Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue Angel
GM is benchmarking the price of the TDI Jetta. With an automatic transmission the Jetta TDI costs about $900 less than the Cruze TD; GM justifies the difference by including lots of additional features, like a leather interior.
The Cruze TD has two major flaws:
1. It is offered as a loaded line topping model only
2. It is not offered with a manual transmission
If they offered a TD option with manual transmission on the Cruze Eco for $1500 extra they would have a hit on their hands... it would cost appreciably less than the Jetta TDI and offer better fuel economy. Instead they have gone the BMW E90 335d route and made it the highest spec and most expensive model in the range.   
It's almost like they don't want to sell them... |
I think they are marketing it towards people who want a luxurious car that gets great gas mileage. Hence, no manual and only comes fully loaded. I think this the same as someone getting a brand new Prius (starting at $24,200). But, that person can get a brand new Civic, that doesn't get the same mileage, but will cost $6,000 less to purchase. It would take (by some very, very rough math...) 200,000 miles to recoup the cost, assuming maintenance costs are equal and that person bought the base model, etc. They both are nice cars. But, who keeps a brand new car for that long? Not too many people! It is the concept of high MPG that people are buying (or getting a loan for). If they are going to spend that much, why not get a hybrid?? They aren't adding up the cost, they just want to drive it.
I don't think the average American wants a bare bones car that gets great mileage. Plus, the car manufacturer wouldn't make much of a profit selling really cheap cars.