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Cleveland Auto Show to spotlight Chevy Cruze

Lou Vitantonio is well aware of the pride the Mahoning Valley and, for that matter, all of Northeast Ohio takes in the Chevrolet Cruze.

For years, the Cruze sedan has been one of General Motors’ top-selling vehicles, and the automaker’s most popular small car.

“It’s apparent when you look at the numbers,” said Vitantonio, president of the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association.

“It’s a popular car all around, but you especially see that locally with the number of people who buy the Cruze. The community takes a lot of pride in the Cruze, and rightfully so.”

Vitantonio, who also serves as president of the Cleveland Auto Show, said it makes sense for the Lordstown-made Chevy Cruze to be in the spotlight at this year’s event.

The show, presented by AutoTrader.com, kicks off Friday evening and continues through March 5 at the I-X Center in Cleveland.

This year, the 2017 Chevrolet Cruze and the 2018 Equinox are being featured as the Official Car and Truck of the 2017 Cleveland Auto Show.

“In addition to being an excellent value for your transportation dollar, these two vehicles are also among the most popular in Chevrolet’s product lineup,” says Ken Ganley, chairman of the Cleveland Auto Show. “And the Chevrolet Cruze is built right here in Northeast Ohio at the Lordstown plant.”

To further celebrate the Cruze, show organizers have chosen it as the official giveaway vehicle.

“All it takes is the right key,” Vitantonio said.

Each day of the show, one finalist will be chosen and invited back on March 5 to receive a key. The finalist with the key that fits the 2017 Cruze Premier takes the vehicle home.

“The Chevrolet Cruze Premier shows the kind of quality and craftsmanship that Ohio workers are capable of delivering,” Ganley said.

Rob Morales, president, United Auto Workers Local 1714, said highlighting the Cruze at this year’s show is another reminder of the support the GM Assembly Complex in Lordstown, where the Cruze is made, receives from the community.

“Every day when our (union) members come to work they are prepared to produce a quality vehicles,” Morales said. “It’s good to know that the community supports the work that takes place at the plant.

More than 3.5 million Cruzes have been sold around the world since the small car launched in 2008, and more than 1.25 million of those have been made in Lordstown since production started at the plant in 2010. Early last year, the plant launched the Cruze’s second generation.

But Lordstown has had a lot of ups and downs the past year. It lost its third shift Jan. 23 and has been adjusting to the elimination of about 1,000 jobs.

Last week, GM said it will idle the plant’s production for three weeks next month as part of the company’s effort to align production of the Cruze with consumer demands.

Concurrent with last month’s job cuts, production shut down to allow team leaders to regroup and make adjustments. The first shift returned to work the week of Jan. 29 for training, while the second shift went back Feb. 5. Both shifts reported to work for the first time last week.

In June, GM told its Lordstown workers that because consumer demand for the Cruze’s second-generation was not being met here, the company would supplement its supply with Mexican-made units for U.S. distribution.

But a turnabout came in November when the company announced the elimination of the third shift. GM has cut Lordstown’s third shift in the past. In 2006, 1,450 workers in the assembly and metal fabricating plants lost their jobs with GM’s effort to scale back production nationwide. In 2010, when the plant made the transition from producing the Cobalt to manufacturing the Cruze, the third shift returned and 1,200 workers were added.

Although U.S. sales fell 16.6 percent last year compared to 2015, the small car got off to a strong start in 2017 with sales increasing 38.9 percent last month over January 2016. UAW Local 1112 President Glenn Johnson cautioned workers and the community that a sales increase one month does not necessarily mean the uptick will continue. He and Morales have each said the goal is for workers to be ready at whatever comes, whether GM decides to send another vehicle to the plant for production, or a consumer shift back to the Cruze.

vshank@tribtoday.com

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