Cruze news: GM confirms diesel model

July 23, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

LORDSTOWN

After months of speculation, the news has finally arrived: There will be a diesel model of the Chevrolet Cruze.

General Motors Co. confirmed Friday that a diesel Cruze will be built in the United States beginning calendar year 2013, though many questions remain, such as the cost and where it will be built.

Lesley Hettinger, GM spokeswoman, told The Vindicator that the automaker has no announcement on where the vehicle will be assembled and said the automaker does not have a timetable for any decision.

The Lordstown complex currently works three full shifts and on most Saturdays, but United Auto Workers Local 1112 President Jim Graham said this week that “we have a lot of open space right now.

“If GM says, ‘We want you to build an additional product,’ we can do it.”

James Bell, head of consumer affairs at GM, said that Volkswagen’s Jetta diesel model has sold well in the United States. According to The Diesel Driver, a review and information website, the number of diesel-fueled cars in 2010 doubled from the previous year.

One problem, however, is that the price of diesel fuel is regularly 30 cents more expensive than regular unleaded, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report.

“Right now there isn’t the parity of balance, but I think the thought is, if we get more diesels out there, it will create a demand for diesel,” Bell said.

The diesel Cruze would likely get 50 miles per gallon, according to sources within GM. That figure is slightly higher than the current Cruze Eco, which gets 42 miles per gallon and is the most fuel-efficient nonhybrid vehicle available in the U.S.

The Cruze in June was the best-selling car in America and has sold 20,000 or more vehicles in each of the past five months.

The diesel is the first variant of the Cruze announced by GM. Rumors previously circulated about two-door, hatchback and convertible-style Cruzes.

Diesel versions of the Cruze are sold in Europe.