# My 2012 Chevy Cruze LTZ RS



## cdb09007 (Aug 7, 2013)

Mighty purddy car ya got thar. 

As I always say when I see the install pics...Sharkfins are the best mod for all cruzes. Lookin good.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

cdb09007 said:


> Mighty purddy car ya got thar.
> 
> As I always say when I see the install pics...Sharkfins are the best mod for all cruzes. Lookin good.


Thanks. It's the Turtle Wax Jet Black. It keeps it looking nice. Would you believe this car has 71234 miles on it and most of it is highway. Since we got the truck my poor little baby lost the car port too. I have to park in back of the truck though to avoid the blasted birds and their cursed white poo of death for the paint. Although with the shark fin my car cover will go on much easier now.


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## Terryk2003 (Sep 22, 2014)

Beautiful! The shark fin really improves the look of these cars!


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## 2013Cruze (Aug 4, 2012)

Daisy81 said:


> There is not too much to write home about the changes visually. I'm thinking about changing out the headlights in the future and swapping out the NAV head unit for a Android based one I found yesterday but between the two projects I'm looking at at least $2000 in parts and labor so it might be a little while.
> 
> That said my shark fin arrived today. As a disclaimer this is only with the shark fin sitting on the vehicle to see how it looks. I haven't done the actual install yet as according to the directions I need to remove the wax over the install area, clean it well and allow it to dry before attaching the antenna. I won't be able to do that until after I finish up work for the day and go back outside.
> 
> ...


Nice looking Cruze you have there wish I had the time to make mine look that good.

Skark Fin really makes the Cruze look even better.

Maybe Chevy will get it right and make it standard on the 2 gen Cruze.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

Thank you. Really all I have done is been keeping a coat of wax on it at all times. Maintenance is a quick run through the touchless car wash at Sunoco to take off the dirt off. Waxing the car takes about a hour after washing the car by hand which takes about 40 minutes. If you have two hours on the weekend it can look good. It's good for six months but I do it every three months just to be sure it stays looking nice.

The problem is if you don't take care of the paint it will fade. This is especially true of black cars. When we where living at my townhouse before moving to our home a neighbor had a black Nissan Altima. It was less then one year old but she didn't take care of the paint and it looked like it was five years old.


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## Jukebox Juliet (Apr 4, 2014)

Nice, the shark fin makes such a difference. Especially on the LTZ. 


Sent with iLove 6.0


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

Jukebox Juliet said:


> Nice, the shark fin makes such a difference. Especially on the LTZ.
> 
> 
> Sent with iLove 6.0


It really makes it. I always thought that the Cruze LTZ RS looks so close to a town car but the ridiculously cheap antenna on it ruined the look. I can understand the cheap antenna on the lower trims to save money but the LTZ should have come with the shark fin stock.

I'm fixing that issue.

Also here are photos of the shark fin itself straight out of the box.
View attachment 140106
View attachment 140114


Thank you fine Canadian craftsmen for making such a nice shark fin and selling it so affordably. It makes me very glad not to be buying from China.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Daisy81 said:


> The problem is if you don't take care of the paint it will fade. This is especially true of black cars. When we where living at my townhouse before moving to our home a neighbor had a black Nissan Altima. It was less then one year old but she didn't take care of the paint and it looked like it was five years old.


Don't forget the headlights. If they start taking a craz, it makes the car look old.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

ChevyGuy said:


> Don't forget the headlights. If they start taking a craz, it makes the car look old.


Good point but you don't have to do much with the head lights. Once a year I get some good old regular Crest tooth paste and a soft tooth brush and I give my headlights a scrubbing. As you can see mine are still crystal clear.

I'm planning on getting these headlights sometime this year. Probably closer to the winter since my next change is going to be my nav head. Although if someone wants a 2012 OEM Nav head and willing to pay a decent amount when I get this nav head installed then maybe I can get the headlights a little sooner.

I'm still debating on the tail lights. I'm torn between leaving them because I do like the visual style or going with the BMW or Mercedes tail lights. What I would really like though is a LED version of the OEM style. That would be sweet. I like the OEM style because of the way it plays with negative space at night and changing the look. I think it is playful. This is why I'm leaning towards the BMW tail lights here because they kind of work off the same principle.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Daisy81 said:


> Good point but you don't have to do much with the head lights.


True. I was looking to get one of those plastic overlays that bock the UV.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

ChevyGuy said:


> True. I was looking to get one of those plastic overlays that bock the UV.


I don't think you need to worry about. Seriously a soft bristle tooth brush and a tiny travel size tube of Crest paint will do the job and make even faded head lights look like new.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

The idea is to prevent damage, not clean it up. I think when you start cleaning, it's a loosing battle.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

ChevyGuy said:


> The idea is to prevent damage, not clean it up. I think when you start cleaning, it's a loosing battle.


It's no different then dirt or metal oxidizing. It's pretty much the same concept as polishing something.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Daisy81 said:


> It's no different then dirt or metal oxidizing. It's pretty much the same concept as polishing something.


I thought the point of wax was to create a sacrificial layer to prevent oxidizing.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

ChevyGuy said:


> I thought the point of wax was to create a sacrificial layer to prevent oxidizing.


hmmm we where talking about headlights.

Of course you start waxing from day 1. Yeah when paint is destroyed it is destroyed. You only get one factory court of paint.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Daisy81 said:


> Yeah when paint is destroyed it is destroyed. You only get one factory court of paint.


Actually, you can say that about the clearcoat too. Once it goes, no fix except to repaint. There's no way I know of to fix or remove the clearcoat and have anything looking halfway decent left.

I'm not sure if there's any layers to headlight plastic, but I think I'd rather peal off and replace a plastic sheet than to sit there and polish the lights. I've heard from others with old cars that once the headlights go, it's a uphill battle. None of the processes seem to last.


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

ChevyGuy said:


> Actually, you can say that about the clearcoat too. Once it goes, no fix except to repaint. There's no way I know of to fix or remove the clearcoat and have anything looking halfway decent left.
> 
> I'm not sure if there's any layers to headlight plastic, but I think I'd rather peal off and replace a plastic sheet than to sit there and polish the lights. I've heard from others with old cars that once the headlights go, it's a uphill battle. None of the processes seem to last.


Fair enough but it doesn't take that long unless you neglect the vehicle for years and allow it to get bad. If you're cleaning them annually it doesn't take any longer then it does to wash a wheel.

Although to be honest I don't know what the super long term ramifications are. The longest I have held onto a car is eight years. My Cruze is my second longest owned vehicle since ever.

I suppose if the headlights actually did start to look aged I would simply buy a new set. A set of tires would cost more and I only just installed my second last fall when my car had around 68,000 miles on it.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Daisy81 said:


> I suppose if the headlights actually did start to look aged I would simply buy a new set. A set of tires would cost more and I only just installed my second last fall when my car had around 68,000 miles on it.


Yeah, yeah, I see where this is going. Any excuse to buy that LED headlight set .... :grin:


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

ChevyGuy said:


> Yeah, yeah, I see where this is going. Any excuse to buy that LED headlight set .... :grin:


Wait ... did you just say my headlights look oxidized. Thats it I'm going to buy those headlights!!!!​


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

and that DVD PC Rear Viewing Cam. TV , with 5.1 stereo channels . with an 18 inch sub .


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## Daisy81 (Jun 17, 2012)

LMAO

No I think my current speaker setup from the factory is good enough for me. I listen at around a 10 volume level. 15 is super loud for me. Besides I have always wondered if those sub woofers shake the vehicle apart.

Although that nav head can play DVD movies. You can even buy head rests with LCD displays built into them and have the head until play on them too! I can just see myself pulling over in a rest stop to each lunch while watching the office. 

I think I would keep my Cruze forever if it was that pimped out.


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