GM to Delay Launch of Fuel-Efficient Chevy Cruze Until Mid-Summer

The Chevrolet Cruze compact that was supposed to get General Motors off to a good start in the 2010 summer selling season will be a late starter instead. The automaker has decided to push back the Cruze launch date until at least early July. Initially, GM has planned to start production in April, with sales to follow soon after. But that was an artificially compressed schedule, according to spokesman Klaus Peter-Martin. It would have meant, among other thing's that the only engine available at launch would have been the a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder fuel economy engine, capable of delivering an EPA rating, GM insiders suspect, on the order of 40 MPG or more. Why, we ask, is that such a bad thing?

Tagged as: Chevrolet, fuel-economy, General Motors