General Motors' turn around specialist was the Chevrolet Cruze after it did the unimaginable just at the right time. Not only has the Cruze registered jaw-dropping numbers (in excess of 1 million units worldwide) in almost every market it sailed into, it contributed significantly to the bottom line of the then financially-troubled GM. The Cruze is declared a hit in the US where it was neck and neck with the Toyota Corolla. GM was for the first time competitive in that compact sedan (for America) segment. It has encouraged GM to develop a sportswagon variant.
Left - Chevrolet Cruze facelift; Right - Front fascia of the current Cruze
Back home, GM's most successful launch since mid-2009 is the Cruze. The Beat diesel comes close, but after the boring performance of the Optra Magnum and the pull-out of two premium segment cars - SR-V and Forester - who would have expected the Cruze to beat all odds and force the competition to advance diesel engine plans?
The Cruze was shown first at the Paris Motor Show back in October 2008. Its been about three years since it was put on the market and it rightfully deserves a cosmetic makeover. The guys over at AutoForum.cz have posted an image of the upgraded model which wears a new multi-slab grill as opposed to the current model's beehive design. The air dam has evolved from a quadrilateral to a hexagon. Fog light houses are shaped to resemble a right-angled triangle that's ready to prove the Pythagorean theorem.
Under the hood, GM will be tempted to transplant the updated Captiva's 2.2-liter VCDI engine that is more fuel economical and better to drive. General Motors has started working on a range of next generation EcoTec petrol engines likely to feature on the Cruze facelift in the coming years. It has tested a full EV guise and is working on sending out a Volt-based variant into the market in the next few years. Future variants are likely to come out sporting the updated looks.
[Source - AutoForum.cz]
