GM seeks global boost in Spark, Cruze

As General Motors’ Chevrolet brand prepares to launch two fuel-efficient small cars in Europe and across the world, its U.S. arm prepares for the boost it expects the vehicles to give it at home.

The Chevrolet Cruze compact and Spark minicar are cornerstones of its plan to double its European sales to a million cars a year by 2015 and elevate the fuel economy and style of its U.S. small-car line.

“These cars are both good examples of the fit and finish, quality materials and appeal an automaker can get when it spreads its development costs over a large number of vehicles sold around the world,” said Erich Merkle, a Grand Rapids-based auto analyst. “That’s what Toyota and Honda have been beating GM’s head in with for years: the benefits of leveraging global sales.”

The Cruze will become one of Chevrolet’s core models, rolling out of a high-output plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

Chevrolet promises it will offer highway fuel economy of at least 40 m.p.g. and more passenger space than any other car in its class — including best-sellers like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.

“The Cruze is going to be huge sales volume” when it replaces the Cobalt as Chevrolet’s primary compact car, Chevy general manager Ed Peper said. “It’s going to be a mainstay of the brand like the Silverado, Malibu and Impala.” The Cobalt averages about 200,000 sales a year.

References to the Malibu come frequently when the topic is the Cruze. The midsize Malibu sedan gave Chevrolet a legitimate competitor to leading midsize sedans like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. People paid thousands of dollars more than they had for the old model, and the car topped the Accord and Camry in fuel-economy ratings and independent quality surveys. It was the first Chevy car to benefit from global engineering.

Chevrolet’s small and midsize cars labored in obscurity for decades, overlooked by buyers and GM’s North American leadership. They earned little or no money compared to big cars and trucks, so GM’s North American operations invested more time, money and talent in larger vehicles.

In Europe, Asia and Latin America, however, subcompact, compact and midsize cars dominate sales and determine the profit-loss equation.

“It the United States, small cars were an afterthought,” said analyst Stephanie Brinley of AutoPacific. “In the rest of the world, they were vital.” A few years ago, GM realized it could offer better small cars in the United States by selling globally engineered vehicles.

“There’s a better understanding outside North America of how to do cars that are small, efficient, profitable and appealing,” Brinley said. “GM is leveraging their global capabilities on the Cruze and Spark.”

The Cruze is the first vehicle developed to be a worldwide Chevrolet from the ground up. The rakish Spark minicar, which is to go on sale in Europe in a year and in the United States in 2011, is to come next, followed shortly by the Orlando, an innovative seven-seat compact minivan.

Chevrolet’s global design has a few key elements: a twin-port grille, gold Chevy badge, twin-cockpit interior that wraps around the front passengers, and round taillights.

“With a consistent design theme and global engineering, we can move a vehicle from one region of the world to another if we see potential for it,” GM design chief Ed Welburn said. “The Spark was never planned for sale in the U.S., but the market changed” when fuel prices soared and the economy crashed.

The Spark is to go on sale first in Europe, where Chevrolet sold 507,000 vehicles last year.

“We’re still a small brand, but we’re profitable,” said Chevrolet Europe President Wayne Brannon. “I absolutely expect to make money this year.”

The Cruze sedan will be a brand mainstay in central and east European markets, including Russia, where assembly in St. Petersburg is to begin in September.

At 143.3 inches, 2.4 inches shorter than a Mini Cooper, “It’s tiny by North American standards, but it has swagger. When you get in this car, you announce yourself,” Brannon said.

The Spark could approach 50 m.p.g. on the highway, while the seven-seat Orlando may come close to 40 m.p.g.

Veteran Chevrolet dealer Duane Paddock of Paddock Chevrolet in Buffalo, N.Y., can barely contain his optimism:

“This will be the best car lineup for fuel economy, style and quality in the history of Chevrolet.”

source:Freep.com