43
Cruze a part of Chevy's innovative story
By Kalea Hall
DETROIT
Chevrolet has a story to tell, and the next-generation Lordstown-built Cruze is a part of that story.
When it debuts today, the new Cruze will show the new roads Chevrolet went down to bring an innovative redesign of General Motors’ best-selling car to the world.
“We have to be great storytellers, and I think, at Chevrolet, we have a really great story to tell,” said Timothy Mahoney, chief marketing officer of Global Chevrolet and Global GM marketing operations leader. “It is a story about a brand that is growing and becoming more relevant around the world.”
Mahoney spoke to media professionals from all over the world at the Chevrolet: Powered by Innovation event here Tuesday evening.
The next-generation Cruze’s unveiling falls after this year’s earlier unveilings of the Camaro, Malibu, Spark and Volt.
Mahoney believes all the new 2016 Chevy vehicles will give the brand an opportunity to draw in more customers.
“I believe that is because each of these new vehicles has been designed to deliver on the promise of find new roads of great design, performance that makes you smile, technology that is simple to use, and exceptional value, and that is ultimately how Chevrolet intends to win,” Mahoney said.
“Find New Roads” is more than just a tag line for Chevrolet. It is a guiding tool for product development, marketing and how business is done, he said.
“‘Find New Roads’ embraces the spirit of innovation,” Mahoney said. “It has been a part of Chevrolet’s DNA since the very beginning.”
Chevrolet was created in 1911 by road racer Louis Chevrolet and GM Founder Billy Durant. Chevrolet was founded on the spirit of never giving up, which has enabled the brand to turn possibilities into reality.
One of Chevrolet’s key initiatives was to bring 4G LTE with Wi-Fi availability to their vehicles, giving their customers the option to seamlessly connect their devices and cars to the Internet.
“They are really doing well on connectivity,” said Eric Lyman, vice president for industry insights at TrueCar. “GM has really been a pioneer in that technology.”
For consumers, technology is typically in the top five of what they are looking for in a vehicle. Fuel efficiency, style, safety and value are the other consumer concerns when purchasing a new vehicle, Lyman said.
Automakers must “really capture the attention of consumers through a really engaging product, a real stylish design that is efficient in that segment,” Lyman said.
The all-new Chevy Cruze will replace its predecessor starting in spring 2016. It will be larger, yet lighter. For safety standards, it has 10 air bags and comes with OnStar standard for six months. Fuel efficiency in the 2016 Cruze is said to be better than the 2015 Cruze, which offers an EPA-estimated 35 miles per gallon on the highway.
There will be room for up to five in the compact car, with 2 more inches of rear legroom. On the technology side, the 2016 Cruze enables seven devices to be connected with available 4G LTE Wi-Fi. And the car is the first in its class to offer compatibility with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The new Cruze will have an athletic build that is stylish and good-looking, Chevrolet said. “It is much, much better looking,” said Akshay Anand, Kelley Blue Book analyst.
Although there has been talk of the compact-car segment falling off, the cars are still selling in what is considered the largest and most-competitive segment in the world.
“While they are not hot segments, they are the meat of the market,” Anand said. “I think what [Chevy] is doing is really smart. I don’t want to see them just focusing on trucks and SUVs.”