When we polled you to ask whether Chevrolet should produce a two-door coupe variant of its all-new,  second-generation 2016 Cruze sedan, over 80 percent of you answered “yes”. So we had our artists draw up what a Cruze Coupe could look like.
Fortunately, the raked shape and sloping roofline of the second-generation Cruze sedan makes the creating a two-door coupe a rather natural process and the final result looks quite appealing, at least to us.
As we stated in the original article, a Cruze Coupe would compete in the mainstream compact coupe segment against such stalwarts as the Scion tC, Honda Civic Coupe, along with the recently-introduced Kia Forte Koup.
So, what do you think of our fictitious Cruze Coupe? Sound off in the comments below.
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Comments
I think a key problem with the Elantra Coupe was that it wasn’t differentiated enough from the Sedan (because the Sedan is very Coupe-like already). A good coupe should be distinguishable by more than just 2 less doors, for example the Cobalt Coupe’s tail lights. On that note, one of the most frustrating things about my Cobalt was the small trunk opening. I always wished the rear window opened as a one piece hatch on Coupes. If the Cruze Coupe had a little more 2016 Malibu Fastback inspiration, I think that would work really well… throw the 2.5L with a 6 speed Manual, maybe bring back Z24, should catch some of Civic SI’s volume
I love it. Now build it.
You know GM would not do something this bad. Now go back and dream bigger if you want to do this right. Even the Cobalt Coupe and sedan had different bodies from the windshield back.
@Garv,
You are absolutely right! Successful coupes have entirely different shapes from their
sedan siblings. Underneath, they are nearly identical, but for a few inches here and
a cross brace there…
When manufacturers get lazy and just make the coupe version look like the sedan
with one less door – history proves this mistake results in poor sales. For success,
look to Honda, who used to make the image-improving Prelude, with sport coupe
lines and some innovative tech ( 4 wheel steering… ). Interiors and dashboards
were sportier, younger and distinct from the sedan’s. Today, Honda has lapsed
in it’s sports-oriented direction, but still, it’s 2 door Accord looks rakish and catches
your eye. Same with Toyota Celicas and Chevy Chevelle coupes of old.
This rendering makes the Cruze look like the Volt without the silver plastic grille
fillers for aerodynamics. I believe this Cruze is a very nice looking car ( have you
seen it in black yet? Wow! ). 2016 Cruze will definitely cut into Volt sales, esp. the
diesel and possible future Hybrid version using some Volt2 componentry. Making
this coupe version would just blur the lines even more, as GM designers took
extra care making Volt2 have that “4 door coupe” aesthetic, even sacrificing an
inch of headroom over gen1 to get the look. That rendering looks like a 2 door
gas Volt2.
“You are absolutely right! Successful coupes have entirely different shapes from their sedan siblings. Underneath, they are nearly identical, but for a few inches here and a cross brace there…”
The most successful coupe in this class is the Honda Civic. It is a 2-door Civic Sedan.
PS: James, could you stop hitting the return/enter key when writing your comments? Just let the comment box wrap it for you. It’s really distracting.
So my columns are shorter than you’d prefer? How is that so distracting?
For a “silent” electrician, you seem very vocal and opinionated. Just an observation.
You also always challenge me with odd arguments. I agree with Garv – my opinion was not complex
nor hard to fathom. You say the Honda Civic is a “2-Door CIvic Sedan”…. What should my response be to that? – “I know!”, or… “Um…right, did I say otherwise?”. Sorry, perhaps English is a second language for you so if that is the case, I am glad you understand what I stated in my first comment. “Shapes” means bodies, Silent. We know the shape of a car is not it’s underpinnings or platform. It’s the stamped steel or aluminum panels that make up the aesthetic form we judge. The 4 door CIvic Sedan does not look a whole lot like the coupe – my eyes don’t deceive me. So this reinforces my point. Civics have been “cutting edge” in the industry, especially the coupe bodies. I wouldn’t buy one, but I admire their shapes when I see them on the road. I have opinions re: Hondas and this isn’t the time to expound, but for those reasons I think the Corolla and Cruze have not only caught up with Civic, but passed it up in sales. That fresh, rakish Civic design has staled a bit over the years as they’ve tried to keep it fresh. We don’t all buy cars based upon their appearance. There is no doubt, however, that a nicely designed body and interior does sell more cars.
Both Cruze and next-gen Volt have gotten the “4 Door Coupe” treatment by GM designers.
This is great because gen1 Cruze looked like a tall, slab-sided, boring sedan – it screamed,
“I’m practical!”, which is not exactly what everyone wants to scream. Look at gen1 Volt and
it screamed, “trying hard to be different hatchback!”. I don’t know if anyone has noticed…
lol..but Americans are not into hatchbacks. None, short of the Prius, have succeeded here
not because they aren’t super practical and useable…but because our perception of them
is that they are ugly.
GM got the practicality and the aero of the first Volt into Volt2 without it looking like a hatch.
It’s fantastic how they made Volt2 look like a sporty 2 door! Kudos to GM for taking some
risks and going all-“Elantra” with the body contours. Mercedes practically invented the
coupe roofline on a four door scheme with it’s CLS and CLA models. Sales took off, and soon
it’s German and Japanese competitors followed along with their own versions.
This new Cruze and Volt make Corolla and Focus look stale. The Volt is for me because I
value powertrain, efficiency and getting off oil over any sexy body. I’m just glad they
took a modern approach to these cars and surely they will meet and beat all sales
predictions. Just keep the two cars ( built on the same platform, Cruze’s version of D2XX
is a tad longer – having nice legroom in back ) different-looking enough for casual
observers to tell them both apart.
I think that the Civic Si really gets the power train right with the 2.4L-205hp/174lbft. For volume buyers that want a quick little car at the top of the range. the ATS’ 2.5L fits the bill with 202hp/191lbft and hopefully it would keep the price down compared to the 2.0T. I still think someone wanting more boost and more power should step into an Alpha, because the Camaro 2.0T is such a good package for people who can see thru the stigma of a 4 cylinder Camaro… If only it would get ATS’ AWD.
To go after Focus ST/RS, GTI, Mazdaspeed3, WRX, etc a 2.0T Hatch or Sportwagon would make sense, but I think this niche might be easier for Buick to step in with a boosted up Astra GTC
ATS is a RWD-based vehicle. The Cruze is a FWD-based vehicle. They’re entirely different underneath. So in order for Cruze to get AWD, it will need to be a front-biased/transverse system. It wouldn’t be ATS’ AWD system.
I was saying that if a top end Cruze buyer stepped up to a Camaro 2.0T (Alpha), AWD on the Camaro would be awesome
I’m an electric car guy. If it doesn’t have a plug, I’m not interested. That said – cars like Camaros are icons.
For many years, auto journalists have been lightly suggesting GM, Ford and Chrysler (FCA) should
reduce the size and bulk of them to more reflect a European sensibility of what a sport coupe represents.
I would like to see innovation like electric boost, no turbo – in performance-oriented models. This way, a
pony car would be less judged by it’s number of cylinders or their displacements. Look around the racing
world and it’s becoming crowded with E-assist measures like KERS in F1 and hybrids of all sorts in Le Mans endurance series. I would rather see a 4 cylinder, KERS type E-boost technology trickle into affordable performance cars. So far, supercars and hypercars costing upwards of $1 million have been introducing such tech in their top models, but we haven’t seen such drivetrains made available to the common man and woman.
When you mention stigma, the word always says to me: “Those buyers who care more about what others think of them than they think themselves”. Stigma has been the reason given why minivans are heading the way of dinosaurs, and cars getting excellent mileage are oft avoided as aspired to by “treehuggers”. I believe confident people purchase what they know is right for them. They won’t avoid a 4 cylinder Camaro because of what others may think. That buyer would be narrow-minded. Instead, they’ll weigh the volatility and unpredictability of gasoline prices, the harvesting of crude oil and it’s effects on our fragile environment and human health too. When a proven, American-made energy ( electricity ) is vastly available, they can develop learnings to reinforce future purchases. We vote with our wallets.
A boosted 4 cylinder can be fun, responsive and speedy if the vehicle it’s in is lightweight. No statistics exist today proving a heavier car in any category is safer. New materials technologies are here. Lighter steels, less expensive aluminum and new carbon fiber processes that bring that material into realms
of affordability previously unknown.
Silent E has a good point about rear-wheel-drive. That is one major consideration to be taken when weighing priorities for a performance car purchase. If you want to be stylish and sporty, but the car will mainly be taking you to work, weekend cruises and/or dates, you are wise not to buy a big, thirsty engine you don’t need. Front-wheel drive may work just fine in that case. If it’s a garage-queen, collectible you desire, maybe the biggest engine in the rarest, fastest version is the one you need. True AWD or rear-wheel-drive is known to be best when a driver intends to push a car’s performance limits.
Bottom line, carbuyers need to be more realistic about their priorities and hot buttons before they
purchase a new car. In this information age, it doesn’t take much to do your research and weigh the data against what are really your needs vs. wants.
I think the next gen GTR will really shake up the “Stigma” surronding performance hybrids.. we will definitely see the tech trickle down to the mainstream soon after.. i think
@ Silent Electrician.
My last post was done with your suggestion in mind, taking my lines to the far right margin and
letting the program automatically set where the next line will start. What I got was two
word lines and a mish-mashed looking paragraph.
So here I am back to hitting my return key to make shorter lines – making them
uniform on my screen. Perhaps it has to do with what screen you use. I have a large
monitor ( 25″ ) with a 16X9 aspect ratio. If yours is different, this program may
make the size of my lines appear short and long. I don’t know – this is what looks
right on my screen.
I like the overall idea, even if the rendering needs a little help.
Without Pontiac, GM needs to step up a little bit with the sportiness and performance of a vehicle or 2 besides the Camaro. ( the SS and Corvette are cool, but I’m talking something a bit more lower priced). A Cruze coupe or even a Malibu SS would have it competing with Dodge better….unless GM is letting them have the sales.
Cadillac is the one that is actually stepping up the performance.
This rendering reminds me of the old Pontiac Grand Am or the Barreta.
I want one!
The coupe looks great. Do you think Chevrolet has the guts to build it.
Anothet should of , would of , could of …and a blunder by GM for not building it , cruze sales will suffer…..
I know I’m years late but so what, I really like the new design Cruze made up as a coupe; too bad GM would never build it. Coupes, particuarlly amongst compact cars have fallen out of favor in the last several years. I don’t know necessarily if it’s because inside or under the hood there isn’t really anything to differenate them from their four door brethern. But a coupe, or just a car with two doors instead of four, needs to be just that – a car that you shouldn’t be able to tell yourself that they just removed the rear doors, stretched the remaining doors and stretched the rear panels to cover the hole. I’ve seen some very well done two doors, like the Elantra which I almost bought, and some very badly done two doors that were just laughable…
The two door coupe of the Cruze looks wonderful, I would buy one if they made them.
I also think it would be a great platform for the next gen Camaro with a turbo four banger and a manual transmission. This car would be killer on the street and they already get fantastic mielage.