Cruzing for Bruising?

Will the Chevy Cruze and Volt save G.M. and, by extension, help Flint? Reader Shawn Chittle doesn't think so:

"Nissan's Leaf gets 367MPG and will be out about the same time as the Cruze and Volt, which gets 230MPG.

"As you know, yuppies and hippies don't buy Chevrolet cars. And few people I know have $45,000 sitting around for a new car anyway.

"These will be the most colossal duds ever — perhaps bigger than the Edsel — and just more ammunition for GM to close its last door on Flint for good."

Flint Maps: Chevy Cruze and Volt Manufacturing

The Chevy Volt concept car, trying very hard not to look anything like a Chevette.

News that GM will use four plants in the greater Flint area for the assembly of Chevrolet Volt and Cruze engines has people wondering what it will mean for the Vehicle City.

The decision could be a turning point for the city, bringing back jobs and the sheen of an automotive industry striving to reinvent itself," writes Camille Ricketts of GreenBeat. "While many skeptics have accused GM of exaggerating the driving range and convenience of the Chevy Volt (pictured above), it is still expected to be the most practical plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle available next year. The car maker says the eventual price should hover somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000, making it much cheaper than Tesla Motors‘ $109,000 roadster (and even its more affordable Model S), and Fisker Automotive’s $87,000 Karma — while still remaining more similar to traditional vehicles than supposedly cheaper EVs made by Zenn Motor Company and Coda Automotive."

Flint Expatriates has put together a map of what's happening at the various plants. Simply click on the blue car icons. For a larger map, which is a little easier to read, click on the link below.

View Chevy Cruze and Volt Manufacturing in a larger map

Low Voltage

Sam Abuelsamid is reporting on Autoblog.com that plans for a Volt engine plant in Flint have been scrapped:

"The bad news just keeps on coming for General Motors and Flint, Michigan. It was reported late last night that construction contracts for the new $370 million engine plant that was going up in Flint have been canceled. GM actually stopped work on the project in early December. The plant was to produce the new 1.4-liter four cylinder engine for the 2011 Chevy Cruze and Volt. GM spokeswoman Sharon Basel told AutoblogGreen that the intention all along had been for engines for the early production runs of the Cruze and Volt to be supplied from a European facility that already builds variants of GM's so-called "Family 0" powertrains. The Flint plant would not have been ready for start of production of Cruze next spring."

If you're a glutton for punishment, go here for original story announcing that G.M. planned to build the plant in Flint.