2011 Chevrolet Cruze

DETROIT — The 2011 replacement for the Chevrolet Cobalt will be called the Chevrolet Cruze. Scheduled to be unveiled this October at the 2008 Paris Auto Show, the Cruze will go on sale in Europe in spring 2009.

The Chevrolet Cruze will be the first vehicle to use GM's revamped Delta 2 platform, an architecture that will be used on all GM small cars around the globe, including replacements for the Chevrolet HHR, Opel Zafira and its related siblings. The Cruze's bodywork will also carry a design vocabulary that will be incorporated into all vehicles across the globe that carry the Chevy bowtie.

At the Paris show, GM will unveil a five-passenger sedan that measures just under 181 inches overall, roughly the same size as the current Cobalt sedan. When the car goes into production in the U.S. in mid-2010, the Cruze will replace the Cobalt in Chevy's lineup and it'll be built at GM's plant in Lordstown, Ohio.

GM executives tell us, "The Cruze was developed by a global design and engineering team and will be built in multiple locations around the world." Apparently this includes a new assembly plant in Russia, as well as locations in Asia and Europe.

GM tells us that the cost considerations of global manufacture have led to the use of a torsion beam rear suspension for the Cruze. Although GM engineers claim that they have been able to optimize this design for both accurate handling and a comfortable ride, it's surprising that the Cruze doesn't feature independent rear suspension like the global Ford platform used for the Mazda 3.

In Europe, the Cruze will be offered with a choice of four-cylinder gas and diesel engines. For the U.S. market, GM intends to fit a turbocharged, direct-injection 1.4-liter that will deliver up to 40 mpg in highway driving.

What this means to you: As oil shock registers in the U.S., there's a stronger market than ever for an affordable small car, so the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze might be coming to the U.S. market at just the right time. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent