Recently, there have been many rumors and much discourse about the possibility of a Chevy Cruze coupe. And while the subject is one we’ve brought up almost two years ago, there are two primary reasons why the Cruze must have a two-door variant. Those reasons?
Competition
Almost every compact car (that matters) has a two door version. Honda Civic, Kia Forte, and Toyota’s Scion TC all have one. What’s more, Hyundai will soon introduce an Elantra coupe. And Ford will most definitely release a coupe variant of the Focus in the coming years, as it has in Europe with the last-gen model.
This being the case, the only relevant players without coupe versions of their mainstream compact sedans include the Mazda 3 and the Subaru Impreza. Mazda doesn’t seem to have the resources for a two-door 3… and coupes have never been Subaru’s strong suit. Conversely, General Motors — and Chevrolet — have the resources and technical know-how to build a world-class sedan such as the Cruze. And modifying the Delta II-based sedan to have two doors rather than four shouldn’t be that difficult… or expensive.
Cobalt Buyers
The second argument for Chevy building the Cruze coupe is a matter of customer retention. In this case, the customer is someone driving a Chevy Cobalt — and if he is looking for a similar vehicle to replace the Cobalt, he simply doesn’t have any options in the GM product stable. As such, he’ll buy a Civic, Forte Koup, TC, or Elantra Coupe — thereby contribution to a decline of The General’s market share while driving up the market share of a competitor.
The GM Authority Bottom Line
A full-line automaker such as Chevrolet needs to offer a full line of vehicles; not a full line minus a few models such as a compact coupe. At this point, a two-door Cruze seems like a no-brainer. And if Chevy doesn’t do a Cruze coupe, it will be at a competitive disadvantage, since everyone else that matters will have one a player in the compact coupe space.
Comments
Would it be nice to have a coupe, sure. But we need a 5-door well before we need a coupe. GM did VERY well with the Vibe and does not offer an equivalent*. Its very possible the reason so many people have left GM for other brands is due to the demise of the Vibe. I would love to see the sales numbers for the coupes that other brands offer. I would think sales would need to be at least half or more of their sedan counterpart to make it relevant let alone important.
*The GMC Granite has been greenlit
The hatch is coming. For sure.
Unfortunately, nobody breaks out sales of coupes vs. sedans vs. wagons — it’s all under the general nameplate (i.e. “Civic” or “Forte”). But there is definitely value in bringing a coupe and hatch to market, especially when neither costs much to develop or engineer. And the incremental (read: variable) costs of manufacturing one are negligible as the variants will be made on the same line with a few different parts and panels.
PS: wasn’t the Granite greenlit in January?
I believe it was in February. I think a coupe would be cool, and would forsure sell. But IMO a hatch is far more important to our line up than the coupe.
True. As far as coupes go, at least we have the Camaro. But with the demise of the HHR, the Chevy line doesn’t have a single hatch. Although a coupe would add more sex appeal.
I’m sorry, I realize that you didn’t include the words “sex appeal” and “HHR” in the exact same sentence, but even having them in adjoining sentences is a serious breach of good judgment.
One must be careful that one’s quotes can’t be modified by ellipsis to indicate that one said “…we have the Camaro. But… the HHR… would add more sex appeal.”
*shudder*
I think Buick should get a Regal coupe or a Verano coupe
I agree with Everything. As I read the title those are the exact reasons that popped into my head. The only good Cobalt was the SS Coupe… Chevy must make one!
there will be yearly majjor changes to the Cruze, like cars use to have in the past, to keep the new products very competitive, there are major costs associated with tooling etc. with differant variations and that is where the business case has to be made, both variations will do well on the coasts but not in the midwest and central states. both are on their way but it may be in the next major body update.
JD — are you sure there are “major costs associated with tooling” for a Cruze coupe? I’m not so sure — especially given GM’s very flexible manufacturing lines.
I’m no manufacturing expert, but the only things I see going into making the Cruze Coupe from a production standpoint is a few new stamping units (for longer doors and most likely different “hips” (behind the doors) along with a slight modification to the attachment points (for doors, “hips”, and whatever else would be different). Everything else would be the same — but may require the sourcing of different parts (i.e. different headlamps, tail lamps, or interior trim levels for the Coupe).
In essence, the costs associated with new tooling and manufacturing/line re-configuration would be small (existent, but not major). But maybe I’m way off here, having only taken two semesters’ worth of manufacturing and operations in college. Help a brother out 🙂
Uh, Here is what should have happened, an extreme update of the Cobalt coupe, GM is playing their cards right, the Cruze should be an exclusive refined 4 door only. A 2 door coup should be a seperate vehicle all together, even different styling. Remember corsica / berretta…
I agree they need. A 2 door coup, just not a cruze. A coupe would dumb down the cruze name, there has not been a corrola coupe 4 20 years or more.
Alex think about branding, ect before you write some of your posts, consider how branding and GMs general reputation with small cars combine 4 a challenging recipe. On other hand good question to raise, I just think it can be to easy to make a post without thinking indepth about it espcially in regards to branding and human perception.
Yabadabadoo — branding is what I do, holding a BA in Business Marketing and having contributed to the development of multiple international brands. In fact, most of my Opinion Desk pieces are marketing-related. Moreover, my daily driver is a Cruze — so it’s something I think about (in depth) on a daily (maybe even hourly) basis.
Nevertheless, here’s why it does not make sense to NOT call a two-door compact coupe from Chevrolet a Cruze:
1. Brand integration: calling such a vehicle anything BUT Cruze would result in nameplate segregation (also known as brand dilution). Let’s assume that the proposed Cruze coupe were to be called “Hedgehog.” It’s much more expensive and time-consuming to create an effective brand for two nameplates rather than one. In fact, the costs would almost be two-fold to 1) create a name that suits the vehicle and 2) market it. Compare that to integrating different variants of the same vehicle under the same overall nameplate (Cruze, Cruze Hatch, Cruze Coupe, etc.). In effect, Chevy would have to market (advertise) Cruze AND Hedgehog… which is a lot more expensive.
Now, even though it’s been on sale in the U.S. market for about a year already, very few are familiar with the Cruze, what it looks like, or what it is. Heck, people don’t even know it’s a Chevrolet! It will take Chevy at least a single generation of selling the Cruze to achieve a relevant amount of name recognition with a brand new nameplate like the Cruze. So, launching another all-new nameplate for a car that’s identical to the Cruze sedan, only with two doors, doesn’t pay… and doesn’t make sense. That’s why every single manufacturer integrates nameplates. For instance, the Civic and the Civic Coupe; Forte, Forte Hatch, Forte Koup; Elantra and Elantra Coupe (as it will be called), Accord and Accord Coupe; Lexus IS and IS C; BMW 3 series — sedan, wagon, and coupe/convertible. The list goes on. One nameplate for several related models is less expensive and provides the variants (which would be lesser known based on decreased popularity) with instant recognition in the marketplace. Doing so also creates a “family” of vehicles… which leads us to…
2. Brand force: 2 is greater than 1. 3 is greater than 2. If Chevy called the coupe variant of the Cruze “Hedgehog”, it would forego all the benefits of a single nameplate — and all of the advantages that go along with it. Brand force goes hand-in-hand with Brand Integration — but states that a clearly-defined brand (or product name) is more effective at reaching the audience when it carries multiple products. This “family’ of products (vehicles, in this case) allows for cross-recognition — or the ability to “hook” a consumer with one product (say Cruze Coupe) but then inform him of another product in the family (Cruze sedan) — and ultimately sell him the Sedan, since the Sedan better suits his needs.
This can be seen in Toyota’s decision to append HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive), including the ones from Toyota and Lexus, as well as an ‘h” to all of Lexus’ hybrid models. Doing so provides instantaneous “familial” recognition; even if the market (customer) doesn’t understand the technology, they’d understand the brand.
So, to conclude: it’s a well-known fact that a single name is more effective than multiple names when it comes to marketing (advertising, developing, and selling) similar products (vehicles, in this case). GM’s reputation as it relates to small cars, in my opinion, is a non-starter; reputation, while relevant, is in the past — and GM is out to change that for the FUTURE. If we were to all rely on reputation, then Ford should have called its small/compact sedan the Focus and its small/compact hatch the Banjaro (or anything except for “Focus”). I think about this stuff (maybe too obsessively) day and night… and sometimes people (in real life — like my fiancé) tell me to shut up and eat my food — which I will do right now 🙂
@ Yabadabadoo: I totally disagree. Creating an entirely new model with entirely different styling could and may very well backfire. Here’s why:
1. The added cost of printing new manuals, and respective documentation etc will have to be passed on to the customer. Bad for business.
2. The additional cost of retooling stampings and rearranging production lines will have to be passed on to the customer. Bad for business.
3. The different shape/name WILL cause brand confusion. People may not readily associate a Chevrolet Cruze with a Chevrolet Sayle . Don’t give the buying public ANY credit at all. These are the same people who have been buying Camrys by the thousands when better models exist, and who recently declared that they didn’t know who sold the Volt or the Leaf and hence didn’t know where to go to buy them.
4. When adding up the sales figures the two cars won’t always be counted as one.
There are others but those will suffice. That said, I say they should build the coupe because there are those who are in the market for them. I’m not a coupe fan or customer, so the sedan, particularly with a diesel engine, would suit me just fine.
In my opinion there no need for a “coupe” version , even the WTCC Cruzes are based on the four door sedan I even have doubt if the five doors gone sell well , they are practical but not so nice and a coupe is good for teeners but they even buy a Cruze sedan because of the WTCC , there is only need for a 1.6 Turbo.
And the Cruze sedan has a lot of sex appeal certainly with me behind the wheel.
Alex –
Thx for sharing, unfortunately, people associate cruze with 4 doors, that’s what they expect when arriving at dealership. I absolutely agree with your analysis regarding branding, just not in the case of the cruze. But as I stated earlier a premium 2 door should be in the works, think of a small coup with attributes pulling from various Chevy design languages, cruze/malibu/camero ect…
GM should not be afraid to create the “family” of cruzes, Chevy should have a full range of vehicles. A small premium coupe would be ideal, iam just saying I don’t know if it should be a Cruze.
Coupe variants (e.g., Civic Coupe, Forte Coupe, etc.) aren’t usually volume sellers. However, coupes are inexpensive to do as most of the greasy bits, electronics, HVAC, etc. are the same. Given today’s computer modeling and virtual design studios, a coupe is easy and it’s a great HALO car for a product line. You advertise the sexy coupe, while showing the entire family of cars under the same nameplate – Cruze. It gets showroom traffic even if the customer ultimately leaves with the sedan or 5-door.
I think it makes sense for GM to do it – and even consider an SS version.
My pick would by the 5-door diesel, if such an animal ever makes it to US showrooms. I need the extra doors and space. But a sexy coupe is the halo car the Cruze line needs.
Alex your wisdom shows and your education has been a sucess, more comments to follow.
I have mixed feelings with a cruze coupe 1. The cruze is a fairly new vehicle it doesn’t have the trust of the general consumer (even though they are selling like hot cakes)2. What is gm going to market a cruze coupe like ? a sports vehicle lets get serious…..3.In order for this cruze coupe to be a success they would have to build it with the aftermarket in mind that is why the scion’s and the honda civic’s do well, u can go out and go to a local tuner and have your car modified and that is where GM is at a disadvantage and why the foreign companies eat that slice of the pie so well I see this very often in miami.
Ok, slight change in mind. After reading previous post about subject. GM absolutely should have delivered a family of cruze products to market, problem they didn’t.
Not that they can’t, I want to see a unique coupe, something different to marketplace, not just a slight mod to the Cruze. Think of what Hyundai is doing, with their little coupe can’t remember what its called, maybe raptor or something….
I think that’s the Veloster from Hyundai. For some reason, every time I think of the name, I think of “Molestor”.
Just like VW’s Golf/Jetta line, the Cruze should be a line — with a sedan, hatch, wagon, coupe, and 3-door hatch. It’s pretty much what the Opel Astra range is… The Veloster will be a great VW 3-door Golf/GTI competitor.
Gm, is doing a good thing holding its cards where it is right now. Keep the cruze as is, let it sell and get out there. It would be great to see it take a lesson from subaru however and throw in all-wheel drive with its 6 speed transmission. It may drop a little in fuel economy, but It would turn a sporty entry level sedan into an all weather sporty entry level sedan.
imo however a coupe and hatch would still be a good idea, although… with the sonic coming with a hatch variant, they may not need one for the cruze.Thus leaving the coupe as a more viable option
I’ve been a Cavalier two door 5 speed manual tranny owner since 2000. I LOVE it, but it now has 190,000 miles on it and in the next few years I will be looking for a new car. I REALLY like the looks of the Chevy Cruze, but I WILL NOT buy a 4 door! Too bad Chevy doesn’t listen to their LONG TIME customers. I’ve been buying Chevy 2 doors for YEARS, but, this might just change my mind about buying another Chevy compact car. If Chevy doesn’t make a 2 door Cruze, they are cutting their own throat!
Another reason to build a 2-door Cruze variant: with the demise of Pontiac, many G5 and G6 coupe buyers are going to look to Chevy for a coupe to buy and come up empty handed (Camaro & Vette aside).
The other reason to build a coupe would be the ability (with some restructuring) to make a convertible. Without the Cavalier/Sunfire convertibles and the G6 hardtop convertible (and the Sky/Solstice), there aren’t many choices at GM ranch. Not everyone can afford a Camaro or Corvette convertible, nor can everyone have a RWD car as a daily driver. Many of us live where it snows…
Exactly right on all accounts! Cruze coupe is a must have! A small roadster like the Sky would be nice but isn’t as much a necessity as a Cruze coupe!