See & Be Seen Gets First Look At 2011 Chevy Cruze

LORDSTOWN, Ohio,None — Pittsburgh-area GM dealers weren't the only ones to get a first look at Chevy's newest and most highly anticipated model on Wednesday.

Along with Bob Baierl of Baierl Chevrolet and Tom Horgan and Jim Boburka, Sr., of Jim Crivelli Chevrolet, See & Be Seen also traveled to the assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, to check out the 2011 Chevy Cruze.

It's the automaker's first new car launch since it emerged from bankruptcy.

VIDEO: Inside Look At 2011 Chevy Cruze, Lordstown Plant

The Cruze is a four-door sedan that's designed to compete with cars like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. Thirty-two hundred hourly employees on three shifts are working to produce this new vehicle, and we got to tour the plant to see the assembly process from start to finish.

You might be surprised to know that Lordstown is a short 75 miles from Pittsburgh. It's also the former home of the Chevy Cobalt, which the Cruze replaces.

Baierl and Crivelli were among more than 80 dealers from Pittsburgh, Altoona, Harrisburg, Buffalo and Rochester who saw some of the first Cruze models roll off the production line.

GM's goal is to produce 58 Cruzes per hour.

After touring the plant, the dealers were invited to test drive the Cruze, which has a 1.4L turbocharged engine and some pretty impressive safety features.

"The way it stopped and the way it came through the slalom course, it's very well engineered and I'm very impressed. It's nice to see that GM has come up with this caliber of a car," Baierl said.

"I absolutely loved it, because I've been into cars my whole life and usually I wouldn't be driving a four door car like that, not that there's anything wrong with it, they meet a need for a lot of people. For me, personally I drive a new Camero and love it, but this Cruze is one heck of a car. They've done their homework with this thing," Boburka, Sr., said.

The Cruze boasts electronic stability control and 10 standard air bags. The air bag count is the same as luxury sedans costing twice as much.

The Cruze is also roomier and more posh than you might expect on the interior. We were surprised to see a built-in navigation system, Bluetooth® wireless technology and two-tone leather seat appointments, all available as upgrades of course.

Starting at just $16,995, we think the Cruze is definitely worth a look if you're considering a car in this class.

Check out the Cruze right now at Baierl Chevrolet in Wexford and at Jim Crivelli Chevrolet in McKees Rocks.

WPXI