2011 Chevrolet Cruze to debut at this year’s LA Auto Show

Looks good, but I doubt it will out class the Ford's Fiesta.

It won't compete with Fiesta it is a compact (C class) not a subcompact (B class).

"Underpinned by the front-wheel drive GM Delta II platform, GM claims the Cruze was developed by a global design and engineering team.[18] This development program spanned over 27 months at a cost of US$4 billion. During this time, 221 GM-built prototypes were tested in Australia (by Holden), Canada, China, South Korea (by GM Daewoo), Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.[19]"

Korean engineering eh? Wouldn't it be just as accurate to call it Canadian, Chinese, Swedish or British?

So 1 part of the car has Korean engineering so the whole thing is Korean? Nice logic it sounds like something the UAW management may have said in the mid 90s.

That's funny, cause Lutz wasn't happy with the engine so he got his performance engineering team to see if they could squish out extra mileage/performance.

I have driven this car (called GM Daewoo Lacetti Premiere) here in Korea. It's a very nice car, but I like the Kia Forte a bit better. Sales of the Lacetti Premiere in the Korean market has not been good either.

ya... 8 mpg... less.

If the latest Civic Coupe...er I mean Forte was about performance, they would have done something about the wheel gap, given it some lower hanging skirts as an option, and allowed engine choices so people could have an actual performance version. Throwing wheels on a car, an exhaust tip, and Civic esque styling do not equal performance.

Not that I would want a Civic, I'm just saying. And that being said, the Cruze will be a good replacement for the Cobalt and with a 1.4L turbo that is to get up to 40mpg, it should get plenty of attention considering it's main competition of Civic and Corolla still have not hit their best marks.

In that I mean the Civic went far away from it's great selling designs of old, and gave an awkward car that took some getting used too. And the Corolla has not been able to impress for awhile, at least not since they pulled the XRS version off the road with the 180hp VVTL-i and a 6speed box. The latest version offers nothing above what appears to be a slight body panel redesign.

HS, those rumors came about because the Koreans didn't provide an engine that was adequate to GM's demands, and why the XFE team is working/has got it to achieve the stated 44mpg. This all being said, I can't believe you of all people is resorting to a performance comparison lol, I thought you didn't believe in inefficient sports cars.

They still don't get it. They're just recycling designs that no one wanted to buy a decade ago. Who wants a Cavalier/Cobalt refresh when you can have a Ford Fusion, or pick your foreign car in the same class.

I never liked the weird, awkward headlight-grille configuration. It just...looks strange to me.