GM's Cruze Eco: Fuel Economy Without the Batteries

Electric cars and hybrids get the love, but most people still drive conventional cars. So there's a lot to like about the "Eco" edition of GM's Cruze, a compact car to be unveiled at the New York Auto Show this week.

At 40 miles per gallon, the Eco, as GM says, offers "hybrid-like fuel efficiency without the price tag." GM hasn't announced pricing for any of the Cruze models yet (expect it in the early summer) but spokeswoman Lesley Hettinger says the car will be comparably priced to a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. Expect the Cruze Eco to start somewhere in the upper teens.

Volume will depend on demand, says Hettinger. If GM sold 20,000 Cruze Ecos in the U.S. in the first year it would probably be ecstatic. The Chevy Volt, by contrast, an electric-gas car that will hit the road late this year, is expected to cost almost $40,000 and GM will be making only 10,000 in the 2011 model year (and ramp up from there). In terms of saving energy, then, the Eco Cruze could have an edge, at least in the short term.

Chuck Russell, vehicle line director for global compact vehicles, said that GM has taken a conventional approach to getting decent mileage, without resorting to hybridization. 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.

GM sees the Cruze line, which will reach the U.S. market in the fourth quarter, as a competitor to market leaders like the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla (but with slightly better fuel economy). The Cruze will be new here, but since its debut in 2009 it has sold 180,000 cars in 60 countries (two-thirds of them to China). Asked why the U.S. is getting the Cruze late in the game, Chevrolet small car product marketing director Margaret Brooks said the car was always aimed at an international market, and that the U.S. just happens to be the last major market in the rollout.

The Eco model may only be 10 to 15 percent of Cruze sales, but that still could be a lot of cars because the Cruze will (assuming it's even a modest success) be built in very large volumes.

Many economy cars have been stripped-down models with what Russell referred to as "burlap seats and roll-up windows." Not the Eco, which is relatively well-equipped. The target consumer is a relatively well-heeled "true green" who cares about fuel economy.

Introducing the Volt, Cruze and new Aveo, GM VP Jim Campbell said, "It has been quite a while since GM had news in the small car market. Now we're going from 'gas friendly' to 'gas free.'" He's right. The company has produced some fairly ghastly small cars, from the Vega to the Chevette, but now it seems on a better track.

Photo: Chevrolet