Aug 17, 2008 - 04:06:35 CDT
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SAN FRANCISCO - General Motors Corp. said Friday it will announce a multimillion-dollar investment this week in its Lordstown, Ohio, plant and also unveil the first photos of the Chevy Cruze, its next stab at competing in the red-hot small-car segment.
The Cruze is slated to be built beginning in 2010 at the Lordstown facility, which was opened in 1966 and currently rolls compact cars like the Cobalt - the car the Cruze will be replacing. GM said that the sedan, expected to deliver 40-plus miles to the gallon, will be officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show next month.
The automaker is reacting to intense pressure to bring smaller vehicles to market that can hold their own in the increasingly crowded segment, with record-high gas prices triggering a seismic consumer shift away from trucks and SUVs.
In an effort to meet customer demand, 18 of GM's next 19 are slated to be cars or crossovers, instead of the hulking, profit-heavy line of gas guzzlers the company has pushed for decades.
- McClatchy Newspapers
The Cruze is slated to be built beginning in 2010 at the Lordstown facility, which was opened in 1966 and currently rolls compact cars like the Cobalt - the car the Cruze will be replacing. GM said that the sedan, expected to deliver 40-plus miles to the gallon, will be officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show next month.
The automaker is reacting to intense pressure to bring smaller vehicles to market that can hold their own in the increasingly crowded segment, with record-high gas prices triggering a seismic consumer shift away from trucks and SUVs.
In an effort to meet customer demand, 18 of GM's next 19 are slated to be cars or crossovers, instead of the hulking, profit-heavy line of gas guzzlers the company has pushed for decades.
- McClatchy Newspapers
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