When General Motors revealed the North American Chevrolet Cruze at the Los Angeles auto show in December, they were hit with a tremendous amount of questions regarding the possibility of a performance variant. The Cobalt SS, despite its sub-par interior, has managed to leave a legacy for GM compact performance that people do not want to see an end to. While GM never confirmed a performance variant for the Cruze, the phrase “RS” continued to be used in conversations. GMI has confirmed why GM management was bringing up RS.
According to internal order guides for the 2011 Cruze, there will be an optional RS Package on the car. This option will only be available on 2LT and LTZ trim levels and is being called an “appearance package.” According to the documents, the RS package will include the following additions to the Cruze:
- Unique deck-lid spoiler
- Ground effects package
- Unique instrument panel
- Fog lamps
At this point no performance enhancements are expected to come on the Cruze RS model. As demonstrated by the Camaro RS package, the RS moniker is being utilized on appearance packages only. Cruze should be available with the RS package at or soon after the car launches later this fall.
According to sources, GM has not made a decision regarding the possibility of a Cruze SS to succeed the Cobalt SS.
Aveo RS
GM will be extending the RS theme beyond the Camaro and Cruze. GMI was able to confirm several weeks ago that an Aveo RS has been approved for production. That decision came following positive reaction to the Aveo RS Concept that GM displayed at the Detroit auto show in January. Like Camaro and Cruze, the Aveo RS will be an appearance package, not a performance trim level.
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