The front looks like the Aveo…. don’t it?

They’d better put a ballsier engine in it if they expect it to succeed here in the states. 140hp in a car of that size? I guess I’ll be cruzeing by many of them poking along in the slow lane.

RaineMan is right. It’s a good thing they’ve obviously devoted much time and effort into the interior because you’re likely to be stuck there longer than you would have estimated.

Interior looks very nice for a car in this class…seeing that 140hp is the standard motor, I will wager that there might be a more potent option (with the motors they already have) for a sportier or SS version. Also, don’t forget this thing is “supposed” to have much improved MPG as well, and better than it’s competitors…and what’s the standard HP on a Civic or Corolla? I don’t think it’s 140…and I’ll bet this has more torque to boot, being a DI turbo. I guess we’ll have to see when it comes out. Knowing GM, it’ll be 2 more years. Oh, right, it is almost 2 more years.

140hp is the industry standard for compacts. 140 will be fine for this thing.

Let’s not forget that, not long ago, 140hp out of a V8 was normal.

the civic has 140hp standard, i believe. the corolla is somewhere around 130hp… unless the cruze weighs significantly more than they do, it should do well within the segment.

WOW!!! Very nice interior!! Reminds me of an Acura on the inside. Nice job GM!

inline…so true! My mother’s 1981 Caprice Classic had 140 whole HP. Though I’m not sure it weighed a whole lot more than today’s subcompacts! Cars are just too damn heavy these days, thanks to our nanny-state. And then they want everyone to get 35mpg…does it surprise anyone why we are in the mess we are in? !!

Damn! The interior! I’m impressed.

Still looks like a twin ****pit design too me.

Lets see if this interior makes it to production or if it will be modified due to cost reasons.

Interior is very much like latest Accord: looks like fallopian tubes.
140 HP is not a measure of how well or poorly the engine/car will perform. The real question is when the torque will peak and how that torque transfered to wheels. With turbo engine, torque probably decent, hopefully Chevy (oops Daewoo) knows how to transfer torque to driving wheels.

i like if they put a 6 gears in this i would consider it replacing my civic

My 1981 Olds307 is rated at 147 HP, but it has something around twice the torque rating than any production 4 cylinder, and even most modern V8s. Throughout the 60s to 80s, the Olds motors were always known for torque.

The dash is pretty good, although they stole the wheel from the Civic and the center console from the CTS.

It’s also worth noting, golf4me, that this car is a 2010. It’ll be out in 11 months, if not earlier.

Yeah the interior is pretty damn impressive for a an entry level sub-compact by Chevy.

And for those of you that are talking about the 140hp 1.4L DI turbo 4cyl. This is just going to be the base engine. The LNF 2.0L 260hp 260tq will probably make its way into a high performance version of the Cruze
just like it did with the Cobalt SS T/C.

There’s also rumor floating around that the Cobalt will stay around and be moved on the new AWD platform that the 2010 Saab 9-3 will be riding on and it’ll be a domestic competitor to the EVO and STI…

What’s the torque on the 1.8L? In a small engine like this, you need all the torque. The Saturn Astra has similar engine, so if this car prices too high, it is going to go the Astra way (i.e. slow sales). I still think 1.8L is a bit small for a car intended to slot above the Cobalt but not replace it. The Cruze is essentially where the Altima was in the 90s, slotted between Sentra and Maxima before it gained weight. That Altima came standard with a 2.4L KA24DE engine.

The car looks good, but does it go and how much does it weigh? If it is a true mid-size with its weight, it is going to be a slug.

I think it is a bit redudndent for Chevrolet to have 2 compact cars. One of these Vehicles Cobalt or Cruze should be a pontiac only since Pontiac is more than likely to not get anymore sporty unique sedans like the G8. I say the Curze. I know the Cruze is a little larger than the Cobalt but you still don’t need them both wearing the bowtie. I guess this will be like the Cavalier and Corsica of the late 80’s to mid 90’s. The Cobalt is the Cavaleir and the Cruze is the Cosica.

Also car companies are killing the after market stereo business. In cheap cars like this that usually come with a horrible radio you scrap the stereo and put a nice aftermarket one it. You can’t with dash layouts like this. Look at it it has a screen and separate buttons. I can understand the nice layout in a nice car that comes with really nice stuff like Bose, Harmon, Mark Levison, ect but why in a $20K car? If you have a problem with the factory stereo in a cheap car you don’t mind replacing it with something aftermarket but if you have one like thist you have to buy a very expensive factory radio to fix your problem. I have the factory radio in my car, stering wheel button are conveinient and it sounds good.

all looks good….. but that stupid chev logo on the front got to go. it doesnt look good at ALL.

“Lets see if this interior makes it to production or if it will be modified due to cost reasons.”

that is the production interior. It is already being built on the line.

And what do you suppose Chevrolet should have on the grille as their logo? A Honda badge? That comment made no sense at all.

And olds307, there’s no way your malaise era 27 year old 307 makes ‘around double’ the torque of most modern V8’s. I was with you on the 4-cyl part, but you lost me when you brought V8’s into it.

That’s a pretty nice looking interior for an econobox. This should sell well.

Interesting how it looks like you’ll be able to get navigation as an option on the Cruze, yet its not available on the Malibu. They need to fix that issue on the Malibu and FAST. When you can get navigation on a Corolla, there’s a problem.

mr hunter. I agree. Pontiac however does already have a sister car to the Cobalt. It’s the G5. The Cruze is actually supposed to be the replacement for the Cobalt. Dimensionally they are very similar. The Cruze is slightly bigger. The Cruze is actually being produced in April of 2010 and it’s going to be sold in other markets and not in the U.S market until July of 2010.

GM hasn’t officially said anything about the Cobalt being canceled yet, but I think they are considering keeping it but just looking to take it in a new direction. Hence the rumor I posted about GM considering making it an AWD domestic competitor to the EVO and STI. But I guess we’ll see.

It does look kind of like an Acura interior — A sea of black buttons all the same shape and grid-like arrangement. What’s so hard about making something ergonomic and look good? The designers seem to have taken their inspiration from those tacky boomboxes at Best Buy.

I don’t like how the numerals on the gauges follow the curve. I think if the numerals where upright it would look better. On another note, this is the first car from GM I can see competing with the ever so ugly, yet popular Civic.

I think most people are missing the point when they start criticizing the design of new cars. The Cruze was designed as a compact car that can compete against Corolla and Civic, these two japenese cars are the high volume sales for these two companies. You think people who buy the Corolla they care about the 0 to 60 MPH? no, they care more or less, they need confortable car, with decent fuel economy, and good safety package. The Corolla has only 130 HP, with fuel economy of 35 MPG hwy. the Civic has 140 HP, with fuel economy of 36 MPG hwy. The Cruze is expected to have 140 HP, with fuel economy of 40 MPG. If these numbers are true, with this design that they just revealed today in Paris show; I will have to say GM is going to sell a lot of this car. Compare this car to the new Jetta diesel that gets 40 MPG with price tag of $24,500. The Jetta is away very expensive, I will expect GM to sell the Cruze for $18,000, and still it will be a good price compared to Civic $19,000.

I love the interior, though. It looks quite sophisticated!

It’s comical to think this was the Cavalier’s segment. I’d call that a true sign of a turnaround.

Inline…articles I’ve read say June 2010 production in US…which is 21 months away. Almost 2 years. No way they should take that long. No way in hell.

Holy guacamole!

This is from GM?!?

I’m quite impressed. The interior looks downright amazing. Now, if they produce a ‘pocket rocket’ version, I’ll be first in line for a test drive.

(and this… from someone who hasn’t owned a GM vehicle since 1989)