In the past, automakers used to assign special designations to their models to indicate special performance features, such as “trail rated” to indicate off road performance. With the ever-increasing cost of gasoline, Pontiac has added a new designation: XFE.
Following European trends, where gas prices have been extremely high for quite some time, fuel efficiency is becoming increasing important to North Americans and is becoming synonymous with social responsibility. Hence the newly designed Pontiac G5 XFE, with greater fuel efficiency and lower environmental impact.
Quickly reacting to this new trend, Pontiac engineers went back to the drawing board to find minor tweaks that could improve fuel efficiency. Among the changes made were a recalibration of the G5’s engine, a change to the drive ratio, and switching over to low rolling-resistance tires. The overall effect was to increase the Pontiac G5 XFE’s fuel efficiency to 25 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway. This represents a 9% increase over the non-XFE model.
The tradeoff is that acceleration and handling may not be quite as good as previous models, but Pontiac is certain that their customers will be willing to make that tradeoff. No other automaker other than GM and their Pontiac division have talked about doing this in North America, although it is common practice in Europe. Says Stephanie Brinley, an employee of consultants Auto Pacific: “People were aware of the environment, but they didn’t change their buying behavior until fuel prices went up. Now they can buy a fuel-efficient model and say ‘I’m helping the environment,’ when they’re really motivated by the savings.”
Some observers point out that there may be a short shelf life for sub-brands such as the Pontiac G5 XFE. They claim that as more models are released with higher fuel efficiency numbers these numbers will be taken for granted by consumers. While vehicles with low fuel efficiency may be going the way of the dodo, Pontiac is certainly doing the right thing by drawing attention to their new brand.
To check out the all new Pontiac G5 XFE, stop by your Conshohocken area Pontiac dealer today.
