AutoReporter

DETROIT — General Motors’ new compact Chevrolet Cruze, whose introduction was pushed back while the company worked out some kinks, is ready for production in Lordstown, the company’s quality chief said today.

“We didn’t fix the problems. We killed them,” said Jamie Hresko, GM’s global quality vice president, said in an interview.

GM had planned to start building the*Cruze early this year and have the vehicle on sale as soon as April. But when negative reviews of some gasoline-powered versions of the car started surfacing in Europe and when internal GM testing of U.S. models failed to meet expectations, Hresko said, he and others called a halt to the car’s launch.

“I drove the (early production) cars, and I got concerned about performance and shiftability,” Hrekso said, adding that the car’s transmision was much rougher than expected. “It wasn’t hitting my standards.”

British reviews of the Cruze praised its price and features, but many of them recommended that readers avoid the version with a 1.8-liter gasoline engine and pick the diesel model instead.

GM doesn’t plan to offer the diesel here. It plans to offer the Cruze with a turbo-charged 1.4-liter gasoline engine or the 1.8-liter that drew criticism overseas.

GM delayed the car’s launch until this summer when vehicles typically start production for the next model year.

Hresko said the automaker changed out transmission components and worked on the engine issues. He’s now convinced the vehicle will operate smoothly when it launches.

“We had to put some different hardware in it, but we got there,” Hresko said. He added that he plans to visit Lordstown closer to the vehicle’s launch to give workers a pep talk.

“A great execution equals job security,” Hresko said.

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