Chevrolet Introduces Diesel Option for Cruze

General Motors Co. says its new diesel-powered Chevrolet Cruze sedan can deliver 42 mpg in highway driving. The car, which bowed today at the Chicago auto show, goes on sale in the U.S. this summer.

The $25,700 model will be the first diesel-powered car GM has offered in America since the company dropped the option in the Chevy Chevette subcompact sedan in 1986. GM says the new model will compete primarily with Volkswagen's diesel Jetta sedan.

The Cruze diesel is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged oil burner that makes 148 hp and about 258 lb-ft of torque. An overboost feature increases torque to 280 lb-ft for as long as 10 seconds. GM describes the intercooled engine as its cleanest passenger car diesel ever.

The 408-lb diesel is a variant of the unit that powers 40% of the Cruzes GM sells in it Europe. The engine has dual overhead cams, a variable-nozzle turbocharger, piezo fuel injectors, variable-displacement oil pump and an aluminum head, intake manifold and pistons.

The engine also is equipped with a particulate filter and urea injection to reduce emissions, forms less than one-tenth as much oxides of nitrogen as previous-generation designs, according to GM.

The diesels for the U.S. car will be supplied from Germany and installed at the Cruze assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio.