Remember a few months ago when Volkswagen totally shot themselves in the foot? Of course you do. Well, now that the dust from that whole kerfluffle has settled, it looks like Chevy is poised to take advantage of the resulting power vacuum.
Chevrolet told the Automotive News that they’re dipping their toes into the diesel sedan market with a new diesel-powered Cruze. With VW firmly out of the picture (they’re staring down the barrel of a $14.7 billion settlement), Chevy stands to make a pretty nice killing.
Dan Nicholson, General Motors’ vice president for global propulsion systems, said, “There are a lot of diesel intenders and diesel-loyal people who are looking for a brand and vehicles to go after.”
The diesel-equipped Cruze is expected to show up sometime next year with a 1.6-liter engine that is apparently called a “whisper diesel” by the engineers. (Do they whisper when they talk about it, too?) Power-wise, it’s expected to hit 136hp and 275 pound/feet of torque. Not bad for a little guy!
Nicholson continues, “I am very optimistic about the diesel market in the U.S. It has been abandoned by others and we are happy to step in and be the leader. Frankly that’s what we’d like to do.”
Given the success they’ve had with the diesel versions of the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, I’d say they’re probably going to do just fine.