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Michael_S · 05-15-2005, 11:17 PM

Most of you are being extremist, and you know it. Obviously fuel efficiency isn't the most important factor. If it was, we'd all be riding horses - their distance of travel per calorie of energy is substantially higher than any mechanical vehicle.

People look for fuel economy within the class of vehicles that fulfill their needs and their price range. The Honda Insight is slow, has very little space, and costs $20,000 - that's a bad buy by any metric.

Nobody's going to buy a 30 mpg Ford Focus wagon if they need something that can two 4 tons, so in that case the Focus fuel economy is irrelevant to the comparison. But if a Silverado 1500 Vortec V8 can tow that much and provide better fuel economy than the Titan, Ram 1500, and F-150 V8 (and in fact, it does) then it should be someone's first choice. The Ridgeline can do better, but it can't tow 4 tons so it may as well be a Focus Wagon for the sake of that comparison.

But compare a Cobalt to the Civic or Corolla. Crash ratings, interior space, performance, and price are similar. The Cobalt is a little safer and a little quicker. However, the Civic(31/38) and Corolla(31/39) average 7 mpg better fuel economy than the Cobalt (24/32) - which is a positively huge difference. I definitely think they have the edge.

Compare an Aveo to the Scion xA or xB. Aveo has an edge in crash ratings. Otherwise space, performance, and price are similar. The Scions (31/34 and 32/37) average better fuel than the Aveo (27/35). The gap isn't as big as with a Cobalt, but it is there.

If GM can make best in class fuel economy with its midsize sedans, large sedans, and trucks, why do they let the rest of the lineup lag behind?

05-15-2005, 11:17 PM	#15 (permalink)
Michael_S 6.2 Liter LS9 Supercharged V8 Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 5,866	Re: It's the fuel economy, stupid! Most of you are being extremist, and you know it. Obviously fuel efficiency isn't the most important factor. If it was, we'd all be riding horses - their distance of travel per calorie of energy is substantially higher than any mechanical vehicle. People look for fuel economy within the class of vehicles that fulfill their needs and their price range. The Honda Insight is slow, has very little space, and costs $20,000 - that's a bad buy by any metric. Nobody's going to buy a 30 mpg Ford Focus wagon if they need something that can two 4 tons, so in that case the Focus fuel economy is irrelevant to the comparison. But if a Silverado 1500 Vortec V8 can tow that much and provide better fuel economy than the Titan, Ram 1500, and F-150 V8 (and in fact, it does) then it should be someone's first choice. The Ridgeline can do better, but it can't tow 4 tons so it may as well be a Focus Wagon for the sake of that comparison. But compare a Cobalt to the Civic or Corolla. Crash ratings, interior space, performance, and price are similar. The Cobalt is a little safer and a little quicker. However, the Civic(31/38) and Corolla(31/39) average 7 mpg better fuel economy than the Cobalt (24/32) - which is a positively huge difference. I definitely think they have the edge. Compare an Aveo to the Scion xA or xB. Aveo has an edge in crash ratings. Otherwise space, performance, and price are similar. The Scions (31/34 and 32/37) average better fuel than the Aveo (27/35). The gap isn't as big as with a Cobalt, but it is there. If GM can make best in class fuel economy with its midsize sedans, large sedans, and trucks, why do they let the rest of the lineup lag behind?