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A tough life ahead…

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I did get a chance to see the Cruze in person, and sit inside.
I was impressed by the car.
But after seeing pictures of the all new 2012 Focus, I predict a tough life for the new Chevrolet sedan.
By the time it comes out in the US later this year, the Cruze will almost be a 2 year old design.
The new Focus seems much more modern.

Ford will also provide 155hp from a brand new 2.0 Liter with direct injection.
More than the small 1.4 Liter Turbo in the Cruze. Although the Cruze will surely get a slightly better gas mileage.

Just when GM finally comes up with a really nice compact sedan…
And a new Civic is just around the corner.

Conversation 28 comments

  1. This is back to the future!! GM comes out with a new sedan destined to be one step behind the pack, while Ford over reaches – with the price and tech
    (you know if the Fiesta maxes out at $23k, the Focus will top out close to $28k, especially with MyFord!) attempting to go upscale with a small car.

    Reminds me of the Citation/Cavalier/Cobalt for GM and the overpriced too small Contour and over priced under-engineered 1996 Taurus for Ford.

    I own Ford stock, so I cling to optimism for the Focus.

  2. The Cruze looks like a Chevy. The New Focus looks like an Audi. Ford has it going on in every class of car!

  3. Well GM does have something that is nicer and better than the Cruze, and also the Focus. It's the Opel Astra. Will it make it to US as a Buick is another question..

  4. I'm not liking those humongously massive gigantic triangle openings on the front end of the Focus AT ALL!!! Could they not make them bigger or something?

    However, the rest of the Focus looks freakin' awesome and I hate to say it, but it makes the NEW Cruze look like it came out a few years ago…….oh yeah…..it did. It'll be interesting to compare prices between the two since Ford said they were thinking of doing a premium pricing thing. The new Focus looks expensive and I'm betting the Cruze is cheaper.

  5. The rear on the cruze looks so sad and old, the focus is hot as hell, but GMs biggest hurdle is pricing seeing they already told us there gonna get real greedy and overprice it bigtime !
    This car is gonna start at 18995k and go up to 28k loaded and there are much better cars out there for that kind of money, i cant wait to see the pricing on the focus seeing ford got real greedy on the fiestas pricing and wanted a premium compact ( sik )..
    Ford once again said they might bring over the KA and i say they would be really stupid not to seeing were gonna have the spark, 500, mazda 2 soon here in the states, seeing the fiesta is a little overpriced for there demographic…

  6. i think they are both going to do well. the Cruze will appeal to traditional buyers. it looks a bit taller, a bit more substantial in a way. it's modern, but not trendy. the Ford on the other hand, will appeal to those that like trendiness, that want something a bit different, something that stands out more.

    i think there is a very good market ready for both of them. i can see both of them doing really well. i'm excited at the renaissance of the domestic industry in the next 1-3 years.

  8. The Cruze has been on sale here in Australia for some months now, and has been very successful. I think it's a nice-looking car.

    I'm a little underwhelmed by the Focus, actually. Its styling seems more than a little forced, and the interior looks almost as busy as that of the first-generation Euro-Focus.

    Ford did a brilliant job styling the Fiesta (though its interior is similarly blighted). The Focus doesn't look all that impressive judging by the pics.

  9. Vince, thanks for the comparison pics. They nicely demonstrate the line of thinking that the powers that be had for their target markets and line of thinking. With the Cruze, the idea behind it seems to be 'make a nice, better-than-cobalt, compact sedan' to a price point (ie: old US GM thinking). With the new focus (and even the previous European MkII NA never got), the idea behind the design seems to have been 'make a stylish, modern small sedan'. While the ideas may seem similar, which of the 2 cars do you think your date is going to be more impressed with when you go to pick her for the first time? The interior design of the Cruze (who picked that name anyways???) is pretty much spot on, but the exterior screams economy car (especially the black-out panels behind the rear doors – why?). The Cruze was designed by commity; the Focus was designed by a stylist. In the end, the Cruze's selling point will likely be on price, but it won't have improved the image of small GM sedans by as much as they hoped I think.

  10. You can't compare a "touched up" photoshop-picture of a showcar that won't be out in two years with ordinary, outdoor pictures of standard Cruze.

    Put on 20" Rims (like the Ford), put it in front of a Bluewall and add shades and hues, etc. to make it look cool and it'll match the Focus with ease.

  11. Cruze doesn't measure up to the upcoming Focus; but it has Camry beat cold and people still buy Camrys, so who knows?

  12. I agree with artandcolor. The Cruze looks like a good looking traditional car, and this appeals to most people. It's a solid design. The Focus will probably steal some sales from the Korean, Japanese and German brands and appeal to those people who like Audis, VWs or Mazda 3s.

    Looking at both of these cars, I don't see how anyone would consider a Corolla or Hyundai.

  13. obviously the GM will fail. Ford has worked in the past closely with Mazda so they know what to do about quality fit and finish. GM, has worked with toyota, hence the cost cutting, cheaply made GM, a la Toyota style.

  14. Vince I can tell you why you like the Focus better because the Cruze has aged you are not as impressed anymore because you seen this car inside and out back in 2009. That's why. It's aged. It needs a facelift before it sees production in the US. I like the Ford better too.

  15. right vince the Cruze is aging fast. Don't forget too Hyundai has that new Elantra coming out. As well as people on this blog keeps talking about the next Civic. The Cruze so 4 or 5 months it'll sell ok but after the other models arrive this will be pointless. Kia was smart to release the Kia Forte when they did after it was shown last year in New York.

  16. Well what's the point of Chevy telling us last year or two years ago that it is the most fuel efficient car in it's class? It will hardly to have the highest mpg.

  17. Ford has a seriously great looking car there. Something I would never say to describe a focus.

  20. i agree vince.

    ive liked the cruze and was ready for it to be a solid contender – however, with the new focus, the cruze just aged 10 years.

  21. Yes… I agree that this Cruze is about 2 years too late now…. to look new/exciting, etc..

    The only hope for GM to compete with a Ford product, and look "fresh/good", is if they actually build/offer a RS Aveo for real, next year, to go against the Fiesta(otherwise.. no thanks).

    Also.. don't forget… I haven;t heard anything about a 5-door Cruze…where the Focus(for now) appears it will be sold as a sedan and 5-door hatchback( and rumors…. for now.. of a coupe and 3-door for later… may happen, also).

    The Fiesta 5-door looks best, though, imho(better than the sedan Focus, and definitely better than the Cruze).

    It's like the Cruze, to me… appears to be a "new car"… if this were 5 years ago,2005, and it's only 2 years old.
    The Focus looks like something you would expect to see maybe in 3-5 years from now… like a next cycle/future model, not see it so soon, in 2011.

  23. The Cruze isn't fresh anymore. It's aged. The greenhouse came from the 2006 Hyundai Sonata. opps I'm afraid I just aged it 5 more years. Sorry GM I should have kept my mouth shut. Look at the good news though at least the Cruze can have the old Sonata's greenhosue because the next Sonata arrives. Opps I think Ijust aged the Cruze another 5 years. I'm so so sorry.

  24. Well well well, looks like the Cruze isn't going to be the best car anymore. Lol I'm glad I think the Cruze was so over rated anyway it's not all that. Really like you said the greenhouse is nothing special it's just from the 2006 Sonata's. It's aging each and everyday. How many years do you guys think this car is going to age by the time summer arrives?

  25. "Ford has worked in the past closely with Mazda so they know what to do about quality fit and finish. "

    Oh my god, I shot beer out of my nose at that one. Mazda??? When have they built quality cars? I do believe Ford has ranked consistently higher than Mazda in every way.

    I mean really, is it more costly to mold metal and plastic into a nice shape than it is to mold it into a boring one? We've been teased about the Cruze for years now. It was a game of catch-up to begin with, and the love affair never really got started. Now that the Focus has entered the picture, it's sayonara Cruze. A quick-fix for Chevy would be to get rid of those frumpy wheels and to never ever show another car in that horrible "office assistant burgundy" ever again.

  26. Wow.

    Honestly there is no comparison, I'd take the Focus 1000x over the boring and already dated Cruze.

    Vince, keep in mind that the Cruze (as well as other new GMs) were tuned specifically for the EPA treadmill to measure mileage. Transmissions don't downshift, and upshift at the earliest possible RPM killing the driving experience.

    Troll the Equinox forums, not many people are achieving the rated mileage.

    The new Focus looks fantastic. I can't wait for a 2 liter EcoBoost.

  28. Well I think that both have plus and minus. The Ford is definitely sportier looking. The Chevy is bigger and should have same or better MPG. So it depends what the buyer is looking for. I think with 2 body styles the Focus might have a wider appeal in that aspect. Time will tell.

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