission would get dropped. No go there, at least not willingly. If we could sidestep that bit of foolishness, I still think the Camry makes more sense; we live in the sticks and don't have parking problems. The larger size of the Camry soaks up highway trips quite well; the extra interior space is nice. Road noise I think is lower. Wife disliked the leather seats in my Jetta (me, I liked them). I didn't mind my sunroof in my VW, right up until it would randomly leak--ever since I've decided I'd never own one again. Corolla would get the job done, but "for a bit more" I think the Camry just feels better.

I'd say the only things we really wished for would be remote keyless entry followed by Bluetooth (for streaming music) followed by heated mirrors. Maybe nav, as each of the vehicles does have a Garmin stuck to the dashboard. [I fixed the missing foglights with cheap aftermarket solutions. I should do likewise for remote entry.]

*

Personally, only way I'd go back to owning a fully optioned car again is if I were to start trading in my vehicles around the 75k mark or 125k mark, or some other age/mileage mark where I wanted to somehow "minimize" TCO. It was fun when I had one, but I've scratched that itch. Of course, it's kinda relative--when I started driving, electric windows/locks/etc weren't standard features! I'm sure a few people would be surprised that my Camry doesn't have heated mirrors (just as they would be that it has a manual transmission).

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
I wouldn't buy one based on looks alone. Looks very bland, sterile, and cheap.


LOL, says a Camry driver?!?!??!?

Look at the corolla for an example of a mess of a design. Sure it will run for a while like a bland tin couch...

But the five different color LCD screens are reason enough to know the designers didn't pay attention to detail. Sad.

The last cruze was decent, this one can only be better.

As opposed to the bland tin couch of a corolla, or the ugly design of the new civic...

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
A base Accord is still better than loaded Civic.


I'm not so sure on that one. It all depends on the owner's circumstances and use for the car. A family might enjoy the space of the Accord, while somebody else might enjoy the smaller size of the Civic in downtown traffic. A salesperson might need a large trunk to carry around demonstrators, while a solo commuter might want a lower monthly fuel bill. Priorities.

I get the appeal of having a smaller car loaded to the hilt. All the dynamic advantages such as being more nimble on the road and easier sightlines while being coddled in the lap of luxury. If the sheer space isn't necessary or even wanted, getting a smaller car with some options for the same price as a more basic larger car makes complete sense.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
A base Accord is still better than loaded Civic.

Originally Posted By: sciphi
I'm not so sure on that one. It all depends on the owner's circumstances and use for the car. A family might enjoy the space of the Accord, while somebody else might enjoy the smaller size of the Civic in downtown traffic. A salesperson might need a large trunk to carry around demonstrators, while a solo commuter might want a lower monthly fuel bill. Priorities.

I get the appeal of having a smaller car loaded to the hilt. All the dynamic advantages such as being more nimble on the road and easier sightlines while being coddled in the lap of luxury. If the sheer space isn't necessary or even wanted, getting a smaller car with some options for the same price as a more basic larger car makes complete sense.

More or less, his opinion about car(s) for himself where he live and his use.

I, personally, like a subcompact more than midsize now. After kids growth up and moved out we don't need more room than 2 seats. We don't buy much anything so 8-10 cf is more than enough. Smaller, lighter is easier to park, better fuel economy and faster cornering speed.

 

[daves87rs]

What kills is that while the hatch is being built in Mexico, it starts quite high (almost 26k), no base model ( L or LS) with only LT or Premier trim. Also told that most will loaded to the gills (around 30k+) and there will be no ordering a hatch for a while...


I will NOT pay almost 30k for a compact hatch. Might as well get a Colorado LT or Equinox LT for that price! Heck, a Focus hatch can still be had for under 20k......


Love the hatch, even get the GM discount-and I STILL CANNOT justify the price.......

 

[dailydriver]

^^^The quick Focus ST hatch is what, like $26-27K or so, very well equipped, BEFORE rebates, incentives, and discounts??

 

[horse123]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
I can't believe a loaded Cruze is 30 grand. 30 grand! That's more than half of the average American's household income before tax, for a 150 horsepower compact car.

Unreal.


How is it the car company's fault that there are a lot of poor people?

9 months of trade school and I'm easily making more than that within a month of finishing school.

If people want to choose a dead end career that gives them no money, then that's up to them. They can buy the base model spark. You buy a fully loaded car which has (assuming this all here, not gonna bother to check) leather, a big integrated nav screen, upgraded audio, 18 or 19 inch wheels, and a host of other luxury features, what do you expect? $15,000? It's not 1940.

Originally Posted By: dailydriver
^^^The quick Focus ST hatch is what, like $26-27K or so, very well equipped, BEFORE rebates, incentives, and discounts??


Considering it's 25k base price I find it rather hard to believe it's fully loaded with options at 26k Mr Ford fanboy/shill

Funny you're comparing to "before discounts and rebates" to MSRP. How many times, exactly, have you heard of someone paying MSRP?

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: horse123
How many times, exactly, have you heard of someone paying MSRP?


I paid MSRP for my Saturn and my Toyota's, but they were non-negotiating places. Paid MSRP for my diesel manual transmission station wagon, but as a desirable model one doesn't have much leeway.

I suspect most non-car enthusiasts pay MSRP. They just aren't online talking about it, as, very often, it's just an appliance to them. It's like buying a washer from Home Depot. Find the lowest price, pay that, move on.

 

[horse123]

One thing that I can admit is ridiculous about Chevy's pricing is on the Colorado.

It starts out like this. You see a listing for a $20,000 truck. WOW! That's cheap!

But I need 4wd since I live in the mountains and use my truck for work off road sometimes, WOW now it costs 28,000 just for adding 4wd. But I have 2 children too, so I need the crew cab. Oh look at that, now it's $32,000. For just a 4WD small truck, with no features beyond an automatic transmission. No automatic windows, no keyless entry, nothing.

Now that's some bullpoopy bait-y pricing right there.