Click above for high-res gallery of the 2011 Chevy Cruze

The 2011 Chevy Cruze is a big deal. It's not Tom Cruise big, but when was the last time GM offered a truly competitive small car? The Cobalt has been around since 2005, and the Cavalier dates back to 1982. So it's been at least 26 years of Chevy offering a back of the pack small car. The Cruze is a bit different, having been developed not by GM's designers and engineers in North America, but by its European and Asia Pacific teams. It will debut at the Paris Motor Show in October and go on sale in Europe and Asia next year. About a year after that the Cruze will go on sale in the U.S., and that version will be built at GM's plant in Lordstown, OH. GM CEO Rick Wagoner was at the plant today to announce a $500 million investment in its U.S. operations to build the Cruze here, with more than $350 million earmarked for the Lordstown plant where the current Chevy Cobalt and Pontiac G5 are built.

The Lordstown plant will likely build the new Cruze side-by-side with the Cobalt and G5 for a while until the latter two are phased out. It rides on GM's new compact Delta platform, which itself will eventually underpin a number of new products including the highly anticipated Volt, the next-gen Astra and an upcoming MPV to replace the Euro-only Zafira that's likely coming to the U.S., as well.

UPDATE: Two live shots of the Cruze from today's announcement from GM's Lordstown plant have been added to the gallery.