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Chevy Cruze Bringing Fuel Efficiency Without High Costs To Buffalo

The newly designed shuttered fascias on the Chevy Cruze

The Chevy Cruze is here.  Why do you want it?  Well plenty of reasons.  Lets let the reviews speak for theselves:

-"The Cruze will surpass the standard gas, non-hybrid offerings on the market today," said Business Week. 

-"This is where Chevy needs to be," Joe Wiesenfelder of Cars.com.

 -"The Chevy Cruze hits or even exceeds the mark on the all-important interior quality factor, while adding to the package with fuel economy, safety, a great ride and an incredible look"- Autoguide.com

Those reviews are just a handful.  Scour the internet, its tough to find a negative word about the Cruze.  Aside from the design and comfort, the name of the game is fuel economy. 

The Cruze is estimated to get 40 mpg, thanks in part to a very simple redesign. The new car will feature a lowered fascia, or front bumper and grill area, with a shutter look. This marks the first Chevy car with such a feature.

An electric motor is connected to the fascia shutters, which close automatically at 37 mph and reopen at 34 mph. When closed, there is a 0.016 improvement in the coefficient of drag, said Mike Dankowksi, Cruze product manager.  The Cruze is intended to eventually replace the Chevy Cobalt. 

"We looked at every single possibility of squeezing out the last tenth of a mile per gallon," Danowski said. 

In February, Chevrolet announced the addition of a third shift at their Lordstown, OH plant that will add 1,200 workers to support a smooth, fast and flawless ramp-up of Cruze production. More than $350 million has been invested to re-tool the plant and add new, state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment.

“This investment helps secure the best possible manufacturing footprint to react to market demand and deliver vehicles faster to our customers,”said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president Chevrolet marketing. “We believe Cruze is the right car at the right time for American consumers.”

On Thursday, the West Herr team will be heading to the Chevy Plant in Lordstown.  We'll get a plant tour and the day will end with us driving a Cruze home!  Stay tuned to our blog, our website, our Facebook page and our Twitter page for updates.