GM Cruzes to first-quarter profit of $3.2B

Chevy Cruze, smaller SUVs help GM earn $3.2B in 1Q, its highest profit in more than a decade

Tom Krisher and Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Auto Writers, On Thursday May 5, 2011, 4:35 pm EDT
DETROIT (AP) -- GM is on Cruze control.

General Motors introduced the Chevrolet Cruze last October as its answer to the Toyota Corolla and other small car rivals. The timing couldn't have been better. Gas prices have risen nearly 50 percent since the car hit the U.S. market. And sales of the Cruze worldwide are at 600,000, making it one of the most successful car launches in years.

It's the biggest example of GM's strategy to build better small cars, a market it ceded to the Japanese for years. While trucks and SUVs still provide much of its profit, GM is banking that higher fuel prices will drive customers toward smaller models. The company plans to launch its first compact Buick and the subcompact Chevrolet Sonic later in the year...

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