The 40mpg Clan

The only vehicle that is able to achieve the 40 miles per gallon on a highway is known as the 2010 Smart Fortwo. Since the gas burning activities had been escalating recently, the Smart failed to maintain its spot because its mileage rating had drop to approximately 38mpg, thus ripping its title and membership from the 40mpg clan.

Right about the same time, several new models that were introduced by Chevrolet, Hyundai, Kia and Mazda took the spot and joined the 40mpg clan. By looking at the insights of the newly launched members which did not resolve to the assistance of diesel fuel, hybrid technology or electric powered battery, some of the cars shine out and excel compared to the rest. The action of maintaining a conventional approach towards an automobile is crucial because a car that has advance technology or alternative fuel usually comes with a big priced premium.

Hence, the beauty part of the 40mpg clan is that such cars are dedicated and are low volume variant on their usual counterparts. Some of the vehicle is able to hit the high 4-0 with only one special package that cannot be found in other car models. One of the big boys that landed in the 40mpg clan is the new and improved 2012 and 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco.

The EPA estimated fuel economy of this car model is approximately 42mpg on highway and 28mpg in city driving. As reviewed, the excellent performance of the car is due to its aerodynamic improvement which was derived from the 500 hours or more of wind tunnel testing on the Chevy Volt; which is similar to the new Cruze Evo. By constant improvement such as the closure of upper grille to reduce drag, or the addition of an extension from the front air-dam; an installation of rear spoiler and under body panels that encourages smooth airflow, the performance of the new Chevy model had been made perfect. Besides, the Eco posses a shutter behind the lower part of the grille which will be shut during high speed to eliminate aerodynamic drag and re-open when the speed decreases to maintain the cooling ability of engine.

Despite the added features, the body weight of this beauty is relatively light with a weight of 3,009 pounds which is 214 pounds lighter than a classical Cruze 1LT. simply by trimming the body frame by 1 to 2 mm in size; the overall body weight decreases by several pounds. Also, to ensure light weight, engineers also shaved the thickness of the metal panel by approximately 0.1 mm in some areas. Adding on to the light weight is the 36.5 pounds 17-inches tires which are 5.3 pounds lighter than the 16-inch wheel and tire combination of Cruze 1LT.

Hence, to witness its long heard fame, you will have to jump into the car to experience it.