News is starting to leak of something interesting in the cards at Chevrolet. Rumors of a 2013 American release of a diesel version of the Chevrolet Cruze are making the rounds. This is surprising and not very surprising depending on which way you view it.
The 2013 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel is rumored to get 50 MPG highway compared to the 36 MPG its base sister car gets today. Such a number would make it among the best new diesels you could buy for fuel economy alone.
No price has been released yet, but a base 2011 Cruze will run you $16,525. Arguably several thousand will be added on top of that, but can they keep it under the price of a Prius at $23,520? Keep it under the price of a Prius, and it could be considered among the best new car prices as well.
Could they go even further and offer it as diesels for 25k? It's certainly possible, and at that price range and fuel economy it would make the Cruze among the best new diesels going away.
But with a 50 MPG HWY mileage, does this put the Cruze in contention not to just knock down the price of used Toyota Prius for sale, but cut into the sales of the 2012 Chevy Volt as well? Are there enough people concerned about emissions and fossil fuel usage to offset those of us who just want it cheaper at the pump?
And if the 2013 Cruze does fit into that diesels for 25k category, then will the 2012 Chevy Volt's nearly $40,000 price tag be to much a burden even for the tree huggers? Nearly $15,000 buys you a lot of solar panels after all.
Finally an import of an affordable and efficient diesel car to America could turn enough heads to really sqeeze says of those new and used Toyota Prius for sale. But we are still left to imagine if the Chevy Cruze Diesel will be one of the best new car prices or not. And we are left to wonder how Chevrolets bold plan may affect the growth of the Volt. Time will tell.