Spark, Aveo RS, Cruze Herald Diverse Chevy Small-Car Lineup

By Bengt Halvorson

Bengt Halvorson

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2011 Chevrolet Cruze

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2011 Chevrolet Cruze

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2011 Chevrolet Cruze

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Within two years, GM's Chevrolet brand will have a family of four small cars for the U.S. market: Spark, Aveo, Cruze, and Volt.

The new lineup starts with the introduction of the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, which as we showed you in this preview earlier in the week and this interior comparison with the 2012 Ford Focus. The Cruze promises to be a little bit more mature and sophisticated than the 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt it replaces; and in moving upscale, it leaves space for a sportier, more substantial Chevrolet Aveo.

While market forecasts and analysts are predicting quite different figures for small-car demand—particularly for B-segment cars like the Ford Fiesta and Chevrolet Aveo—over the next several years, Chevrolet small cars marketing director Margaret Brooks said that the business plan has been made for Aveo and Cobalt using current demand; Brooks says that in 2009 nearly 20 percent of all vehicles were C-segment and below, while in 2003 it was more like 14 percent.

"We think that we're going to start seeing some industry growth, and that's going to put pressure on fuel prices again…so we think that's going to encourage consumers to continue buying small cars," said Brooks. "We're seeing really a resurgence of small cars throughout the industry."

Aveo to be made in the U.S.A.—and still called Aveo

As evidence of the commitment to the Aveo and Cobalt, GM will be building both in the U.S. The next-gen Aveo will be made at the Lake Orion, Michigan plant that formerly build the G6, and the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze will be built at the same Lordstown, Ohio plant that's been assembling the Cobalt.