“I would point out that the Chevrolet Orlando is built on the same basic vehicle architecture and component set as the Chevrolet Volt,” GM’s vice president of global program management, Jon Lauckner, revealed to Automotive News. “So if it makes sense, it’s certainly something we can take a look at.”

Furthermore, GM’s president of North America, Troy Clarke, said the Orlando’s platform was “very adaptable” to sharing the Volt technology.

Even without any hybrid technology, Chevrolet promises highway fuel economy of around 40mpg (5.88L/100km) for a petrol-powered Orlando, and a more efficient diesel version also in the works is also being considered for U.S. sale.

Additionally, Basel told the Flint News GM was examining all options — including using existing buildings on site.

Our take is GM’s looking to cut every short-term cost possible as they try to buy time until a federal solution arises to the Carpocalypse. For the moment, the most pressing vehicle to bring to market is the Chevy Volt. Given the initial low volume, GM will import 1.4-liter engines…err..range extenders from their European plant. The Chevy Cruze has been pushed off a year, so the need for the Flint engine plant to be built right now doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Thus the delay announced late last year.

However, Flint should expect without further federal funds — or a pre-packaged bankruptcy of some sort — they won’t be seeing that plant anytime soon.

While General Motors’ financial strife may be putting many of its development plans on the back burner for now, a statement from Chevrolet’s European Executive Director confirms that the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze will remain on schedule for its debut in the European market in just a few months.

Expected to debut in Europe in April, the new Cruze is expected to sell in numbers of up around 20,000 to 25,000 in its first year. While sales are important for the midsized Cruze, even more important is turning the considerable European market on to the Chevrolet brand as a whole, and to help it to achieve the success that Ford has had there. Ford’s small economical cars have proven a hit in Europe and despite the global financial meltdown Ford of Europe is expected to be profitable both this year and next year, reports Automotive News.

Meanwhile, the Chevrolet Cruze has already been launched in South Korea but still has a long wait until it sees the shores of North America. The car was scheduled to go on sale in North America by mid 2010 as a replacement for the Chevrolet Cobalt, however sources at GM are citing the company’s current cash struggles as a factor that will end up delaying it until 2011 at the earliest.

The European market Cruze will be built in GM’s Daewoo center in South Korea and then exported to the European market, while the North American and Russian models will be built locally.

I believe that North American manufacturers are trying to provide premium luxuries for compact vehicles, which we have seen in European markets, such as Navigation and distance control. It will enhance the current product offerings, such as the new redesigned Malibu and show that GM is serious about retaining market share by delivering vehicles the market wants.

PRESS RELEASE

Chevrolet Cruze

A new name and a new design for an all-new car

Detroit – Chevrolet announced today that its all-new entry in the compact segment will be called Cruze. The new Chevrolet will make its global debut at the Paris Motor Show in early October.

Cruze was developed by a global design and engineering team and will be built in multiple locations around the world. The Cruze approaches an overall length of 4.6 meters and offers ample interior space and cargo capacity for five passengers, giving it an advantage over competition in the compact segment.

The Cruze features Chevrolet’s new global design language that will continue to be a signature element for future vehicles carrying the gold bowtie. Combined with high safety standards and excellent build quality, Chevrolet will again deliver on its promise of offering a very attractive package at an exceptional value.

The new Chevrolet Cruze will be available in European markets in Spring 2009, followed by other global regions.

There have been widespread rumors in regards to the efficiency of the vehicle. The outgoing Cobalt, currently gets 33-mpg on the highway and it’s special fuel efficiency program (XFE) counterpart gets 37-mpg on the highway.

On August 12th, 2008 Beth Lowry confirmed the new upcoming Cruze will get 9-mpg better gas mileage then the current Cobalt. We are not mathematicians, but 37 + 9 is 46-mpg, but we dare not argue with a press release. The success of the Cruze is essential to the survival of General Motors, as it seems only it’s compact segment is performing in terms of sales.

The Cobalt, which is confirmed to be leaving in 2010 has been a consistent performer, with sales of approximately 200,000 units annually. This compact segment is particularly important to each of the Big Three, as each company has been posting losses due to it’s heavy presence in the truck market. Therefore the key players view the compact segment as opportunity to make up for lost sales in other areas caused by higher gasoline prices.

The Cruze according to General Motors press releases, will be powered by a 1.4L turbocharged global engine, which is said to produce 140hp. No word yet on an SS model, which has been an important part of sport compact tuning since it’s debut. It will be slightly larger in size then the Cobalt, however smaller in size than the Malibu.

General Motors has set $150 million aside for development costs for the Cruze, as well as $350 million for refurbishing the Ohio plant for manufacturing the vehicle. Amidst of cutbacks, the Lordstown, Ohio plant is one of the few to receive new product and an increase in capacity. This is part of a larger scale turnaround plan to fully revitalize General Motors and turn it profitable.

CEO Rick Wagoner recently revealed a full size foam replica of the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze at a recent news conference at Lordstown, Ohio General Motors manufacturing plant.

General Motors said today it is making a $350 million investment to prepare its Lordstown, Ohio, plant to build the Chevrolet Cruze by April 2010.

GM said it will spend a total of $500 million on its Cruze product program in the United States.

The bulk of the $350 million going into the Lordstown plant will go to consolidating the plant’s two body shops into one, plant manager John Donahoe told us.

The rest of the investment will go into the plant’s general assembly area, which will have added space when the body shops are consolidated. Donahoe said GM is determining what content it will put in that area to further improve efficiency.

He said all the changes to the plant will be made “on the fly.”

“We will have the Cobalt coming off the end of the assembly line, and three spaces later will be the Cruze,” he said.

The plant is expecting to build 330,000 cars this year. Donahoe said the plant will have a similar capacity after the renovation is completed.

The Cruze is scheduled to sell in the U.S. in 2011 after launching in 2009 in Europe and Asia.

The Lordstown plant is building the Cruze in place of the Chevy Cobalt, which will be discontinued. The plant’s 4,600 hourly workers also make the Pontiac G5 coupe.

“The Cruze will build on the already successful Chevy Cobalt,” Ed Peper, GM North America vice president of Chevrolet said in a statement. “Our dealers are asking for many more Cobalts than we can build.”

Through July, Cobalt sales are up 16.4 percent from last year, to 130,660 units.

The 2008 Cobalt gets up to 24 mpg in city driving and 33 mpg on the highway. Peper said the Cruze is a replacement with fuel efficiency that consumers now demand.

“Our goal for the Chevrolet Cruze is to lead in fuel economy in this very competitive car segment,” CEO Rick Wagoner said in a statement.

Earlier Thursday, GM offered an early look at the Cruze, which is scheduled to make its official debut in October at the Paris auto show. The car has a two-tier grille and wraparound headlights that look similar to Chevrolet’s Malibu sedan.

“Our goal in designing Cruze was to be bold, not evolutionary,” chief designer Taewan Kim said in a statement.

The Cruze is scheduled to go on sale in March 2009 in Europe, where it will be available with 1.6 liter and 1.8-liter engines and a 2.0-liter turbodiesel.

The state of Ohio is giving GM more than $71 million to build the Cruze in Lordstown, Donahoe said. That will go toward new machinery and equipment and training workers.

GM made a similar investment in Lordstown in 2002 when it committed to renovating its assembly plant there for making Cobalts.

PRESS RELEASE: GM Announces $500 Million Investment for New Small Car

New Chevrolet Cruze to be built in Lordstown, Ohio

All-new Chevrolet Cruze Features Dramatic Design (Press Release)

Lordstown, OHIO – General Motors Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner today announced that the company will invest more than $500 million in the U.S. to build the Chevrolet Cruze, an all-new global compact car. The vehicle will be built at its Lordstown, Ohio plant. The Chevy Cruze will be officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in a few short weeks. In a surprise move, the investment announcement was accompanied by a glimpse of the Cruze life-size show property.

The investment in Lordstown is one of several that have been announced at U.S. plants in the past five years, adding up to over $2 billion total investment in Ohio and more than $20 billion in the United States. “One of the key reasons for the success of the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 is the Lordstown workforce and the strong partnerships with the UAW and local and state officials,” Wagoner said. “Based on the quality of work and these strong partnerships, we are pleased to announce our plans to invest another $500 million in the Chevy Cruze product program in the U.S., including more than $350 million in Lordstown.”

Ed Peper, GMNA vice president of Chevrolet, spoke to GM’s strong position in delivering fuel-efficient vehicles that consumers want to buy. “The Cruze will build on the already successful Chevrolet Cobalt, Cobalt XFE and Cobalt SS, all of which are nearly sold out in dealer showrooms,” Peper said. “Our dealers are asking for many more Cobalts than we can build.”

Chevrolet Cobalt sales are up 16 percent, year-to-date through July 2008, with an impressive 33 miles-per-gallonhighway. The new Cobalt XFE model jumps to 37 miles-per-gallon and is selling almost as soon as it’s unloaded from the delivery trucks to dealerships.

The Chevrolet Cruze epitomizes the global nature of the automobile industry and General Motors’ commitment to deliver fuel efficient, high-quality products. Cruze is the result of a development process harnessing GM’s global design and engineering expertise. It is the first of a new family of compact Chevrolets that will continue the attention to quality, fuel efficiency, and strong value promise of the highly successful Malibu and all other vehicles under the Chevrolet brand.

“The Chevrolet Cruze was designed and engineered by our global teams in Europe and Asia Pacific and will be manufactured in those regions in addition to the assembly plant here in Lordstown, Ohio,” Wagoner said. “Our goal for the Chevrolet Cruze is to lead in fuel economy in this very competitive car segment.”

The new Cruze will be launched in Europe and Asia Pacific next year. It’s scheduled to make its European debut at the Paris Motor Show in October.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.