Cobalt XFE

[LTVibe]

When I read this GM news release, I was reminded of Ford's Pinto MPG of the 1970's.

Chevy Cobalt XFE

"The Cobalt XFE - for Xtra Fuel Economy - is on sale now and includes LS and 1LT coupe and sedan models with the manual transmission. It uses revised engine calibration, low rolling-resistance tires, a new, 3.74:1 final drive ratio and other technologies to achieve an EPA-estimated mileage rating of 25 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway. That's an improvement of more than 9 percent over the previous highway mileage."

 

[addyguy]

Sounds like a good move to me.

Should this vehicle be paired with the new Mobil 1 0W-30, for maximum gains?

Just wondering....

 

[wapacz]

or we get to see if gm will move to the 5w-20 band wagon.

 

[harry j]

This is good news, it's good to see GM offering a good economical car.

 

[MrCritical]

Good job. I'd like to see what are the "other technologies". I don't see that much fuel savings from changing the final drive ratio and lower resistance tires.

 

[wapacz]

here is the weird thing the 4 speed auto has a lower top gear final drive number than the 5 speed.

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: wapacz
here is the weird thing the 4 speed auto has a lower top gear final drive number than the 5 speed.


That is very common. I have yet to see a manufacturer where the MTX had a final gear ratio lower than the final gear in the ATX offering. I'm guessing the disparity in power transfer makes up the difference.

What "is" odd is seeing a manual in a GM. Has anyone tried to buy a new GM with a stick lately? It is almost impossible to find a model that offers it.

 

[MrCritical]

Dealers wouldn't stock the manual due to an extremely small percentage of sales vs. automatic. But with today's fuel prices more people may be learning to shift.

I still don't expect to see a large inventory of manual tranny Cobalts.

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: MrCritical
Dealers wouldn't stock the manual due to an extremely small percentage of sales vs. automatic. But with today's fuel prices more people may be learning to shift.

I still don't expect to see a large inventory of manual tranny Cobalts.


No, I meant I was searching websites and specs for GM cars and I could not find any that even had a manual "option."

 

[ekpolk]

Originally Posted By: MrCritical
Dealers wouldn't stock the manual due to an extremely small percentage of sales vs. automatic. But with today's fuel prices more people may be learning to shift.

I still don't expect to see a large inventory of manual tranny Cobalts.


Who knows -- we're obviously rocketing towards fuel price conditions no one was remotely thinking about a year ago.

 

[wapacz]

Originally Posted By: badtlc
Originally Posted By: MrCritical
Dealers wouldn't stock the manual due to an extremely small percentage of sales vs. automatic. But with today's fuel prices more people may be learning to shift.

I still don't expect to see a large inventory of manual tranny Cobalts.


No, I meant I was searching websites and specs for GM cars and I could not find any that even had a manual "option."


It seems they only do it for low end cars, the mid sized trucks and then for the sports cars. In the middle they have the tap ship or what ever you call it transmisions but those are usually only on higher trim levels.

 

[Cutehumor]

and I was just saying in the other thread...why doesn't GM just use their hybrid system in the tahoe and throw it in the cobalt and aveo? 50mpg..

 

[addyguy]

System is probably heavy and bulky enough that it might render a car as small as a Cobalt 'useless' if it was all loaded on board...I thought that was the main reason hybrids were always bigger vehicles - need the room to store the gear!

 

[wapacz]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
and I was just saying in the other thread...why doesn't GM just use their hybrid system in the tahoe and throw it in the cobalt and aveo? 50mpg..


Probably the biggest thing stopping them is that they would have to design a new transmission to do it. As you just can't downsize a rear wheel drive transmission and turn it into a from wheel drive one.

 

[JustinH]

Yeah but all the GM dealers advertise the stick cobalt in every advertisement.

AS LOW AS $$$$

Then you see an asterisk pointing to the manual trans equipped vehicle.

My thoughts on this XFE Cobalt, it sounds like a typical GM scam to me.

Those low rolling resistance tires are probably going to be 200 bucks a piece. Not the kind of money that someone spending 10k on a car wants to spend.

The gearing is a good move, they should put that on the REGULAR cobalt. Same deal with the calibration of the ECU. It shouldn't be an option for the ECU to be tuned for optimal fuel economy.

They can't touch the mileage that Toyota is getting out of the corolla due to that 2.2L ecotech powerplant. It just isn't going to happen.

The ecotech is a great motor, I happen to own one in a stick shift saturn ion. But it isn't ever going to sip gas like the toyota and other imports do.

Lastly, stick shift cars DON'T get much better gas mileage than the automatics anymore. Most vehicles are within 1-2mpg of each other.

 

[harry j]

Seems like a lower cost stop gap solution to raise MPGs. At least they are trying.

 

[wapacz]

what would be neat is if they put the 1.6 turbo from europe in it but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[02Pilot]

FWIW, my girlfriend's 05 Cobalt 5-speed gets around 30mpg in mixed driving and an honest 40mpg on the highway at 70mph. It is a base model with no extras, so it's about as light a Cobalt as you can find. Not a bad car, really, if you don't mind the simplicity and, erm..., "frugality" of the interior fittings.

 

[JustinH]

Got me beat then.

My saturn ion (same deal as a cobalt), has zero options.

Gets about 27.5 in mixed driving, 34 was the best it ever got on the freeway.

 

[ffracer]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
Lastly, stick shift cars DON'T get much better gas mileage than the automatics anymore. Most vehicles are within 1-2mpg of each other.





Not true. If the gear ratios and final drive (diff) are the same, the manual gets 8% better mileage. Automatics cannot and do not get better mileage apples to apples because of coupling losses (not direct drive) and they are passive (i.e. driver sees ahead what gear to be in), thus do not preserve momentum.

Any automatic that is close or better than its manual version in MPG is because of a loss of acceleration.

Apples to apples, manuals are more efficient. Which is why they are offered.

There is a GM study that proves this, if you google alternative fuel vehicles.