Old Models getting some fuel tricks
According to an article on MSNBC.com, normally, year to year, there are very few differences in models, possibly some minor cosmetic improvements, but that’s it. Well, this year is different. Many automakers are doing more than the normal minor improvements, they are trying to find any ways possible to get more miles to the gallon and improve their gas mileage. The number one factor with consumers these days is fuel economy.
In order to improve gas mileage on the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5, Greg Peterson, the GM vehicle performance manager for compact cars, says that the “engineers varied the intake and exhaust valve timing to make the 2.2 liter four-cylinder engine burn fuel more efficiently,” and they also put lower rolling resistance Good Year tires. Another change was that they changed the gear ratios on the five speed transmission so the engine revs slower on highways. The end result of these improvements was one more mile per gallon on the highway. Each mile makes a difference to consumers.
Ford added a six-speed transmission, electric power steering and variable valve timing to its Escape and Mercury Mariner in order to get two more miles per gallon to these vehicles. Honda and Toyota say that they are not tweaking their models, because they do not need to, and if you look at the gas mileage on their cars, they are probably right and do not need to do anything. They are the gas mileage leaders, and hopefully some American made vehicles can become the gas mileage leaders in the near future.