Read an article in a German news magazine lamenting the demise of the car. They've noticed it in Europe too, nobody buys cars, they all buy cross-overs or SUVs. So in one respect it comes as no surprise that the Cruze isn't doing very well. It's not a stellar car to begin with and the competition in that segment is fierce with Asian or European manufacturer building a similar product at the same or lower price-point. It is however a terrible thing that GM doesn't retool that plant to build what the American consumer actually wants, instead of off-shoring those jobs in China or Mexico and shuttering this plant. I feel badly for those people and the town they live in; the impact will be felt in all segments of life there. Many will never get as well paying of a job ever again.
Yeah, it's sad....Cruze is a great car...a major improvement over Cavalier and then Cobalt. Many don't even consider it....sad. Also, everyone seems to want 4wd SUVs that they only need the 4WD for 2% of the time. Rest of time wasting gas, harder ride, lousy handling.
Well, they build Hyundais here in Georgia, and the new Buick Encore is built in China. Which is better for America, workers or CEOs and investors? What’s funny is that most of these ‘cute-UVs’ are just jacked up wrong wheel drive cars. Why can’t they do that to the Cruze? I get why no one wants cars anymore; the whole commuting world is full of CUVs and trucks. Looking out a car window makes you feel like you’re sitting at a low top table in a crowded bar. Patrick
My wife's cousin has a Cruze and i too think it's a great car inside and out. That thing flys and has great mpg.
M y wife has a Cruze LTZ RS and it's a great little car for what it costs. that little turbocharged 4 cylinder has plenty of get up and go for a daily driver and it gets great fuel economy.
Cruze is a decent car. I just bought a 2012 with 100k to use as another shop loaner car for my business. It does, however, have a lot of competition from other brands in that segment, and the aforementioned Cobalt and Cavalier left a bad taste in many people's mouths for poor quality.
I drove my 2000 caviler (bought brand new) for 120K miles trouble free and only got rid of it because the rust started eating through everything (thank you salted winter roads)
I had an ‘88 Z24 convertible; I bought it ftom a neighbor (retired GM worker who ordered it new) as a tired but cool commuter car. I really liked it and have a soft spot for them now. Paid $750, drove it a couple years while improving it, sold it for a grand. Patrick
Lordstown has gone through Many changes. it was the Plant for Firebirds in 67-68, as well as Camaro & Full sized Chevys. Changed to Vega for 71, then J cars, Cobalt & now the Cruze. Problem, is GM is building the Cruze Hatchbacks in Mexico & not Lordstown. 1 Dealership (under 20 Miles from the Plant) does a Lot of GM "Employee Sales" & leases, had a Large shipment & couldn't sell the cars. No one wanted to buy them because they weren't built Locally & GM had to reallocate them to other Dealers. (when You are the largest Employer in an Area, Why bring in the product from other areas?) Part of the Problem is they are also pushing Leases, rather than Sales, which got them in trouble a number of years ago. Those that Don't study History........... JR
Agreed JR. I bought my wife a new vehicle in February, man they were really trying to push that lease deal on me, never have and probably never will lease, I keep my vehicles 8-10 years. They were even trying to tell me that leasing would save me money even if I wanted to keep it, lease three years, come back and refinance after lease and save interest, yea right.... I could tell this guy was well schooled on how to sell a lease package. Who in their right mind is going to go back to the dealer in three years when lease is up and refinance that same vehicle for a higher monthly payment than they had on the lease? But even if you do the dealer wins, they get to sell you the same car that they sold you three years ago, again! win win for them, either you come back every three years and get a new car, or they get to sell you your car again...... Not for me. I buy what I can afford. It is very attractive tho, I mean how is everybody on the road driving brand new $50,000-$70,000 vehicles????? Lease
Lordstown also built H-Special's (Monza, Skyhawk, etc.) in the time period of 1976-80 along side the H-body (Vega, Astre) beginning, as stated, in 1971. As far as leases, I explain it this way: The more people that are in your pocket, the more you will pay. When buying/leasing an automobile, you will always have the manufacture in your pocket, always have the dealer in your pocket and, if you finance, the bank (value of money) will be in your pocket. Once you lease, the leasing company will also be in your pocket and they have to put food on the table too. They will also make money on you. As long as the buyer understands these truths, ok. Where I see people make the largest mistake is when they lease a vehicle and they drive WAY more than the lease calls for as far as max mileage. That will bury the purchaser quicker that anything. We have clients that lease a car, go over mileage, and have to park it for a couple of years. They will buy an older car to drive while the leased car sits. How is that economical?
Financing makes the $$ on Leasing. I can remember getting a flat $100 on commission for leases back in the mid-late 70s. As for the mileage, that can "Snow Ball" into forcing a Roll Over into a new lease, or even flit to a Higher profit sale, where the customer is REALLY Buried. (Additional "packing' that can actually boost the next financing to Much higher cost.) Then there are people that keep the same car, but renegotiate the new lease on a Used Vehicle. The Problem is that when the MFG. pushes all the Leasing, they actually are just "Renting" the car out. 3 years later, there is a Flood of used vehicles on the market putting the New Car Dealers Heavily into the Used market & then Again, New car sales tank. Manufacturing has to slow, (reason Lordstown is going to the 1 shift) and people are laid off & can't afford to buy a new car. Vicious Circle. JR[/QUOTE]
GM had to buy my moms Cruze back a few years ago. The dealers had to freeze the ones on the lot from being sold because of steering problems. It may have left a stigma on the name that never recovered. I think the the cheap Chevrolet i.e...chevette,monza,cavalier,cobalt,etc....needs to be retooled. A Cruze style platform with a 3cylinder diesel,manual trans availability...and a price to match. The basic chevette could be bought for $3000 in the 80's,by the 90's the cavaliers were over 10K....and cobalts and ions had doubled that price by the mid 2000's. A cheap garbage Chevy(spark) is 15K and it does not come with a spare tire.
I think GM puts its best engineering and most effort into the most profitable vehicles. (It only makes sense to). That’s trucks, big SUVs, Cadillacs, not entry level fuel sippers that few buy as ‘aspirational’ choices.
