Asian automakers dominate fleet fuel economy
Where's an American competitor?Perhaps you've seen the recent Chevy commercial where Howie Long wonders why Asian automakers have a fuel efficient reputation when GM sells some similar vehicles with better highway fuel economy?
Why? Well, because they have better fleet fuel economy.
This year Honda came in first at 23.6 mpg. Hyundai was second at 23.4, while Toyota was third at 23. 2 mpg according to the EPA.
Ford, as the top American automaker, came in 7th at 20.5 mpg. GM was eighth at 19.9 mpg.
Labels: fuel economy
posted by Dahcredyns at
8:37 AM
6 Comments:
GM needs to learn that a vehicle that only gets good gas mileage when running in overdrive, on cruise control, at 55mph is not a fuel efficient vehicle.
The "city" mileage is the true measure of a vehicles fuel efficiency.
GM's "I'm a big girl!" ad is more representive of their vehicles..... Big vehicles, with poor fuel economy.
Let me just say up front that I really want GM to succeed as a company. It simply would be good for America.
Having said that, this kind of marketing is really bothersome. The fact is, there is a huge difference between Big 3 and Asian fleet fuel economy. Even BMW's fleet is significantly more fuel efficient than GMs.
This is reality. GM cannot and, more important, should not try to market itself out of this reality. It just comes across as being disingenuous.
Don't talk the talk. Walk it.
Agreed....Marketing won't solve the problem.
The big 3 can't depend on low oil prices coming back. Their going to have to make fuel eficient and alternative vehicles in order to compete.
One way or another, the big vehicle era is coming to an end.
The only question is what kind of vehicle will we drive to the funeral... American or foreign?
I sure hope we have a choice.
Ford has recently made a number of bullish claims about the importance of small cars to their future. So, Ford seems to be making plans for this future.
Still, Ford needs to do a bit more walking as well.
GM has a few new models for this space in the pipeline, so they've at least taken a step. The Volt will be another step.
Still, they need a few more steps if they are going to really pick up the kind of pace needed to make a serious difference.
You can't fairly compare "Fleet" fuel economy when the Big 3 sell the majority of Trucks, Vans and SUVs.
Sure, Toyota has a couple of trucks and some SUVs. But the Big 3 sell the majority of that market. And because of that, it hurts their fleet fuel economy.
Saying that the other companies have better "Fleet" fuel economy is just a way to spin the numbers.
And in comment to the response about "city mileage being the only true measure. Perhaps for you, but I myself get the Highway average with my driving style.
And that's not over-dependence, Billy?
Likewise, there aren't any whom drive big trucks, etc. - but don't really need them - but drive them anyway because they've been influenced by decades of mass marketing by Big 3 automakers?
And why did the Big 3 invest so heavily in trucks and SUVs? Was it not purely about profit, at the expense of any long term concerns?
Have you ever studied the massive marketing budgets of the Big 3, at least before the bust?
Bob Lutz is on record stating that GM could have spent a fraction of one year's marketing budget developing a Prius before Toyota, but decided the money was better spent on marketing, such as gas-guzzling SUV advertising. The profits were richer.
Thus, after 9/11, GM, Ford or Chrysler didn't roll out a Prius contender. Instead, they launched new lines of gas-guzzlers.
That's vision.
Likewise, have you ever researched the history of the SUV, especially the early safety reports? The politics?
But it's not fair to say that asian automakers dominate fuel economy?
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And, regarding city mileage, how about a little research into transportation studies, most of which cite increased congestion - city traffic on the EPA cycle - as an ever-increasing problem that the majority already face to some extent today.
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