GM needs the Cruze, analyst reassures

General Motors’ sudden stock price plunge won’t put the brakes on the new model coming to Lordstown, analysts said.

“GM needs the Cruze,” said Stephanie Brinley, an analyst with AutoPacific in Southfield, Mich. “They need that product, and they need it quickly.”

The Chevrolet Cruze is scheduled to go into production at GM’s Lordstown complex in 2010, replacing the Chevrolet Cobalt.

Much about GM’s operations was being questioned Friday, however, because the company’s stock plunged 31 percent the day before.

GM responded to widespread concern by announcing Friday that it had no plans to file for bankruptcy, but the Associated Press reported that GM is likely to announce more factory closings because of slumping sales.

That shouldn’t affect the Cobalt because it is precisely the type of car that GM needs — a fuel-efficient small car with an attractive design, Erich Merkle, an analyst with Crowe Horwath in Grand Rapids, Mich.

For more information, see Saturday’s Vindicator or www.vindy.com.