Pa., W.Va., dealers get first-hand look at birthing of Lordstown-made Cruze

YOUNGSTOWN

Dealership owner Tom Colussy already had a best-selling car in the first-generation Chevrolet Cruze.

But the long-time Pennsylvania dealer believes the next-generation Cruze will do even better.

“It will reach a broader audience,” Colussy said. “We actually have some older buyers who are excited for the Cruze.”

Colussy, a fourth-generation owner of a Bridgeville, Pa., dealership that has been selling Chevrolet vehicles for 98 years, only recently started to see the next-generation Cruzes arrive at his dealership. Two have already been sold.

Today, Colussy was with a group of 50 Pittsburgh-area and West Virginia dealers to pick up new, next-generation Cruzes from the General Motors Lordstown Assembly Plant where the car is built.

Together, they drove the siren red Cruzes away in single-file fashion.

The dealers all received a tour of the plant, a review of Cruze highlights and a look at how the new Cruze compares to the compact car competition from Honda, Hyundai and Toyota.

“The people that are in charge here have very strong processes in place,” Colussy said of the plant. “Anything that isn’t 100 percent, they try to correct it right there in the plant.”

The next-generation Cruze launch this year is still progressing. Cruzes started to head out to dealerships March 21 and are still filing out of the plant.

“Not everyone gets this opportunity,” Stacey Hardway, field marketing manager for GM, said of the event. The dealers “have that excitement and that first-hand knowledge.”

There’s a noticeable change on the plant itself – made to promote the launch of the next-generation Cruze.

Read more about the new model and today's event in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.