Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this video

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Motortrend "Misleaders Per Gallon: Advertising a Different MPG"
Misleaders Per Gallon: Advertising a Different MPG - Motor Trend Blog

The new 40 mpg club: Reality doesn’t matter - Hybrid Cars and Plug-in Vehicles - Hybridcarblog

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Really? The engine and radiator wont be making enough heat to do that? Remember, the fan for the radiator will still be running. I see no problem here.

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Cold air -> Grill -> Radiator fan -> Radiator. If the air is blowing the opposite direction, it might melt the ice.

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

The 2012 cruze mpg is better then the 2011, so there is some confusion.

The 2012 cruze eco gets 39mpg highway with the auto, 42 with the manual. Much of the line rest of the line is upgraded with 38mpg on the non eco auto now.

In this category, the winner seems to be the Elantra, as you get 40 mpg highway on both transmissions without paying extra for an mpg 'package'.

The 2012 Chevy Cruze gets more features, more mpg

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Ice is simply not a problem for the eco vs other cars. Your post amounts to FUD. Cars can ice up, but without an unusual event this is not likely. It is also very unlikely that ice would stop the shutter from working, while the radiator (right next to the shutter) is getting hot and a fan is moving air around.

Attack real problems, like the eco package costing too much and being sold to rarely. Or that the Elantra beats the Cruze on price and mpg for the standard model. Don't make stuff up.

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Cruze Eco is a compact car with 1.4 liter gas engine with a manual transmission. Prius is a midsize with 1.8 liter automatic (eCVT).

Remember all those anti-hybrid claiming about the dead weight on the highway? Where are they now? Could they speak up now?

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Are you telling me it will always work in the winter? On a snowing day parked overnight and you start up the car, warm it up a bit to get all the snow off and then drive it away. As you get on the highway, sooner or later the radiator heat will melt the ice away?

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Misleaders Per Gallon: Advertising a Different MPG - Motor Trend Blog

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Anyone too dumb to figure out the highway mileage means driving on the highway or that different option (such as different transmissions) within the same model will get different mileage is too dumb to be allowed to drive a car on public roads.

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

The Cruze get 42 mpg the same way the Volt get 40 EV miles -- in a specific case. Will most Cruze owners mimic the test cycle ? Hah!

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Forgot about the other radiator build up?

Sand & Salt are very real problems here. Heck, just do a search for fuel tank door trouble. The hinge needs lube and must be cleaned of the crud deposited on it, preventing owners form being able to easily pop it open for gas. And that's on the side of the vehicle, higher up. Just a imagine it lower down, in the front of the vehicle exposed to spray.

That liquid salt makes a mess of everything... just 10 minutes after washing your car. Imagine it sitting there all day, turning into shutter-impairing grit as it dries.
.

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

I have a window screen installed just in front of the radiator of my older car, to prevent the serious rock-induced flattening of cooling vanes that a previous car received from winter sanding. A few times this screen has built up a very thick layer of ice and frozen slush.

An aerodynamic shutter is going to be much farther in front of the radiator than is my screen. I can easily imagine closed vanes icing over just before a 3000 foot mountain climb.

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

My older brother's 1931 Cadillac had thermostatically controlled shutters on the radiator instead of a coolant thermostat. Had that radiator been slanted rather than vertical, maybe it would have had aerodynamic benefit. What goes around....

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Radiators are sized for the worse case, such as, desert during a summer day. During the heat waves of this summer, with my 80% block, the highest temp I saw in stop and go traffic was 215F. That may have been do to heat soak of the sensor when I FAS the car. A 100% block didn't affect engine cooling much more. It did reduce AC output though.

For most people, it is excessive. Assuming these shutters are 100% blocking, with no air flow possible through them when shut, and they do freeze shut. Well, if it's cold enough for them to freeze, then it is probably cold enough that the engine doesn't need to use the radiator.

As to snow blocking them up while parked. Well, responsible drivers should be removing the snow off their car before driving off. If they lose the benefit of the shutter for being lazy, that's on them. I don't care if they do or don't, as long as they clear their back window.

There is aerodynamic benefit to keeping airflow out of the engine bay with all its nooks and crannies. Mmmm.....english muffins.

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Is there ice between the grill and radiator?

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

See post 32 for an example of ice between the grill and radiator.

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Did the screen icing up in post 32 result in engine damaging overheating, or overheating period?

Radiators are oversized for worse case scenerios.
These shutters likely don't block total airflow to the radiator. That's where the condenser likely is, and it needs air to cool the cabin and dehumidfy the heater output.

So, what's the worry if the shutters freeze shut or open?

The car won't be crippled, leaving the driver stranded.
It isn't the sole reason for these vehicles improved fuel economy.
If the weather is that bad, you shouldn't be driving fast enough for it to matter.

I wish it had manual override for the same reason I want an EV button. Sometimes I know better than the car.

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

The freezing slush occurred in the very last mile of the mountain climb, not the long approach before the climb, so it wasn't in place long enough to a test of overheating.

 

Re: Chevy Cruze Eco commercials claim 42mpg Hwy, so I decided to search for why, and found this vide

Yes indeed they did. I had a '61 544 and used that feature a lot in the winter - until one day the fan blade broke and put a big dent in the frame below, fortunately and not the hood above it.

Since the radiator block was basically a heavy duty window shade and it was best to use it (I didn't realize that at the time) all the way up or all the way down - to eliminate the severe wind stress on the fan blade every time it rotated into and out of the air flow. However, it was a very effective and inexpensive engine warming feature.