Those inclined to “buy Ohio” will be able to pick up a Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze this September with a sticker price starting at $16,995, General Motors said yesterday.

At that price, the Cruze, which replaces the Chevrolet Cobalt, will cost about $500 more than a Honda Civic, but GM contends that its car is the better value.

The company’s announcement yesterday included a side-by-side comparison, showing that the Cruze has nine standard features that cost extra on the Civic, including air conditioning, traction control and satellite radio.

“While some of our competitors may have a lower starting price, Cruze wins on value once these competitors are optioned up,” said Jim Campbell, GM’s vice president for marketing, in a statement.

Christina Ra, a Honda spokeswoman, said the comparison isn’t very useful because it uses a basic version of the Civic, without some of the most popular add-ons. Also, she sees little crossover between a potential Civic buyer and a Cruze buyer.

“The target customer may be very different,” she said.

Built at the Lordstown Assembly Plant near Youngstown, the Cruze is GM’s attempt to establish a presence among compact vehicles. In addition to the Civic, the segment includes the Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla.

Ohio leaders have a lot riding on the Cruze, which they hope will mark a turnaround for GM’s fortunes in the state, after a long period of layoffs and plant closings. Lordstown was spared in last year’s closings partly because of the investment that had been made in developing the Cruze.

The model already has been introduced in international markets, with about 200,000 vehicles sold. GM had hoped to begin U.S. sales sooner, but there have been delays on the engineering side.

John Wolkonowicz, auto analyst at IHS Global Insight, says the Cruze is one of the most important new products for U.S.-owned automakers in the next year. The others include the redesigned Focus compact and Fiesta subcompact from Ford and the Chevrolet Aveo subcompact.

The four models take aim at parts of the market that have been dominated by foreign-based automakers.

“This is going to put some pricing pressure on the Japanese companies,” Wolkonowicz said.

His main concern about the Cruze is that its styling might be too bland, especially compared with the new Focus.

“The Cruze is a lot more conservative than the Focus,” he said. “That’s not by design, but that’s how it turned out.”

His company is forecasting that the Cruze will sell 169,000 units next year and increase to 180,000 a year by 2013.

Those numbers would be lower than those for the Cobalt, 212,000 of which were sold in 2006.

Wolkonowicz said GM made almost no profit on the Cobalt, but the Cruze is expected to be more of a moneymaker.

Tags: 2011, Cruze, price
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Chevy U.K has officially released pricing and information on the upcoming Chevy Cruze. The Cruze will be offered in 9 different trim levels and 3 engine choices. Sometimes less is more, which we suspect will be this case.  Too much complexity and the potential customers will be running away in confusion.

CHEVROLET ‘CRUZES’ AHEAD ON PRICE…

* Price announced for Cruze, from £11,545 on-the-road
* Exceptional spec levels even on entry-level car
* On sale from July 2009

Keeping an eye on money has never been more topical, and the good news for Chevrolet customers is that the all-new Cruze will be true to the brand’s traditional value-for-money ethics despite its premium styling and build quality.

The newcomer, which has the stance of a four-door coupe, will start from just £11,545 on-the-road, and will arrive at UK Chevrolet retailers in July.

It will be offered with a choice of four engines – 1.6 (113PS) and 1.8-litre (141PS) petrols featuring variable valve timing for maximum performance and efficiency, plus two diesels, both 2.0-litres and with a choice of 125PS or 150PS power outputs. Automatic transmission will be offered on the petrol models.

The range will kick off with the 1.6 S, which enjoys a comprehensive list of standard equipment despite its value price tag. As well as remote central locking, the model features follow-me-home lighting, a feature normally reserved for premium cars, a quality CD-radio system, electric front windows, a fully-adjustable driver’s seat and steering wheel, six airbags, ESC, upmarket soft-touch cabin materials, and premium blue-backlit dashboard dials. The 1.6S A/C model, at £11,995, also adds air conditioning.

The LS model, expected to be the best-seller in the range, starts at only £12,595 for the 1.6 manual variant and includes air conditioning as standard, plus other upmarket features such as 16-inch alloy wheels, a chrome edged radiator grille, front fog lights and reverse parking sensors.

Flagship of the range will be the LT, which comes in 1.8 petrol or 2.0-litre diesel guise, starting at £13,595. For that, you get a list of specification that’s truly befitting of a luxury car, including cruise control, climate control, an automatic anti-dazzle rear view mirror, an upgraded high-output stereo, electric rear windows, chrome detailing and 17-inch alloy wheels, plus the option of an integrated satellite navigation system.

The Cruze will also spearhead Chevrolet’s campaign in the 2009 World Touring Car Championship, which kicked off on March 8 in Curitiba, Brazil. The UK round of the WTCC takes place at Brands Hatch on July 19 – just in time to coincide with the car’s UK introduction.

Tags: Brazil, Chevrolet, Chevy Cruze, Cruze, price, release, UK, united kingdom, WTCC
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