Cruise Control

Till a few months back,they were in deep trouble. Recession had taken a toll on General Motors and the company was finding ways to strike back. Fast forward,and they’ve driven back into the market with new ideas,a new outlook and an all-new Chevrolet Cruze Sedan. Already roaring on the WTCC circuit and the television,for the price GM’s offering,Cruze is too good to be true. Especially for those who dream in a luxe lingo. In a nutshell,if you’re looking for the perfect cross between a Skoda,a BMW and a Merc,then Cruze is your best bet. Not only does it have a great pick-up and that adrenalin rush effect,it can put a lot of cars in the D segment to shame in the interior design department.

Built on the lines of the Corvette,the Chevy Cruze comes with a 2.0 litre diesel engine,gives a sexy average of 18 and a beastly torque of 327 Nm at just 2600 rpm. While the base model – LT – has some of the features missing,it’s the top model,LTZ which saw a grand opening at Chandigarh. At Rs 12.5 lakh,the car ain’t bad at all! Check this out – there’s PEPS (Passive Entry Passive Start),Cruise Control,rain sensitive wipers,rear ultrasonic park assist,automatic climate control,sunroof,push button start,a smart screen,airbags,collapsible pedal assembly and a chic dual cockpit design – Cruze aces in all departments.

“The Cruze is the result of a development process that fully harnessed GM’s expertise. It is the first of a new family of global products from GM and also one of the key drivers of the global expansion of Chevrolet. Following its market introduction recently,the Cruze is backed by the highest scores in major crash safety ratings. It’s received the maximum five-star China New Car Assessment Program (CNCAP) rating,while its sibling,the Holden Cruze,received the maximum five-star Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) rating,which is the highest score for any vehicles in its segment,” tells Ankush Arora,Vice President – VSSM,GM India.

That said,Arora adds feeds us another news nugget – “We’re are tying up with Reva Electric Company for the manufactue of an electric car by next year. In the meanwhile,we’re working on another version called Volt which has both gasoline and electric variants. The Spark will come in LPG and a manufacturing unit will be set up at Talegaon,” he leaves us with their ‘goal to launch world’s smallest electrival car by 2010.’ Way to go!