Next-gen Cruze gets public debut at Cleveland Auto Show

CLEVELAND

The 4,500 employees of the General Motors Lordstown Assembly Plant may not have all been in the crowd at the Cleveland Auto Show, but their presence was still felt.

That’s because the car they build every day, the Chevrolet Cruze, was strutting its new style on the showroom floor Friday.

“I am excited to see it on display, but I am more excited to see it come down the line,” said Steve Notar Donato, Lordstown plant manager. “It’s been several years in the making for us.”

Chevrolet and United Auto Workers leaders talked to reporters about the success of the Cruze, which is GM’s best-selling car globally, and the future of the compact car.

The Lordstown complex has produced the car since it was launched in the U.S. in 2010. In five years, more than 1.4 million first-generation Cruzes were built at the Lordstown plant.

Since its U.S. launch, the Cruze continually has made headlines for positive reasons.

In June 2011, the Cruze was the first American-made vehicle to lead the compact-car segment in five years.

“The new Cruze, I think, is going to be fantastic because there’s an aggressive pricing stance,” said Greg Greenwood of Austintown Greenwood Chevrolet. “It offers the content that is worth $40,000.”

Read more about the features of the new model in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.