Twitter Wars: 2011 Elantra vs. 2011 Cruze ECO

[xcel]

40_mpg vs. 42_mpg or is it 35/36_mpg highway?

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Nov. 24, 2010

Twitter Goes Hot

Ever get the feeling you were caught up in something best left to the PR and Journalism pros? Well, some interesting back and forths were generated on of all things, twitter.

The Warriors

• Jason Laird: Executive Director of GM Corporate Affairs
  
  
• David Shepardson: Detroit News DC Bureau Chief
  
  
• Dan Bedore: National Public Relations Manager, Hyundai America
  
  
• Hyundai PR: Could be just about anyone within the Hyundai PR/Marketing/Exec hierarchy

While all are probably really good friends, it was an interesting afternoon of barbs and hand grenades being tossed back and forth.

And in my own full disclosure, I know the Cruze ECO is not scheduled to be released until January but what the hell, stirring the pot always makes the soup taste better

Here we go!

Around noon today, a war started but it was not the kind that rockets are fired and bombs explode. It was more of a friendly discussion during a game of Poker with the usual “Mine is bigger than yours”!

***************
***************

@Jason Laird: Enjoying watching two car companies claim segment best fuel economy of 40mpg by ignoring Chevy Cruze Eco at 42mpg. No cigar kids ...

*******

A few minutes later, David Shepardson of the Detroit News retweeted the same: RT @jasonlaird Enjoying watching 2 car companies claim segment best fuel economy of 40mpg by ignoring Chevy Cruze Eco at 42mpg No cigar kids.

*******

And you all know where this is heading

*******

Around 03:00 PM CST, I tweeted the following: @jasonlaird: Regarding Hyundai's 40 mpg for everyone vs. 42 mpg Cruze Eco, do you have any Cruze ECO's available anywhere yet? ^WG

*******

Minutes later, Hyundai PR tweets a reply: @davidshepardson @jasonlaird: What's the mix rate on manual transmission Cruzes? Elantra is 40 mpg for all!

*******

David Shepardson replies with the following tweet: Once we see six months Cruze eco sales we can better assess claims @Hyundai

*******

I upload a tweet to all of them: @jasonlaird @Hyundai @davidshepardson: Still waiting to hear if there are ANY Cruze ECO's anywhere? 40 mpg 11 Elantra's are on the ground ^WG

AND

@jasonlaird @Hyundai @davidshepardson: 40 mpg 11 Elantra's today: Re: 2011 Elantra - Some folks already have their hands on new ones off the dealer lots! ^WG

*******

Jason Laird throws out a barrage of tweets:

@CleanMPG I didn't name names - wouldn't be crass. Point is we have a 42mpg model in Cruze.

@Hyundai which model of yours is 42mpg?

and

@Hyundai Dan, I didn't name anyone. But let's be clear here - we offer a 42mpg model.

*******

Hyundai PR responds with the following: @jasonlaird: You do indeed. It's an accomplishment to be proud of. We just think it's more significant that all Elantra’s get 40mpg.

*******

I tweet the following repeat-retweet reply: @jasonlaird @Hyundai @davidshepardson: I do not know about names but I am wondering if you offer the 42_mpg Cruze Eco anywhere? ^WG

and

@jasonlaird @Hyundai @davidshepardson: If you do, Chicago Press Fleet please? ^WG

*******

Hyundai's Dan Bedore diffuses the about to go “hot” twitter war with the following muted response: @jasonlaird Sorry for the little Twitter war. But you started it Have a lovely 1st Thanksgiving in the States. Cheers.

*******

Jason Laird responds with a duplicate appropriate response: @danbedore we're cool

***************
***************

And back to our own analysis:

The all-new 2011 Hyundai Elantra



2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco Achieves Blockbusting 42_MPG on the Highway!



And so what if the pic is not the Cruze Eco, the discussion was worth the time to write-up

[MaxxMPG]

Both cars are excellent in their own right. Both can claim selling points that others can't. And either one would be a good choice for a new owner who is trading in a 20mpg SomethingOrOther.

The 42mpg Cruze Eco is something GM should boast. It's a good number for a 1.5 ton car with almost 140hp. But without knowing the manual/automatic sales volume of each, I have to think that the Elantra at 40mpg highway will save America more fuel than 20% of the Eco sales as 6MT equipped and offering 42mpg and the other 80% being the 6ATs getting 37mpg.

And one other "product mix" question - How many Cruze sedans sold will be Eco vs LS/1LT/2LT/LTZ? The bread-n-butter Cruze rates as 35-36mpg highway. Every Elantra configuration imaginable will have the same EPA numbers - 29/40. Seems simpler to remember, and seems easier on the pocketbook for someone comparing the Elantra Limited to the Cruze LTZ - where the Elantra has a 15% lower MSRP and 20% better city EPA and 10% better highway EPA.

[msirach]

Thanks for the summary. I saw several of the Tweets, but didn't have the whole picture.

[RichXKU]

Surprised no one in the tweets mentioned the 6MT-only eco. 42 MPG is great, but its only a fraction of the Cruze's produced which will appeal to an even smaller fraction of drivers.
I think the uptake on manual transmission in the US is around 6-7%. And I figure a large chunk of that are performance cars.

[xcel]

Hi RichXKU:

Hyundai’s Dan Bedore hinted at it. In the case of the Cruze ECO, it will probably be even less due to its more expensive up front price tag vs. the non ECO sticks for no particular reason.

Wayne

[seftonm]

I read something that said the take rate was in the 6% range. Lots of data available at http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/mpg/fet...014-appx-p.xls if somebody wants to look through it. It says 5.7%. Broken down into some major manufacturers:

BMW 17.3% (20.5% cars+wagons, 0.4% trucks)
VW 12.7% (16.4% cars+wagons, 1.5% trucks)
Honda 7.3% (12.0% cars+wagons, 0.7% trucks)
Toyota 6.2% (7.1% cars+wagons, 5.0% trucks)
Ford 5.4% (8.8% cars+wagons, 2.2% trucks)
Hyundai 4.4% (5.6% cars+wagons, 2.1% trucks)
Nissan 4.3% (5.4% cars+wagons, 2.9% trucks)
Chrysler 4.0% (7.0% cars+wagons, 3.0% trucks)
GM 3.7% (7.3% cars+wagons, 0.7% trucks)

[xcel]

Hi All:

Dateline: 11:00 AM CST - Another shot across the bow was taken as Hyundai released a salvo of asterisks toward all comers in what it calls...

Save the Asterisk!



Wayne

[PaleMelanesian]

Just some quick napkin math:
5.7% MT, assume all these are Eco models. (haha!) Only look at highway mpg for simplicity.

5.7% * 42 mpg + 94.3% * 36 mpg = 36.34 mpg fleet average
Looks like 40 mpg across all models really IS better.

Combined city/hwy (simple 50/50 average, and average of LS and LT models)
5.7*35 mpg + 94.3*29 mpg = 29.34 mpg fleet average
Elantra's 34.5 combined average wins again.

[xcel]

Hi Andrew:

I agree wholeheartedly as the 11 Elantra is 33 mpgUS combined for everyone, not 27 and 28 mpgUS combined for most (The Cruze with the 1.8L and 1.4L offerings) with only a few at 33 mpgUS combined and 42 mpg US highway.

While we have a Cruze ECO scheduled for sometime next spring, will it matter by then as the 11 Elantra will be going head to head with the Cruze on the sales charts.

Having said that, the Cruze sold over 8,000 units last month which is very significant in its own right!

And finally, to really be truly consistent, the base Elantra GS does not have a telescopic wheel, CC or A/C until you equip it with the “Popular” equipment package. Even after you have added that base level of options (why Hyundai bothered releasing a really stripped base GLS is not for us to know) you have done that, the 11 Elantra is priced with an MSRP of $16,800 vs. the Cruze ECO’s $18,895. That is a lot of Greenbacks for the smaller Cruze with essentially the same capabilities as the Elantra.

Wayne

[Nevyn]

They made the super-base model just to claim "Starting under $15k."