Click above for more new live shots of the 2011 Chevy Cruze
Yesterday’s announcement by General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner that his company would invest $500 million in the U.S. to build the 2011 Chevy Cruze was perhaps most welcomed by the workers at GM’s assembly plant in Lordstown, OH where the car will be built. That plant is getting a $350 million shot in the arm to gear up for the Cruze, which appeared on stage with Wagoner for the announcement. The car on hand was only a foam model, but it looks ready to drive away in (just don’t lean on the doors), and these new images give us a few more views of the Cruze not afforded by the official images of a red car released by GM yesterday. Cruze news will probably be hard to come by until October when the car makes its official world debut at the Paris Motor Show, so until then we’re left wondering how well it will match up against the likes of the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, next-gen Focus and the rest of the compact sedan segment.
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Chevy’s new Cruze small car debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show in late 2009.
GM
The small car will compete against the likes of the Honda Civic, Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla when it goes on sale later this year. As you can tell from the front view, the Cruze borrows heavily from the look of the larger Malibu sedan.
GM
Despite the long, fluid arc of the roof design, the car is still airy inside. Typically when manufacturers attempt a “coupe design” for sedans they end up sacrificing headroom. The Cruze seems to avoid this with ample space. One last thing: Do you notice a little bit of BWM’s 3-series sedan in the tail light design?
GM
A new interior is really where GM should be focusing for its entry-level effort and thankfully, when it comes to the Cruze, they’ve delivered. Again, like the larger Malibu, the Cruze features a two-tone sculpted look with some bright plastics that give the look of aluminum (without the cost). The seats are supple and supportive — something that was lacking from the Cobalt’s interior.
GM
Expect the Cruze to go on sale in the fall of 2010.
GM
[Source: GM, Photos by Bill Pugliano/Getty and David A. DeNoma]