Auto Battlefront 2011

2012 Ford Focus

Cruze, Focus & Elantra, The 2012 Models

King Kong vs Godzilla vs Smog Monster — An epic battle is in the works for 2011 and it is definitely not some of my favorite from the classic 1950-1960’s sci-fi mega-characters.

Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra are the three 2012 models that are on the front line of the 2011 car market.  They are all great passenger sedans that can get 40 miles per gallon in Standard (Elantra) or Eco versions (Cruze & Focus).

2011 Chevrolet Cruze

Something significant is going on with these three cars.  They offer comfort, luxury, perfornce and fuel economy.   They finally represent an opportunity for the American Consumer to get a high quality smaller car that gets very good economy.

40 MPG is the New 30 MPG

With today’s gas prices heading into orbit then lots of MPG sounds good to anyone that reads this column.  How high will the price of gas go?  Well, right now you could pay about $8 per gallon in Europe. 

2012 Hyundai Elantra

Cruze ECO Gets 58 MPG

Reported 0n the Motley Fool web site February 20, 2011 that it was No Magic Hybrid but they got 58 mpg out of a Cruze Eco when driving at a constant 55 mph.  This is significant.  Historical EPA Mileage Ratings and then the 2008 revised EPA Mileage Ratings are said to be very suspect when providing a real mileage number. 

Now the next question is … what sort of mileage do these cars really get?  The Cruze Eco EPA is 42 mpg.

Looking Forward to an Epic Battle

Focus, Cruze and Elantra  will be the most important mainstream cars in 2011.  It will be interesting to watch what happens with the sales and marketing associated with each. 

King Kong, Godzilla and the Smog Monster

More interesting however, will be to watch what happens with the auto press and their comparisons and reviews associated with this epic battle.  If the car business were to be compared to the B-Movies of Sci-Fi it would definitely equal King Kong vs Godzilla and the Smog Monster.