GM wouldn't reveal the pricing of the Cruze, to be built in Lordstown, Ohio, but Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper said GM needs to get more money per vehicle than its prime Japanese competitors, Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. He predicted that car prices will rise in general because the vehicles have more features than in the past, including better fuel economy. The Chevrolet Malibu, GM's newest midsize entry, is selling for $4,200 more than the old model, he said. 'Value and price are offshoots of what consumers think about them, what they're willing to pay for the products,' Peper said. 'It's obviously in our best interest if people think more of our products, the more the value that we provide.' The Cruze will be larger than the current Cobalt, as well as the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Ford Focus, yet GM claims it will get better gas mileage than all of them, around 40 miles per gallon with a 1.4-liter gasoline engine. GM has several other engine and transmission combinations planned for the Cruze in the U.S. but would not specify them. In Europe, the car will get 1.6- and 1.8-liter four-cylinder gas engines as well as a 2-liter turbo diesel. Last month, buyers paid an average of $16,455 for Cobalts, but the Japanese competitors averaged substantially more.