2012 Detroit Auto Show: Chevrolet Tru 140S Concept

By Chris Haak

Just as GM tried to attract younger, Generation Y buyers to the Chevrolet brand with the Code 130R concept, it rolled out a similarly-targeted, but very differently executed coupe concept called the Tru 140S.

Though the company received feedback from young potential buyers for both cars, and they both have similar horsepower numbers, there is a key difference.  The Code 130R is built on a small rear wheel drive platform, which is obviously great for at-the-limit handling – and has excessively conservative looks.

The Tru 140S has the opposite problem.  Though it has similar power numbers to the Code 130R concept, the Tru 140S routes its power through the front wheels.  That’s right – it is built on GM’s global compact vehicle architecture, known as Delta II.  That’s the same platform that underpins the Cruze, Volt, Verano, and Astra, and while it’s a good platform for those more mainstream vehicles, it’s hard not to think that the Tru 140S’s sporty, low-slung body is writing checks that its drivetrain can’t cash.

The Tru 140S is designed to evoke the feel of an Italian exotic, but at an approximate price in the low $20,000s.  That’s not easy to do, and the result can run the risk of the previously-mentioned check-bouncing problem.

Neither the Tru 140S nor the Code 130R concepts have interior today.  Because these cars are apparently being designed by virtual committees of college kids and other twentysomethings, GM plans to seek their input into the interior design and what types of features are important to that buyer demographic.  One gets the feeling that there will be a number of tweaks made to this car based on feedback from potential buyers before it ever sees the light of day, if it ever does.

In the photos, it looks a lot like a Civic Coupe.  In person, the design is much more expressive.  Though it’s a far cry from a Maserati or Ferrari, it does have a bit more of a concept car flair in the metal.  If that’s the goal, then the Tru 140s’ designers seem to have succeeded.