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Originally Posted by payne171
If we're talking about saving fuel on a grand scale, this may be a bigger game-changer than the Prius. Yeah, yeah, I know, Blasphemy! But...
This appears to be a system that GM would be capable of putting into EVERY car they make with much less effort than any other carmaker's system. Just imagine if GM offered a 25% improvement on the entire model line, including Corvettes, Camaros, and all of those trucks. GM's products would save more fuel in the first year than every Prius ever made. Me likey!
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First, it helps to understand what they did:
GM’s Cruze Eco: Fuel Economy Without the Batteries | BNET
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. . . At the heart of the Eco model is a modest 1.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine with turbocharging and variable valve timing. The six-speed manual transmission that comes with it offers a useful overdrive gear that helps it achieve the 40 mpg (city mileage isn’t disclosed yet).
Some other features that get the Cruze Eco to 40 mpg:- A shutter in the lower front grille that automatically closes at higher speeds for improved aerodynamics, coupled with a lower front air dam extension (watch out for curbs with that one) and a rear spoiler.
- Lower ride height, which further reduces drag and improves air flow.
- Lightweight 17-inch aluminum wheels with the same ultra-low rolling resistance Goodyear tires used on the Volt.
Russell said that the Cruze team went over “every weld flange” on the car and reduced them by one to two millimeters. It also trimmed gauge thickness on some panels. The net result of both operations was a 24-pound weight reduction.
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What they deliver is 40-41 MPG "on the highway" for a compact car. As long as we ban them from urban travel and jammed up freeways and only for small payloads, it is a great solution. Considering the small size and highway-only performance that is 20% worse than the Prius, it really is only competition for the Jetta TDI, not the Prius.
GM spent a decade spreading FUD about the Prius with 'tall tales' such as unprofitable, battery frauds, the CNW Marketing "Dust-to-Dust" nonsense to bogus claims by Bob Lutz. That they finally built a car to compete with the Jetta TDI is good but it in no way competes with Prius performance.
Bob Wilson