• Detroit Free Press , Thursday, October 2, 2008 10:30 AM

No wonder, then, that the Free Press reports from the Paris Auto Show that GM feels that the traditionally fueled Chevrolet Cruze is more important than Volt in its turnaround plans. The Cruze, which will sell for about the same price as the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, debuts in the U.S. in spring 2010 and will have a global footpr..., er, tire track. It replaces the Cobalt.

GM hopes Cruze sales will hit hundreds of thousands a year early in the next decade and generate lots of cash. "Chevrolet is GM's biggest brand and the third-largest automotive brand in the world," says GM President and COO Fritz Henderson. "It's extraordinarily efficient to have one key brand you throw resources to."

The Cruze will debut with a direct-injected, turbocharged 1.4-liter gasoline engine and six-speed automatic transmission in the U.S.; Europe will get a line of diesel and gasoline engines.

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