It seems that GM may possibly be having some technical or production difficulties getting the Cruze diesel to market. It's April 1st and still no release date. I stopped by our local Chevy Dealership last week and they are clueless about a release date for the diesel in our region. Apparently, GM decided to release the diesel in ten states before distribution goes national later. The longer this goes on, the less likely we are to purchase a 2014 diesel this year as the "new" 2015 Cruze is to be released in Fall 2014. We do not expect a dramatic redesign just enough to let your neighbors know you bot the 2015. We are also watching developments for the Mazda 6 diesel. The Mazda 6's projecting nose and cab-rearward design (maybe that's where the added 7 inches comes from?) is not very appealing to me but there is a lot of machine there. We will see what the tech and price comparisons are next Fall. The cabin area may be quite similar in size even though the Cruze is a compact and the 6 is midsize. Increasingly looking like we will buy in spring 2014. Never did like the idea of buying a new car going into winter.
Expect the Mazda 6 to be notably more expensive.
I don't know what experience Mazda has with Diesels overseas, but I know for a fact that GM has a LOT of experience overseas with Diesels, and the Diesel coming into the Cruze in the US was developed in Torino, Italy by their Opel division. If we are going on track record and experience, I'd trust the Cruze Diesel over the Mazda.
Their delay in providing information has nothing to do with technical or production difficulties. GM has always been very good at keeping a tight lid on any news. Did you know anything about the recently released Z28 Camaro before it was announced? I can assure you that car has been in development for over a year.
