At General Motors, there’s a death march for small passenger cars. The automaker will reportedly kill off the Sonic hatchback and sedan, and the Lordstown, Ohio, plant that builds the Chevrolet Cruze will move to just a single shift.
Though the passenger car segment continues to decline, many automakers, including GM, believe it’s an important segment to conquest first-time buyers. According to a report from The Detroit News on Thursday, GM said small cars aren’t just about sales and volume, but they act as “ambassadors” for the brand.
“Vehicles like Trax have been a great success story for us because a lot of Trax sales come from people who are currently in passenger cars but are migrating through the portfolio,” Steve Majoros, Chevrolet’s marketing director for cars and crossovers, said.
“[Small cars] certainly help us with loyalty and conquest,” he added.
Many automakers see the slump in small car sales as a return to normal. For decades, small cars hardly pushed volume and sales. Only when the Great Recession took hold did automakers introduce more compact and sub-compact cars to cater to consumers. Then, high fuel prices and thrifty MSRPs moved compact cars from dealerships to driveways.
Alan Batey, GM’s executive vice president and president of North America, told the publication, “The Cruze eight and a half years ago was the hottest product in our portfolio,” and GM was air-freighting engines to keep up with demand for the car.
Whenever a downturn does occur, GM and other automakers don’t see a return to late 2000s and early 2010 practices. Since crossovers have become more fuel efficient, cars like the Sonic are a tougher business case in the U.S.
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What do the “kids” wants? Free wifi…In a decade or two they’ll all be hailing robo-taxis…
Need a sportier version of Cruze. Like a WRX?
If the Cruze hatch had a 2.0T or even 2.5T and dual exhaust I’d highly consider it
When I bought my first car, new was nowhere near an option. I needed inexpensive but cheap to work on an insure. Hello 8th generation Impala!
Currently, I have a 9th generation 2014 Impala Limited and before that a 2007 GP. Nothing to work on except rear brake pads for the GP. Cheap and reliable.
In reality a lot of people get way over their head with car payments,they don’t understand how bad it is to have negative equity,and they end up getting screwed.If your car payment is over 300 dollars a month you can’t afford that car.so buy a Cruze ,Sonic,or something like that .It might not be your dream car but overtime you will be much happier.
I live in a condo. I had this neighbor. He was what you’d describe as an amiable TV white guy. Kind of like the Travago guy except rougher around the edges. Maybe he had had a habit. His ability to focus… strained.
He leased a Volt. At the end of the lease he told me “Never lease stuff. It’s a ripoff.” I was confused. Certainly he know his monthly cost before signing. He told me it wasn’t that. “It’s that they limit your mileage and if you go over it they charge you!!!”
Well DUH. I mean did this fool spend 10 minutes eyeballing his mileage in lieu of THAT CONTRACT he signed? Or is America the ‘happiest place on Earth’ and Mickey Mouse will take care of your every need?
:eyeroll:
Life is tough, It’s tougher if your stupid.
“I’m the victim” mentality; many scenarios like this where they usually know the mileage but end up going over…Of course it isn’t THEIR fault and had he purchased and tried to sell later, he would have hosed on the depreciation with all that mileage…
This guy (and there’s many out there) is the car salesmen dream, this guy most likely has no problem trading in at a huge loss as long as the salesmen can convince him that he’s getting a discount on the car he’s buying…He’ll brag to everyone who will listen about the deal he got, if one asks him about a trade, he won’t truthfully answer…Only cares about the good and ignores the bad…Dealership made money on the deal and this guy most likely will give them top dealership scores and even give the dealership referrals…
Some purchase deals are good some aren’t, same goes for leasing…If you can lease a vehicle for $0 out of pocket and 23/35 months that’s 1% of the MSRP, it’s a great lease…GMF only charges $12/mo to go from 10K/year to 12K/year in mileage and you can actually lease up to 20K…If you drive that much leasing could still be better…
This is California… and what’s frightening is ‘this guy’ is smarter than half the people out here. The other half would ask, “Wait. I thought a lease was that thing where you end up owning the car at the end?”
I’ve been saying this since the last recession. How the Japanese and Korean makes took over the US car market isn’t a secret. How expensive can it be to mildly refresh the Spark and Sonic every few years, drop whatever world car small engine and transmission in it, and keep the Tech up to date.
Even if they don’t make a dollar off of them, these people are the future SUV buyers 10 years from now. Plus they keep a product for the next gas spike, which is inevitable.
While a SS would be nice it will not fix the problem.
Sales of all cars are in a massive decline and in time we will just have a couple to choose from in each division not counting EV models.
Sorry but with the variety of CUV sized gas is no longer a factor. Many get very good mpg anymore and most of these folks never bought the 45 mpg models anyway.
Also many of these CUV models are car based so the could be converted fast should the market change.
The a Sonic and Encore are the same platform. The Nox and Malibu share platforms too.
But even the Asian models are not growing in volume. But they do have global sales to help with volume. Might note they are adding CzuV models as. Hickory as they can?
There’s something that kinda drives me crazy about people who buy bigger cars than they need. Not that EVERYONE does but I feel most people do. They don’t seem to grasp that smaller cars are ginormous coupons in disguise.
You’re 20. You have two parents and Dog Bless Them they’ll help you get a first car. Within reason. You’re in the mood for a GMC Terrain. They ask you to settle for a Cruze Hatch. You’re like… but that’s so SMALL!
COUPON #1 will be the starting price for each. According to Car and Driver the Cruze will start $8000 less. (Please don’t get picky about trims and what have you. I just needed some number.)
COUPON #2 is the annual gas price. According to Edmunds you’ll save $423 a year on gas. Over ten years of new car love that’s a coupon for $4230.
Now I know what you’re thinking. What is this ‘coupon’ baloney. Well add up those coupons. That’s $12,230. Sell your 10 year old Cruze for $5000. That’s your third coupon.
Now you have $17,000 from not buying a Terrain. You don’t FEEL like you do because you didn’t save that cash in a bank account. But you did save it.
And so when you go to buy your next car you could take that savings off a new Terrain… or better yet… get ANOTHER Cruze for only a few thousand more. Why? That mileage ALWAYS pays off.
Another way to look at this is cumulative. Since 1986 I’ve driven a Honda Civic, Plymouth Colt Vista Wagon (with wifey forward), Suzuki Vitara, Scion Xa, Nissan Cube and Buick Encore.
The Civic and Xa were hatches and smaller than the rest, which are MPVs or CUVs. Let’s say they roughly get the same type of mileage in their day. Each kept roughly ten years (expect for last two).
So I did the same gas savings trick above. Rounded it off to $400 a year savings per car. In all those years if I had put the gas savings into the bank to withdraw it someday — I could go right now and buy a Chevy Trax. If the bank offered interest I could probably get an Equinox high trim.
If you can afford it buy what you like if you want. But if you want to save money buy an old Cobalt or Impala for $5,000.
Financially buying a new car is senseless but it is enjoyable too. You can’t take it with you and if you hang onto the money the goverment is just going to suck you dry anyways unless you protect it. Most people don’t.
The truth is most people don’t need a thing more than a Spark. But let’s face it just how much fun or comfort is a Spark.
I’d love a Tahoe or Yukon but at 24 can’t afford it. All the used models are either still new and high priced or older with 80,000+ miles on them. Considered a 2014 Impala LTZ with all options at $24k but didn’t need that much car. Considered a 2014-2015 ATS but was concerned about the reliability. Decided not to buy yet as my 10 year old CUV is still chugging and has a V6. Delaying gratification is hard but right now not having a car payment is lovely.
Plenty of people my age have been buying Cruzes and Equinoxes which they can actually afford. Then there’s the suckers that buy a new BMW with a 5-6 year loan. No thanks
There’s just a $2K price difference between the 2018 Chevrolet Cruze hatchback and the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox as this why sales for the Equinox increased by 40.88-percent while the Cruze dropped 13.36 in March 2018; buying the Equinox simply makes more sense.
The Nox is much more able to carry more varied cargo.
Given the direction of oil prices cars like Cruze may well have a future. Sergio lulled the industry into believing cheap oil was forever but OPEC has wised up and we lack enough domestic refineries.
There is such a thing as too many SUV models, and GM is nearly there. A new Blazer lacking off road, just another people mover, is prime example of this.
A recession with high oil prices means focus on volume from smaller line ups.
Oil prices are definitely heading higher, which is precisely why GM needs to stay in the small car game. They need to keep the Cruze and whatever other small offering they have up to date and fresh. Don’t go nuts with the investments. The Cruze is already a really good car.
Our friends in the Middle East want $80 oil, which will give us $3.50 gas. The idiots who bought that SUV that gets 19 mpg will run to the dealership to trade down, as the gasoline bill goes way up.
Also, don’t think the shale oil folks in Texas and Oklahoma will save us. A report yesterday out of Shlumberger, a major oil equipment provider, stated they see declines in production, as the easier oil has been tapped. We most likely won’t have $100 oil, unless there are major disruptions elsewhere, but there really is a cap to how much US oil will keep prices down.
So very few people are buying 19mpg SUVs; pick a recent date range and we’ll see people are buying compact CUVs with the CR-V and Rav4 being the sales leaders…The CR-V with AWD LX 28 city/34 highway for $25,550…Honda Sensing can be added for about a grand more (ACC, AEB, blind spot monitoring, etc)…Rav4 comes with all the active standard features standard but has worse MPGs than the Honda…
Encore 27 city 33 highway.
Nox 28 city 39 highway Diesel 24 city 30 highway
Acadia my own personal mpg V6 20 city 27 highway in AWD.
We have yet to see much in a hypbrid or EV like what is coming too.
Yes some very small cars or a Cruze Diesel will get more but no one is buying those version anyways.
Most drivers no matter the price is seeing between 20 to 30 mpg and are fine with that.
They are not going to sell a Traverse and go to a Cruze or Spark.
In the past when all we had were 12 to 16 mpg Suburban and Tahoe models yes people reacted but this is why we have Nox, Terrains and even Traverse and Acadia’s with 4 cylinders.
Gas goes up CUV models will still sell. You may see a drop in SUV but that is it.
If gas prices go up and full size SUV sales go down we’d prolly see CUV sales increase. Why get a car when you can get a bigger car with AWD and more cargo room with decent to great gas mileage
On a sidenote, how many posters on here own a fullsize 4×4 pickup truck but get upset when they hear people are buying an AWD Equinox over a FWD Spark/Sonic/Cruze?
The newest Cruze is a full step backward from the first one. I’ve spent time in both and would not recommend the new one. The seats in the ’17 I used for 2 weeks were flat and narrow and the start/stop made the whole car shudder. I’m currently looking for a ’16 Cruze Limited Eco to use as a driver and keep a few miles off the SS.
If you want something reliable and nice, nothing beats an off lease Buick. My wife and I really enjoy our Enclave, which we bought with a low 31k, and the payment, which included a reasonable down, is less than 4.5% of my gross monthly income. Our goal is to have no more than 7% of my gross income go to cars while making sure no payment plan goes over 5 years. For a single income family this works well as it gives us reliable transportation that is safe (with 5 kids this is our number 1 priority) and enjoyable to own.
My car, a Chevrolet Sonic, is used for commuting to work and back. It has proven to be super reliable, stingy on gas, and because we bought it as an off lease vehicle, very cheap to purchase. We are now pushing 93k miles on it, have had zero repairs (though I do keep up on maintenance), and highly recommend it as an off lease vehicle for someone looking to be wise with their funds, while still having a safe and fun commuter car.