On Thursday, General Motors formally introduced at the Chicago Auto Show its first new diesel powered car in a generation--the 2014 Chevy Cruze TD.
The one-third of the Motor City three automaker, certainly has high hopes for the much-anticipated Cruze diesel and reportedly expects booming sales. The vehicle which is aka the Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel has a tweaked version of a motor GM already uses on 40 percent of their Euro Cruze vehicles. The car can achieve about 42 mpg on the highway with an automatic tranny. The GM powers-that-be however state that the Cruze should exceed the mpg guesstimates in real-world driving. The company is still keeping under their hats, as to whether or not there is a Cruze diesel manual version coming down the pike.
Under the hood of the Cruze lies a 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine that cranks out 148 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque for a sprint to 60 mph in about 8.6 seconds. The last time Chevy produced a diesel car was back in 1986 with their subcompact Chevette which was a 4-cylinder, 1.8 liter, manual 5-speed that sold a reported 324 units.
"With the benefit of continuous refinement in other markets, the 2.0L turbo-diesel comes to the United States and Canada with performance that will impress," said Mike Siegrist, assistant chief engineer said in a press release. "It is powerful, efficient and clean. It will change perceptions of what a diesel car can be while giving customers another fuel efficient choice in the Cruze lineup."
But will the diesel version of the Cruze be as quiet as a church mouse? Well GM promises a smooth performance and a hushed ride that is made possible by a sound-dampening feature specifically added to the Cruze including a unique dash mat, hood blanket and more, that won't make you relive those nightmarish memories of the back-in-the-day diesels.
The nuts and bolts of the car will be put together in Ohio starting in April and diesel faithfuls should expect to see the Cruze roll into showrooms this summer. The Cruze TD comes with a 100,000 mile warranty, 2 years of complimentary maintenance, a $25,695 base price and the company is gunning for the VW Jetta TDI buyer.
Tremble in your boots VW!
--Car Chick
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