Chevrolet has big… well… smallish plans for Paris, where the automaker will unveil an “all-new” compact vehicle dubbed the Cruze. Born from Chevy’s global design and engineering team, the Cruze will sport many of the exterior elements we’ve seen on recent concepts, so expect lots of angular lines, a high belt-line and a squat greenhouse. The Cruze will supposedly be able to handle a parcel of five passengers, along with whatever junk they can fit in the trunk, and will measure in at 4.6 meters (181 inches) think of it as the next cobalt.
 
After its world premier in the City of Lights this October, the Cruze will go on sale across Europe in the spring of 2009, and, according to the press release below the fold, will be available in “other global regions” afterwards.

Cruze was developed by a global design and engineering team and will be built in multiple locations around the world. The Cruze approaches an overall length of 4.6 meters and offers ample interior space and cargo capacity for five passengers, giving it an advantage over competition in the compact segment.

GM (General Motors) says that the Cruze will be available with 16-valve, 1.6-liter (112 hp) and 1.8-liter (140 hp) gasoline engines featuring variable valve timing (VVT) on both inlet and exhaust sides. This will give the car additional power as well as better fuel economy while producing lower emissions. The automaker’s new 2.0-liter turbo diesel, developing 150 hp will add more power with even greater fuel thriftiness. A five-speed manual transmission will be standard, but an optional six-speed automatic transmission will round out the Cruze’s offerings. The latter transmission choice is unusual in that it’ll be the first time that a six-speed transmission is used in the compact car class.

Interior styling is still a bit of a mystery, one that GM plans to talk more about when the car officially makes its debut at the Paris Auto Show in September 2008. Seating for as many as five occupants is likely, with optimum capacity for four adults.

Will customers be attracted to the Cruze? That remains to be seen but with its arching roof-line and coupe-like proportions, the Cruze certainly has a sporty flair, something lacking in most cars of its size.

Cruze features Chevrolet’s new global design language that will continue to be a signature element for future vehicles carrying the gold bowtie. Combined with high safety standards and excellent build quality, Chevrolet will again deliver on its promise of offering a very attractive package at an exceptional value.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 4th, 2008 at 5:13 am and is filed under Future Cars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.