

Chevrolet Cruze Eco
Cruze Eco gets better fuel economy than many popular hybrids







The Cruze Eco will hit dealers in January at $18,895.

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RE: I thought...
By mrdelldude on 11/12/2010 12:46:29 PM , Rating: 2

That was only for the wheels. Not sure what the overall change is, though.

RE: I thought...
By Tabinium on 11/12/2010 1:26:05 PM , Rating: 2
21.2 pounds of unsprung(that is, not supported by the suspension) weight is significant. The fact that it is rotating weight on top of that is HUGE. Some old hot rodders would say that 1lb of unsprung is equal to 2, 4 or even 10 pounds of sprung weight. There is no exact conversion, but the overall understanding is there.

Now, would anyone savvy with the automotive field call this "revolutionary" or "cutting edge"? No. But it is nice to hear about engineers actually doing engineering instead of marketing.

RE: I thought...
By sleepeeg3 on 11/12/2010 8:25:16 PM , Rating: 2
It's around 4lbs. Easy to figure out when you compare ETs of 1/4 mile runs to actually reducing 100lbs of suspended weight by say, removing the rear seats. So yes, this improves the power/weight ratio, but ~100lbs of weight savings is only ~3% on a 3000lb car.

The real reason this car gets such good gas mileage is because they put a dog of an engine in it, much like most hybrids already have, but without the weight of the heavy LiIon batteries. Weight and power reduction will always provide gains, but they aren't actually improving the engine, just making it slower. Many people prefer to pay a little more for power so it's not such a struggle to drive and they don't get killed on the freeway. Why force the issue?

