- Tim Allen will help introduce the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze.
- Allen was chosen partly because of his personal interest in cars.
- The Cruze campaign begins today.
DETROIT — His is one of the most recognizable voices in movies thanks to the Toy Story franchise, and Chevrolet has landed Tim Allen as its new spokesman. He will start with the rollout of the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze with an ad campaign that begins today.
GM's U.S. Marketing Vice President, Joel Ewanick, says he was chosen for his "credibility, likeability and humor" as well as his well-known interest in cars. GM products he owns and showcases on his personal Web site include a 1996 Chevrolet LT5 Impala SS and a 2000 Cadillac De Ville DTSi.
Allen also grew up in Michigan, and his long-running Home Improvement TV series was set in the Detroit area.
Inside Line says: Imagine what ill-fated modified engine his TV character Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor would have dropped under the hood of the Cruze. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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jray4 says:
11:16 AM, 09/12/2010
Every tests I've read about, the Cruze is superior to the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla. The Cruze beats them in all phrases. I think the Civic and the Corolla have a lot to worry about. Plus it's time we start buying American...we no longer have an excuse not to.
tbone85 says:
05:47 PM, 09/08/2010
In terms of design and quality, I don't believe that Corolla or Civic have progressed at all since their previous generation. The photos I've seen of the Cruze show exterior styling at least as good as Civic and superior to Corolla. Cruze interior design is better than both of those vehicles.
In terms of sales, it's a safe bet that Honda and Toyota have little to fear in terms of being displaced from the lead, but I imagine they'll experience a tightening. Cruze should sell signficantly better than Cobalt. Mazda goofed on the design of the latest 3, but the car remains flat out the best vehicle that I've driven in this category. The initial Cruze impressions I've read have been fairly complimentary, so it's a different story than Cobalt. I doubt Cruze wins the crown of best car, but even finishing in the top half would be major progress over the Cobalt.
Based on my priorities, If I were in the market over the next year, I'd drive the Cruze, '12 Focus, and Mazda3 to make a decision. However, I'm not the typical target of this market. I thought the previous 3 was clearly superior to Corolla and Civic, but it never took over the sales lead.
wjtinatl says:
07:14 AM, 09/08/2010
Gotta agree with jscion above; the Cruze and Volt have extremely large reputations to live up to. Not unlike when GM introduced the Cobalt as a "premium" small car to replace the Cavalier. Initial reviews were tepid and it soon became clear that Civic, Corolla and similar didn't have anything to worry about! Hope the Cruze has a better result.
gwinbear says:
07:33 PM, 09/07/2010
"Spare the rod... the heck with Bob"
I really enjoyed watching that show
jscion says:
05:29 PM, 09/07/2010
Is it just me, or is anyone else tired of articles about this car???....Tired of looking at it too and you can't even get one in the U.S. yet. The Cruze doesn't seem to have aged well even through anticipation of its debut. GM better plan on a substancial reskin and freshening of the Cruze no later than 2013 and push it out as an early 2012!!! GM's kinda getting smart but still is quite stupid...WAAAAAAAAAAAY too much press on this
k55 says:
09:13 AM, 09/07/2010
He will drop a V8 in one ...you'll see. Ugh Ygh Ugh