This afternoon GM design VP Ed Welburn and Chevy general manager Ed Peper gave us a preview of the new 2010 Chevy Cruze compact sedan. As is all too often the case with cool new small cars, the U.S. market is last in line as the Cruze will be going on sale in Europe next March as a 2010 model with a choice of 1.6L and 1.8L gas engines or a new 2.0L diesel that puts out 150 hp. As many have surmised from previous images of the Cruze, it is actually a bit bigger than the current Cobalt it will eventually replace. According to Peper, it actually slots in between the Cobalt and the Malibu, although it will get better fuel economy than both.

GM chose to debut the Cruze in Europe because it's the brands fastest growing market with a 23-percent growth in sales through the first half of 2008. Asked why the U.S. isn't getting it sooner, Peper blamed the current sales success of the Cobalt and other upcoming launches such as the Camaro. Peper also indicated that the Cruze will get an impressive 40 mpg on the highway at launch. When the Cruze goes into production at GM's Lordstown, OH plant in April 2010 as a 2011 model, it will be powered by the new 1.4L direct-injected turbocharged four-cylinder that has been announced previously. We don't have any pics of the interior yet because the car on display here is just the same styling buck with no guts that appeared in Lordstown a couple of weeks ago. We'll be sure to get those interior shots and more when the car makes it official world debut at the Paris Motor Show next month.