# Chevy Cruze Diesel Struggles to Catch on in America



## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

You may wish to contribute your own thoughts to this follow-on to the Wards story. 

Less Than 6,000 Cruze Diesels Have Been Sold | GM Authority


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

It would help if they marketed this version as I didn't know about it when I bought mine


Courtesy of Wikipedia


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

iTz SADISTIK said:


> It would help if they marketed this version as I didn't know about it when I bought mine
> 
> 
> Courtesy of Wikipedia


Beyond that, most dealers don't stock them like other Cruze trims. They tend to stock what they can quickly sell. I went to the dealer I bought my Eco from, and like most dealers have a flood of LS/LTs and as SADISTIK said most people don't know they exist and people don't know the benefits of a diesel vs gasoline or don't drive that much on the highway to see the benefits of one.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Even without expensive advertising all GM would need to do is put a big poster in each dealer and have the salesperson point out that it exists and any benefits it may have for the buyer. GM maybe you need a forklift driver to help with your marketing department?


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

No real marketing & low planned build numbers.... seems GM wants this car to fail. Should be commercials, bill boards and giant posters at the dealer with the 46MPG highway rating plastered everywhere. 

I was at a friend's house the other day and his dad was surprised when I told them they offered a diesel & even more shocked it got a 46mpg highway rating. People shouldn't have to be informed by word of mouth.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

The other vehicles mentioned have been available for some time here so quality in US should be no problem on an established design.

When the Ford Falcon was introduced to Australia in the 1960's they got a few cars on an oval track and drove them for 70,000 miles stopping only for fuel and tyres and averaged about 70mph. Chevy needs to do something like this with the Cruze diesel to get the peoples attention.

*THIS IS THE STORY*
In that year a durability trial organised by Bill Bourke, who was marketing the car for Ford Australia, saw five standard XP Falcons race around the clock for nine days over the rough and twisting 4 km dirt track of the You Yangs Proving Ground, Ford’s new test track, between Melbourne and Geelong, aiming to cover 70,000 miles (112,651 km) at an average of 70 mph (112.7 kph). Although several of the cars rolled over, they averaged 71.3 mph (114.7 kph). Even Henry Ford II flew in for the event. The publicity stunt established 49 Australian endurance records and established the Falcon’s reputation as a tough family car. It was ordered by fleet managers, the police and for taxi fleets. The XP was named “Wheels” Magazine’s “Car of the Year” in 1965, the first Australian-made car to win this accolade, and the model turned the tide for Ford Australia as a serious competitor to Holden.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

spacedout said:


> No real marketing & low planned build numbers.... seems GM wants this car to fail. Should be commercials, bill boards and giant posters at the dealer with the 46MPG highway rating plastered everywhere.
> 
> I was at a friend's house the other day and his dad was surprised when I told them they offered a diesel & even more shocked it got a 46mpg highway rating. People shouldn't have to be informed by word of mouth.


It's not that they wanted it to fail. It was that they didn't want to run the risk of it failing in a spectacular way. 

The Oldsmobile LF9 was sold to millions as the holy grail. Tons bought into the marketing and the product was an enormous failure, liability and negative legacy. 

Today with our LUZ, if it went south only 6,000 people would be impacted. 

It's what's called Risk Management in MBA circles. 

The plan was to build no more than 12,000 units in the first year and then see what happens. In a way, we 6,000 early adopters are kind of beta testers. 

But the difference between us LUZ folks and our LF9 forefathers is that the LUZ engine has more-or-less existed for five years or so, just with a different emissions package. Whereas the LF9 was a brand new Powertrain, that was rushed to a public that had zero exposure to diesel ownership. 

Back then there were no Internet forums advising people about dexos2 oils or water contaminating your fuel. Heck there wasn't even a water separator on the LF9! So owners and dealership technicians were on their own, applying techniques learned from gasoline engines that just led to more failures. 

But the bad smell left behind by the LF9 lingers to this day. Think about it: Have you read a published Cruze diesel review that doesn't reference that Oldsmobile LF9 from the Carter administration?

So our LUZ engine was given the mission of finally extinguishing that 30+ year-old legacy. And as new diesel powertrains roll out from GM, the talk will be about the success of the Cruze diesel today and not the failure of Oldsmobiles past. 


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Either way, they need to market the diesels instead of treating them like the red headed step child


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Honestly as much as the media brings up that olds diesel you would think the public would remember or care.... they don't. So basically you are rationalizing that low production is to protect their image from the possibility of another huge public failure? If that's the case sounds like GM doesn't believe in their product even though the engine has actually been tested for years in other markets. 

GM makes an average around 300,000 gas cruze a year, 6,000 diesels is beyond low production in comparison. They didn't even make as many as planned, sounds like a huge failure already to me. 

Hard to sell cars the public don't know exist, GM needs to invest in marketing & start to offer the diesel in more models like the malibu and equinox.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

The Malibu is available in Australia with the 2.0TDI already, so most of the development work is already done.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

spacedout said:


> Honestly as much as the media brings up that olds diesel you would think the public would remember or care.... they don't. So basically you are rationalizing that low production is to protect their image from the possibility of another huge public failure? If that's the case sounds like GM doesn't believe in their product even though the engine has actually been tested for years in other markets.
> 
> GM makes an average around 300,000 gas cruze a year, 6,000 diesels is beyond low production in comparison. They didn't even make as many as planned, sounds like a huge failure already to me.
> 
> Hard to sell cars the public don't know exist, GM needs to invest in marketing & start to offer the diesel in more models like the malibu and equinox.


public doesnt remember anything, let alone the age group they market the cruze (gas or diesel) to....**** most of them dont know the singer of the foo fighters was in a different band before


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

I was at the dealer I bought my Eco and in talking to a salesman asked him about the diesel and he said I know we got one here on the lot somewhere. He had no clue so when I mentioned possible interest in which he just kinda walked away: probably knowing I could tell him more about the car than he could me. Not a good position for a salesman that is supposed to know the product to be in! He was probably used to consumers that say :"ooh aah a car" or really they do that or they can get what! Don't forget GM is still "realing" from the ignition recall for something that people should know better about. Don't try and hang a "bowling ball" or at least a couple of pounds of garbage from you key ring and expect your ignition switch to hold up!


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Not surprising at all patman, most salesmen don't no crap about the cars they sell. Ask them about a Tahoe or Silverado they might know a bit more, guess it pays to be informed about your higher profit margin vehicles.


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## cmsdock (Feb 16, 2014)

Aussie said:


> The Malibu is available in Australia with the 2.0TDI already, so most of the development work is already done.


What kind of gas mileage does that get? 



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## PanJet (Jun 18, 2013)

cmsdock said:


> What kind of gas mileage does that get?


Probably quite poor. I would imagine maybe 1 if you're lucky. 

Diesel fuel milage might be pretty good though. ;-) Sorry, I couldn't resist.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

People barely trust GM with regular gas engines, i didn't expect people to flock to GM for a diesel.
GM needs to put a sportier engine in as an option. Heck, even the 2.4L Ecotec would do. That will bring sales, IMO


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

steve333 said:


> People barely trust GM with regular gas engines, i didn't expect people to flock to GM for a diesel.
> GM needs to put a sportier engine in as an option. Heck, even the 2.4L Ecotec would do. That will bring sales, IMO


Really? GM engines are actually known to be very reliable, its their electronics in the cars that suck. I would like the 2.5L ecotec in the cruze, but they can keep the crappy old 2.4L. If I wanted that old engine I would buy a verano.


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## q2bruiser (Jun 8, 2014)

I would argue there is merit in a controlled roll out of such a new product. It is a test. It is the vetting process for the product, marketing, dealers, and service departments. If this was just another short chain carbon powered vehicle, it would be different and we should expect more. But to begin by throwing out thousands and thousands of units of a product service departments don't know how to work on, suppliers don't yet have inventory, and the US public has traditionally had a low appetite for could be a receipt for failure.

My guess is the CD is being used as a ramp up and vetting process for their ultimate goal; owning the small truck diesel market. If they can beat Nissan/Toyota to the punch and already have the teething problems worked out with the many, many components required to roll out an American vehicle, GM will print money ... much like the Ram Eco Diesel is doing now.

My $0.02


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

cmsdock said:


> What kind of gas mileage does that get?


From the reviews I have read the Holden Malibu diesel is rated at 6.4L/100kilometers or 37mpg. However the current US cruze with 2.5L gas ecotec get a 36MPG EPA rating so I suspect it would do better.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

I guess having the 6000 people be beta testers is a good idea. **** it didn't help we were all here before it released talking about how it wasn't any way a "ECO" choice at its hefty price tag. Even the gas ECO wasn't a "ECO choice" when it should have been in the 1LT spot the way it's options are packaged. 


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

q2bruiser said:


> I would argue there is merit in a controlled roll out of such a new product. It is a test. It is the vetting process for the product, marketing, dealers, and service departments. If this was just another short chain carbon powered vehicle, it would be different and we should expect more. But to begin by throwing out thousands and thousands of units of a product service departments don't know how to work on, suppliers don't yet have inventory, and the US public has traditionally had a low appetite for could be a receipt for failure.
> 
> My guess is the CD is being used as a ramp up and vetting process for their ultimate goal; owning the small truck diesel market. If they can beat Nissan/Toyota to the punch and already have the teething problems worked out with the many, many components required to roll out an American vehicle, GM will print money ... much like the Ram Eco Diesel is doing now.
> 
> My $0.02


So putting a mainstream gas turbo engine such as the 1.4T on the market and selling over a million would not have the same problems? If GM wanted to own the small truck diesel market they would not make us wait a year past the new 2015 colorado to get a 2016 colorado diesel. By the time they get off their duffs the competition will have already caught up. 

I would never buy a first year car and they make 100,000+ a year on average. I won't buy based on low mileage testing, new suppliers and parts, and employees that are not familiar with the car(those that build them or work on them). At the rate the diesel is going I might consider one in 10 years.

Heard in the past with GM heavy trucks the duramax engine is over 40% of their sales. Build a better engine, let the public know about it and people will buy.


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## Su8pack1 (Apr 17, 2014)

I read where VW sold 400,000 cars in the US last year where 100,000 were diesels. Lets go GM, get out the word.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

spacedout said:


> From the reviews I have read the Holden Malibu diesel is rated at 6.4L/100kilometers or 37mpg. However the current US cruze with 2.5L gas ecotec get a 36MPG EPA rating so I suspect it would do better.


If that information comes from Australia I guess that is the combined figure. I will try to find a link to a road test and post it.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

As mentioned I too would rather the Commodore or Cruze.

Holden Malibu review: Car Reviews- CarsGuide


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Can anyone say ADVERTISING? Obviously no one at GM can when it comes to the Cruze. If you listen to the VW, Toyota, Honda, and Hyuandi commercials you would think the Cruze doesn't exist at all.


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## cmsdock (Feb 16, 2014)

I hear the chevy cruze diesel being advertised on kiss fm la and I get that from the xm radio. "Your now listening dj such and such broadcasting to you live in the chevy cruze diesel studio." 


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

spacedout said:


> Really? GM engines are actually known to be very reliable, its their electronics in the cars that suck. I would like the 2.5L ecotec in the cruze, but they can keep the crappy old 2.4L. If I wanted that old engine I would buy a verano.


I would take the 2.4 over the tiny turbo myself


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

steve333 said:


> I would take the 2.4 over the tiny turbo myself


Can't see your sig but have you driven a tuned 1.4?


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

Merc6 said:


> Can't see your sig but have you driven a tuned 1.4?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iFail 5s


No, I also see that Chevy offers it's own tune for the Sonic, strange that it isn't offered for the Cruze with the same exact engine


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

I wish gm would offer performance tunes for a lot more engines than they do. I would love to see factory diesel tunes


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## cmsdock (Feb 16, 2014)

PanJet said:


> Probably quite poor. I would imagine maybe 1 if you're lucky.
> 
> Diesel fuel milage might be pretty good though. ;-) Sorry, I couldn't resist.


Yep wasn't even paying attention to that. It's the weekend though give me a break. 


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

You know, it's funny... The dealer where I have my car serviced had a banner on their window touting the 46 MPG and other virtues of the diesel Cruze back when I first took it in for service last July or so (2013). They just now in the past couple weeks (one year later) got their FIRST diesel Cruze on the lot to sell. Before that, mine was the only one they had ever seen, and I bought it at a dealer 2 hours away in one of the rollout markets.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Hard to sell a car if you don't have any


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## PanJet (Jun 18, 2013)

money_man said:


> Hard to sell a car if you don't have any


That's exactly the problem, in my opinion. They basically are shooting themselves in the foot by not making this more available. Sure, for those of us who knew about it, we drove sometimes hundreds of miles to get one, but for the average buyer, if it's not on the lot, they're not likely to know about it. GM has done a very poor job of distributing these cars with many dealers selling every one they can get their hands on, and others not even being able to get a single one.

I also see a bit of a communication problem at GM. From reading the other article Tomko posted from Wards, it reminded me of the 10% of Cruze sales goal someone at GM had set for the diesel. However, their first year production was limited to 12,000 copies if I'm not mistaken. Even if they had made and sold every one of those 12,000, that would have only been roughly 4% of total Cruze sales.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

GM very clearly did not set out to make diesel converts out of walk-ins and the consumers reports crowd with this car in its first year. Please see below:



LemonGolf said:


> According to their CTD Salesperson Reference Guide and Ordering Workbook, the target customer has the following traits:
> 
> 
> "Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel will appeal to a driving enthusiast seeking a fuel-efficient car. Compared to a typical Cruze customer, a Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel customer is older, more educated, wealthier, and more likely to be male.
> ...


This is not the secretary sue, Mary-Elizabeth homemaker, or I got me a GED and a job crowd. Nor is it first-time new car buyers either. 

Consider yourself: How many of the above reflect your characteristics?


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Hmm. My hhi is around $80k, it is my first new car, I'm a male but only 24, did go to college. Do almost no hwy, I am an enthusiast though


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Maybe GM is keeping the #'s down to keep value up?


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

_Mean age: 55 *45*_
_60% male *100% male*_
_Median HHI: $105k *higher*_
_60% college graduates *hs*_


_What They Want:_
_Performance (torque) *no*_
_Increased fuel economy *YESYESYES*_
_Lower emissions *no*_
_Durability and low maintenance costs *yes*_


_How They Live:_
_They drive many highway miles *YESYES*_
_They march to the beat of their own drum *UH DUH*_
_They feel strongly about the benefits of diesel *NOPE*_
_They skew toward enthusiast in attitude" *LOL no, its an econobox*_


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## bowtieblue (May 26, 2014)

Isn't it possible that the Cruze simply isn't a good value for most "average miles" drivers? The diesel engine essentially adds $2,500 to the price of a more or less comparable 2LT but the fuel cost savings isn't near that high for most buyers' typical ownership period.


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## GeoHawk (Jan 24, 2014)

I would have bought one if they sold it with a manual. While I'm 10 yrs below the target age in the Salesperson Guide listed above, I fit just about every other trait.


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## jalaner (Dec 28, 2013)

Diesels are popular in Europe because fuel costs are much higher and diesel is taxed at a lower rate than gas. The US fuel costs will increase when the tax increases required to repair our substandard roads can no longer be avoided. Diesel sales will improve if the tax increase is large enough. Gas is just too cheap now to justify the cost of a diesel. The average US consumer is not sophisticated enough to appreciate the elegant design created by Rudolph Diesel. He never really profited from his genius and died broke if my memory serves. I drove a 1LT for a couple of weeks and I was surprised about how much better my CTD drove than the gasser. I drove a Mercedes diesel for 24 years and loved it so as soon as the CTD was announced I knew I would buy it.


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