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Old 24th September 2009, 18:06   #271
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It all starts from the beginning (i.e. small cars). If you gotta be at the top in India, you gotta start from scratch (i.e. small cars) unless you are playing in luxury segment like VW, BMW, MB etc. Maruti and Hyundai are 2 excellent examples.
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Old 25th September 2009, 08:00   #272
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bashani View Post
Just got a call from my friend (The showroom owner) he told me the car is here in his godown but he won't be able to gimme a test drive.
Can you please ask about the launch/delivery dates of Cruze when you visit him.
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Old 25th September 2009, 12:23   #273
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ece2k2 View Post
Can you please ask about the launch/delivery dates of Cruze when you visit him.
The car is getting launched on 12th October, Wonder why are they waiting for Diwali.

So after launch it depends on demand v/s stock for delivery.
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Old 25th September 2009, 12:27   #274
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Visited the Cruze

Quote:
Originally Posted by ece2k2 View Post
Can you please ask about the launch/delivery dates of Cruze when you visit him.
Yep, he said it has been postponed to around second week of October
Deliveries start October end.
Contradictory to what Sid says.
The Auto is out in December.
I took a few pictures of the car (attached) which IMO looks very impressive.
It is substantially larger than the Optra Magnum.
The Interiors are nice an welcoming, its a mix of ash and muddy beige.
The beige I didn't like as it is not the conventional beige looks a bit out of place, it would look much better if it were the same ash black all over.
The dealer friend confirmed that all over India the dealers have complained about the beige and have requested to change it, which wont happen in the initial models but certainly later on.
The Plastic quality is extremely cheap, it looks like a million and a half rupee car but the plastic quality is definitely very very cheap. Even my '04 Corolla has better plastic than this.
Especially the hood for the dials seems like it has been pasted on.
The rear seat has decent legroom but the roof is extremely low. The swooping roof-line and add to it the recess for the Sunroof doesn't help it.
The engine is nice and smooth. Seems rev happy and doesn't really feel like a 2000cc.
I didn't take a test drive so cant tell you about the cars handling and performance.
It had decent NVH cladding but the cladding material seemed a little hard plastic like other than the usual scruffy blanket like material that we get in most cars.
The cars rear is nothing to write home about.
Over all the car is decent sized, has excellent presence, is comfy, engine is quiet. Has the potential if priced right.
The pricing expected is 12-14 lakhs.
Asked him to park one in white for me, he was insisting that the Red is the one to go for as the color is something else.
The warranty is 3 years/ 1,00,000kms.
Attached Thumbnails
Spotted Testing - Chevrolet Cruze. EDIT - Pics on Pg-5, Brochure Pg-15-image_034.jpg  

Spotted Testing - Chevrolet Cruze. EDIT - Pics on Pg-5, Brochure Pg-15-image_035.jpg  

Spotted Testing - Chevrolet Cruze. EDIT - Pics on Pg-5, Brochure Pg-15-image_036.jpg  

Spotted Testing - Chevrolet Cruze. EDIT - Pics on Pg-5, Brochure Pg-15-image_037.jpg  

Spotted Testing - Chevrolet Cruze. EDIT - Pics on Pg-5, Brochure Pg-15-image_038.jpg  

Spotted Testing - Chevrolet Cruze. EDIT - Pics on Pg-5, Brochure Pg-15-image_039.jpg  

Spotted Testing - Chevrolet Cruze. EDIT - Pics on Pg-5, Brochure Pg-15-image_040.jpg  

Spotted Testing - Chevrolet Cruze. EDIT - Pics on Pg-5, Brochure Pg-15-image_041.jpg  

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Old 25th September 2009, 12:45   #275
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Bashani, very nice pics. Have you seen the red in the flesh?
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Old 25th September 2009, 12:57   #276
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The Car looks awsome in Blue Color

The Claimed Fuel Efficiency figures seems very good, hope it delivers figures very close to what has been claimed.

Seems to be a winner from all angles but, the pricing will be the key for its success. Hope GM keeps check on prices and not to overprice & later give discounts.

As they already did with the Spark & Aveo.
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Old 25th September 2009, 13:03   #277
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ece2k2 View Post
Can you please ask about the launch/delivery dates of Cruze when you visit him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilead View Post
Bashani, very nice pics. Have you seen the red in the flesh?
Nope, he had only one in Dark blue but the Big Brochure had the red one all over the pages. Looked somewhat like the Magnums but can't be sure as was concentrating on the figures than the pix and the Brochure pix are always PS'd
I still asked for a white.
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Old 25th September 2009, 13:08   #278
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From the pictures, the interiors look sporty.
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Old 25th September 2009, 13:11   #279
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sharma_sanjeevi View Post
The Car looks awsome in Blue Color

The Claimed Fuel Efficiency figures seems very good, hope it delivers figures very close to what has been claimed.

Seems to be a winner from all angles but, the pricing will be the key for its success. Hope GM keeps check on prices and not to overprice & later give discounts.

As they already did with the Spark & Aveo.
Yup the Brochure claimed 18.27 (ARAI figures)
According to the sales guy the 120 BHP/ 2000cc Magnum has ARAI figures of around 16.
+2kms/ltr, +30bhp winner all over
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Old 25th September 2009, 13:49   #280
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bashani View Post
Yup the Brochure claimed 18.27 (ARAI figures)
According to the sales guy the 120 BHP/ 2000cc Magnum has ARAI figures of around 16.
+2kms/ltr, +30bhp winner all over
Its really a very good fuel figures for a car of this size and if it gives at least 15 in city which would be a really good.

I wish GM price it right.
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Old 25th September 2009, 13:53   #281
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Why does the exhaust pipe stick out so much? Looks completely out of place.
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Old 25th September 2009, 16:55   #282
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My brother, who lives in the USA, says that Chevrolet does not command much respect there these days. People prefer to stick to Toyota and Honda instead. However, he says he is not sure about Chevrolet India and its Cruze.
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Old 25th September 2009, 18:01   #283
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ivar1951 View Post
My brother, who lives in the USA, says that Chevrolet does not command much respect there these days. People prefer to stick to Toyota and Honda instead. However, he says he is not sure about Chevrolet India and its Cruze.
Same here, my bro too lives in the states and when I told him that I was considering buying a chevy he threw an instantaneous fit, asked me to buy an M800 and invest the saved money in something that would give me better returns
The GM brand certainly has taken a beating and not only here but almost everywhere. In the states especially since the "Gas" prices there have gone north and the people are getting environment friendly the Gas Guzzling Chevys and Fords are frowned upon and the frugal Japs are more than welcomed.
But I have a feeling that GM has only one way to go from here and that is up.
The Cruze seems like one helluva product, value or not we shall know soon, and it has the capacity to bring some life back to the American giant.

Last edited by bashani : 25th September 2009 at 18:04.
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Old 25th September 2009, 18:53   #284
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Chevrolet in India is a completely different story than what it is in the US. In US, Chevy is mostly seen in the garages of car-rental companies, giving a perception that these are use-and-throw cars. In India, GM is trying to establish Chevy as a preferred choice for middle-class households. You will notice that there is a Chevy car for every price-point in the below-Merc price band covering the entire spectrum of middle-income car buyers.

If Cruze is fired properly, GM can spark off a very serious battle in the 12L-18L price-band. GM's gains will be mostly Skoda/VW's loss (since the battle-ground will be diesel to start with) - so looking forward to some innovative counter-plans from the Europeans.

I would guess that Cruze will be initially priced higher to milk the early-adopters (all those who want to book before the car is even launched) and once the enthusiasm comes back to normalcy and competition starts catching up, it will start pricing it aggressively (may be one year from now). How Honda and Toyota react would be worth watching for !! Fun time begins for buyers in the 12L-18L range.

BTW, I called up Chevy Sales and as per them the launch is scheduled in the "last week of September" but "blind booking" is open. They could not confirm any specific launch date.
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Old 25th September 2009, 19:07   #285
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Quote:
GMI would also roll out luxury sedan Chevrolet Cruze on October 12 with a 2.0 litre diesel engine, which would be followed by a 1.8 litre petrol one.

With the Indian passenger car market showing signs of revival and to meet the festive demand, GMI has ramped up its production from last month.
GM India expects 50% growth in 2010
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