Chevy’s B- and C-Segment Cars: Status Update
February 24, 2010 by Colin Bird
While Toyota stole most of the headlines yesterday, there was also significant news out of GM, particularly for the Chevrolet brand.
First, President of GM North America, Mark Russ announced the introduction of a third shift to the Lordstown Complex, in anticipation for demand of the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze.
Lordstown is currently home to the Chevrolet Cobalt and has a bit of history producing GM’s compact econoboxes, like the Caviler and Vega.
This announcement marks a rapid change in prospects for the Ohio-complex – it was only nine months ago that the plant was down to one shift, producing only 87,897 Cobalts and Pontiac rebadges (for export).
The new shift will add 1,200 jobs to Lordstown, making it GM’s largest assembly plant in terms of employment, with 4,500 workers. The plant is already the largest of GM’s assemblies in the United States.
According to insiders who work at the plant, Chevy Cobalt production ends tentatively on July 1st with Cruze production starting on August 9th. The Cruze will be available for sale sometime in the early fall of this year.
The second tidbit is courtesy of KickingTires. The blog got their hands on the first official images of the 2012 Chevrolet Aveo (above). These photos show that there isn’t much of a radical departure from the concept Aveo to the production vehicle.
The photos of the interior reveal a sophisticated design. The Aveo interior pics show the Ebony/Brink coloration motif that is now commonly implemented on upper levels of the Malibu, Equinox, Corvette and soon-to-be Cruze. The circular side air vents, center console radio controls, radial HVAC knobs and new corporate steering wheel tie in the Aveo perfectly with its bigger cousin the Cruze.
We know that the next-generation Aveo will be available in both sedan and five-door hatch body styles, with the hatch probably having some sort of “RS” sport trim. I speculated on the powertrain and pricing of this vehicle in an earlier post.
The new Aveo will be built in Lake Orion, Mich. in 2011 and sold/ marketed as a 2012 model year.
Source: KickingTires
More pictures below:
2012 Chevy Aveo:
2011 Chevy Cruze:
