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.

Read more »

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".

Read more »

2011 SEMA: What is this Oddball Chevy Creation?

This year's edition of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas is a still long way off but some tuners have already begun teasing their custom creations.

This strange photo of an unnamed project car appeared on a dedicated SEMA show page on Facebook. There are no details about the build other than it will appear at the show in first week of November.

While it's evident that the five-door hatchback model sports the face of the Chevrolet Cruze, we're not sure about the body (and no, it's not the Cruze hatch). If you have any ideas or thoughts, skip the jump and head over to our comments section to share.

Read more »

Chevrolet Cruze Tops US Compact Car Sales Chart in July

The Chevrolet Cruze was the best-selling compact car in the US in July, with 24,648 deliveries, while in June, Chevy’s compact sedan beat not only its segment rivals like the Toyota Corolla and the Hyundai Elantra, but also all cars irrespective of size. Read more »

New Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback Launched in the UK

Chevrolet found the perfect opportunity at the Donington race of the WTCC (World Touring Car Championship) to launch the hatchback version of the Cruze in Britain. While Yvan Muller was winning both rounds of the race in the Cruze WTCC, further advancing his lead on the championship, journalists were able to use the country roads around Donington to get their first taste of Chevy’s new hatchback. Read more »

GM Confirms Chevrolet Cruze Diesel for the USA, Sales Start in 2013

We’d heard rumors that a diesel-powered version of the Chevrolet Cruze was being readied for the U.S., but now it’s official as General Motors announced today that the diesel variant will be added to the compact model’s North American lineup in calendar year 2013. Read more »

Your Tax Dollars at Work: The Volt as a Halo Model to the Cruze

In the 1960s, customers who could only dream of owning a Corvette often left their local Chevy dealers with the keys to a new Impala or Bel-Air. Now, it seems the same thing is happening with the Chevy Volt don’t-call-it-a-hybrid and the Cruze small car.

Year-to-date sales are up some 32% across the range, though only 567 of the 80,000 plus cars the Detroit automaker sold in June were Volts. The remainder were cars like the Cruze, which has earned the crown of Chevy’s biggest seller.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »