SEMA Preview: GM Shows Tuned Sonics, Announces Cruze Concepts

General Motors is counting on its revised portfolio of small cars to further increase its sales in North American, and at next week's SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas, the Detroit-based automaker will showcase the personalization possibilities for its sub-compact Chevrolet Sonic and the Cruze sedan with a plethora of concepts.

For the time being, GM has shared some initial details on some of the concepts it will display in Las Vegas along with a handful of pictures of two customized Sonic hatchbacks.

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Diesel-Powered Chevrolet Cruze to be Built in Lordstown, on Sale in Early 2013

Following the confirmation on the development of a diesel-powered version of the well-selling Chevrolet Cruze sedan for the American market earlier this year, General Motors revealed today that the car will be built at its plant in Lordstown, Ohio, with sales to begin in early 2013.

GM spokesman Tom Mock told The Detroit News that the company will invest $5.5 million to upgrade the plant's body shop and general assembly line. The same factory also produces the gasoline variants of the Cruze, which has proved a big success for GM outselling everything in its segment including the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.

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Weak USD Makes Small Car Imports Expensive, American Buyers Turn to Domestic Brands

Is a weak dollar a good thing? If you’re asking the U.S. car industry, it most definitely is. Imported car prices have reached their highest point in the last 12 years, thus driving some of their prospective buyers away.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, in August the average price of an imported car reached a record high of $31,536. That makes the price difference between a comparable domestic-made car $7,614, which is the largest since December 1999.

Add to that the severe supply issues faced by the Japanese manufacturers, who are only now starting to recover from the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake, and it’s easy to see why more and more American car buyers are choosing domestic brands instead.

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Tjin…the Thursday Edition: 2012 Honda Civic and Chevrolet Cruze SEMA Show Tunes

The 2011 SEMA Show in Las Vegas this November is gearing up to be a busy event for the crew over at Tjin Edition.

Only two days after announcing their partnership with Ford for the customization of a 2012 Explorer SUV and a Mustang 5.0 GT, Tjin Edition revealed that it has also partnered up with Honda for the development of a bespoke 2012 Civic Si and GM for the creation of a decked out Chevy Cruze sedan.

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Chevrolet Cruze

More than 300,000 car enthusiasts passed through the hallways of the 2010 Essen Motor Show to marvel at what the 507 exhibitors had on display in the halls of the Messe Essen. This year witnessed a number of manufacturers highlighting their prowess in motor sport competitions by placing their racing and rallying machines on display. Then there were the Eurotuners displaying their creations, which included the BMW 5-Series Touring by AC Schnitzer, the Renault Wind by Elia, the Porsche Panamera by Caractere, the Volvo V 60 by Heico Sportiv and the Brabus SV 12 R Biturbo 800.

Below are images of the hottest cars on show at the 2010 Essen Motor Show in Germany ...

Chevrolet Cruze

Missed Opportunities Warehouse: Bizarre New Ad for Chevy Europe

In the same warehouse where the Ark of the Covenant is purportedly stored, all of the world’s missed opportunities are held in a sort of limbo, no doubt waiting for sweet release at the hands of Irina Spalko.

What you may not realise until the last twenty seconds (assuming you’re seeing this ad for the first time and didn’t look at the title of this post) is that it’s a TV commercial for Chevrolet’s European arm.

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What's This? The Blues Brothers' Chevrolet Cruzemobile

Perhaps one of the most memorable movie quotes from all time came from The Blues Brothers when Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) turns to his brother Jake (played by the late John Belushi) and says, "It's 106 miles to Chicago. We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses." Jake simply responds, "Hit it".

It's been more than 30 years since the music comedy film hit the big screen, but The Blues Brothers has achieved a cult status and still remains kick-ass to today.

So much that, in celebration of Chevrolet's 100th anniversary, the firm's British arm decided to pay tribute to the legacy of The Blues Brothers by crafting a special one-off model of its Cruze sedan named the "Cruzemobile" that echoes the look of the famous "Bluesmobile".

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New Study Finds that Chinese Buyers Prefer European over Local Brands

Car buyers’ preferences in China are shifting towards European models and away from domestic and even Japanese vehicles, according to a new study published today by JD Power Asia Pacific. This is the third year that the study takes place.

The latest edition included 65 brands and 161 separate models in nine segments and is based on responses from 4,979 potential buyers of new-vehicles located in 53 cities.

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GM Rumored to Offer Chevy Cruze with a 50mpg Diesel in the USA

Citing two unnamed people that were briefed earlier this week on GM’s future product plans, the Detroit Free Press reported today that the company is mulling the addition of a diesel engine to the Chevrolet Cruze’s range.

According to the insiders, a diesel version of the Cruze would return a highway fuel economy of around 50mpg rivaling the efficiency of the Toyota Prius hybrid which is rated at 51 mpg (4.6 lt/100 km) in the city and 48mpg (4.9 lt/100 km) on the highway. A diesel Cruze would also help GM meet the more demanding government gas mileage rules.

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GM’s Holden Readies Rebadged Chevys for 2011 Melbourne Auto Show

It’s a global economy we live in and as such, it doesn’t come to much of a surprise when we see the same vehicles launched under different brands and names in various parts of the world.

Of course, it would be somewhat unfair to Holden if we didn’t mention that it has played a key role in the development and design of several GM products including the 5-door Cruze that will be show in pre-production trim at the 2011 Australian International Motor Show (AIMS), which takes place in Melbourne from July to 10.

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First Drive: 2011 Holden Cruze Series II SRI-V

Appearing soon after General Motors announced its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, the Cruze – which launched in Oz almost two years ago– aims to appeal to buyers that would normally not buy a Holden. Its key competitors in the Australian market are the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and the (European) Ford Focus.

With the recent launch of the Aussie-built Cruze Series II, we thought it was about time we tackled GM’s “game changing” small car. The 1.4 L turbo is said to be the cherry on top of the Cruze cake, and the perfect target for a review. The question is: can it live up to the hype? Read on…

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Chevrolet Improves 2012 Cruze’s Fuel Economy by 2MPG and Adds New Standard Features

General Motors is releasing a model year update for its Cruze compact sedan. There are no styling changes as the company focused its attention on improving the car’s fuel economy and equipment features.

Thanks to a lower axle ratio for the 2012 models equipped with a six speed automatic transmission, the standard Cruze with the 138HP 1.4-liter turbocharged engine returns 38 mpg compared with 36 mpg for the current model, while the Cruze Eco with the same powetrain setup delivers 39 mpg instead of 37 mpg.

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Chevrolet Prices New Cruze 5d Hatchback from £13,995 in the UK

The new Cruze hatchback will arrive in Chevrolet’s UK dealerships next month with on-the-road prices starting from £13,995 (US$23,000), the automaker announced today. Customers can choose from three engines including two petrol units, a 124HP 1.6-liter and a 141HP 1.8-liter, and a 2.0-liter turbo diesel delivering 163-horsepower. All engines can be coupled to either a manual gearbox or an automatic transmission. Read more »

Holden Begins Local Testing of New Cruze Hatchback

Following the Australian market launch of the locally made and subtly refreshed Cruze Series II Sedan in March, GM’s Holden division announced today that it has began testing the five-door hatchback version of the subcompact model to fine tune the car before its introduction later this year. Holden also released two new photos of the Cruze hatch, which was designed by the firm’s Port Melbourne design studio. Read more »

GM Issues Recall for 2011 U.S.-spec Chevrolet Cruze Models

After the initial 2,100 inspections triggered by a detached steering wheel, General Motors announced a new recall involving 154,112 units of the 2011 model year Cruze - pretty much all models built for North America since production started in summer 2010.

The reason for this action is related to a steering issue as well, with GM saying it wants to check that the steering shaft was properly installed. The company didn't say whether or not the two recalls are related, but added it will use the latest one action to check on another issue that might affect some 120,000 models with automatic transmission. In this case, GM wants to verify whether the transmission shift linkage was properly installed.

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Chevrolet Sells 1.1 Million Vehicles Worldwide in Q1 2011 Recording its Best First-Quarter Results Ever

Driven by the new Cruze sedan and the globalization of the Chevrolet name, sales of GM’s brand in the first three months of the year reached 1.1 million vehicles worldwide, which is the best first-quarter results in the company’s history. Compared to the first quarter of 2010, Chevrolet recorded a 15 percent increase in sales this year.

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Ward's Auto Announces the 10 Best Car Interiors of 2011

Like every year, Ward's AutoWorld magazine picks the best interiors the automotive industry has to offer. For 2011, the publication chose 10 the ten best interiors the offer after editors analyzed 51 vehicles that were all-new or featured significantly upgraded interior. Ward's Auto picked the 10 winners from all segments, with the finalists including three luxury brands, three economy cars, a sport sedan, a minivan, an SUV and a family sedan.

If you’re still with us, the top 10 winners for 2011, in alphabetical order, are:

Audi A8
BMW X3 xDrive35i
Chevrolet Cruze 2LT RS
Dodge Charger Rallye Plus
Ford Focus Titanium
Honda Odyssey Elite
Hyundai Elantra Limited
Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Summit
Kia Optima EX
Volvo S60

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After Tsunami, American Automakers Looking for Home Turf Sales Boost

According to CNN’s Fortune and simple, cold-hearted business logic, now is the prime time for American manufacturers to take advantage of recent catastrophic events and pounce on their home market's consumers. A lack of Japanese parts (or entire vehicles), in conjunction with a strong yen and ever-improving American small cars, has given Ford, GM, and Chrysler a potential sales pick-me-up as we stroll into the summer months.

Two of the three factors which will help American manufacturers' sales stem directly from the tsunami in Japan a month ago: factory shutdowns have limited parts/vehicle availability, while the yen gained value as the Japanese are expected to repurchase some currency for disaster mitigation.

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Definitely not a Safety Feature: The Broken Chevy Cruze Wheel that Launched 2,100 Inspections [with Video]

Thanks to the worldwide web of ours, we now have some video of the one and only (so far) recall-inducing 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. For the full story, check out our previous post here. The nitty-gritty is that a guy, his wife, one of their mothers, and their 19-month-old son were in the car when the steering wheel decided it wasn't really needed anymore and took a hike...at 65 miles per hour.

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GM Recalling 2,100 Chevrolet Cruze sedans after Steering Wheel Comes Loose in one Car

Following a single incident on March 1, 2011, when a GM was notified of a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze that had been brought to one of its dealerships with a steering wheel that had come loose from the steering column, the Detroit automaker decided to issue a voluntary recall on certain Cruze vehicles. According to GM, during manufacturing, the steering wheel might have been improperly fastened and could detach from the steering column.

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