[UlyssesSG]

Automotive News
GM to launch new global platform with next Chevy Cruze, sources say

The platform carries the internal GM designation D2XX.

The redesign will feature "new exterior and interior styling, improved fuel economy and an improved interior compartment and more storage space," GM said in a statement.

GM is likely to consider adding a body variant or two for the next-generation Cruze, including a hatchback and possibly a coupe. GM already has confirmed plans to build a diesel Cruze, which is expected to reach the market in the second half of 2013.

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From staff, wire reports
Automotive News -- August 23, 2012 - 10:27 am ET
UPDATED: 8/23/12 2:29 pm ET - includes new platform report

 

[UlyssesSG]

This car would look horrible as a convertible ... and personally I'd love to see an SS model.

There's not a snowball's chance in a very hot place that you'll ever see an OEM-produced or OEM-authorized ragtop Cruze in this generation or the next. Zilch. None. Nada. There are many good reasons, the two most important being legal and economic.

And since I'm today's bearer of unwelcome news, know that the chance of seeing a Cruze SS is somewhere between slim and none. It's been reported that GM corporate planners will reserve the SS moniker exclusively for special high-performance Chevrolet vehicles outside the Cruze's class segment. Compacts and sub-compact vehicles are to be excluded. No exceptions.

 

[UlyssesSG]

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USA TODAY | Aug 24, 2012
Report: Next Cruze first on new GM global platform
The new platform will underpin next-gen models of vehicles including the Chevy Cruze, Volt and Equinox, Opel Astra, Buick Verano, GMC Terrain, as well as the successor to the upcoming Cadillac ELR hybrid.

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REUTERS | Aug 24, 2012
UPDATE 2-Future Chevy Cruze leads new GM global program-sources
Next-generation Cruze due in fall 2014 as 2015 model