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Report: Chevrolet Considering Cruze SS And Four-Door Coupe

 
7 2,094 views Feb 7, 2010
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2011 Chevrolet Cruze

HI-RES GALLERY: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze

With the death of Saturn and Pontiac, two of GM's best small, sporty cars are gone: the Solstice and Sky and their turbocharged GXP and Redline variants. The excellent Cobalt SS Sedan got the axe last year as well, leaving GM with only the Cobalt SS Coupe and HHR SS for its small-car, fun-to-drive segment. But the Cruze could step in to fill that gap.

Only last week Chevrolet of Singapore showed off its own version of a Cruze SS and now a new report is claiming that a fully-fledged Cruze SS is under consideration along with a four-door coupe version. The new cars are looked at as a way to inject some life into GM’s small car range, as well as extracting higher profit margins.

For the Cruze SS the formula is simple: insert the 260 horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder from the Cobalt SS and Solstice GXP and give it the SS appearance treatment. According to Motor Trend, the Cruze’s Delta platform can even incorporate the bigger Epsilon platform’s all-wheel drive system, which would go a long way towards mitigating the annoying effects of torque steer common to most powerful front-wheel drive cars. The torsion beam rear axle of the Cruze may also need to be swapped with a more sophisticated multi-link setup, though this would significantly push the cost of the car upwards.

The four-door coupe version of the Cruze is a much more difficult--and expensive--proposition as it would require significant changes to the regular sedan’s sheet-metal and glass house.

Whether or not Chevrolet green lights these sportier variants of the Cruze remains to be seen but you can bet that at least one new variant will be coming, a frugal (E)Xtra Fuel Economy (XFE) model.

[Motor Trend]





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Comments (7)

  1. By NoNameDenton Posted: 2/7/2010 7:04pm PST

    Yeah, just what the world needs, another 4 door coupe. I do however like the idea of an SS version.
     
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  2. By  best 2gb pro duo Posted: 2/7/2010 11:04pm PST

    My last GM car was a 1980 Z-28, I bought it brand new, at 32,000 miles I traded up to a brand new 1982 Datsun 280 ZX, I've never looked back, my Z-28 was a dud, six Japanese cars later, I was willing to give the new Camaro a try, but a visit to the dealer proved disappointing to say the least. The interior looks cheap and hastily put together, the red paint was covered in orange-peel and to add insult to injury the dealer is adding a premium to MSRP, no wonder GM is in the toilet, shoddy quality, greedy dealers and a whole lot of hype.
     
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  3. By NoNameDenton Posted: 2/8/2010 1:37am PST

    Who are you comparing GM against, Toyota? Last I checked everyone was touting how creat the Malibu, new CTS, Equinox etc were, so obviously they must be doing something right.
     
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  4. By bepsf Posted: 2/8/2010 9:13am PST

    As long as the 4 door coupe doesn't have a big black triangular piece of plastic in the C-Pillar pretending to be a window...
     
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  5. By dan aka 64chevyman Posted: 2/8/2010 9:45am PST

    GM's product line speaks for itself including the new Saab. Car people know the GM rigs last. The Camaro is a retro car and the interior speaks retro! The point however is well taken the 240 Z is a classic rarely seen in automotive landscape. How bout the XKE Jag there's another example. My only question is what does that have to do with the new Camaro, nothing! The dealer was an arse so go elsewhere if you like the car if not get a Mustang. Get a used GTO or G8 but buy an American car if want to! I want to!
     
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  6. By iluvamcars Posted: 2/8/2010 1:02pm PST

    bepsf, that black traingular piece is actually a style point. Yes, it could look better without it, but it is a major compliment.
    -iluvamcars
     
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  7. By  gazzed Posted: 2/8/2010 3:07pm PST

    It's also been reported that here in Australia a hatchback version will or is in the works as we speak, they are saying it will be specifically built for Oz environment but don't know if this car will be sold overseas.
     
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