November 6, 2000

Opel organizes Germany's biggest economy run

Astra Eco 4 Demonstrates Sensationally Low Fuel Consumption

Best amateur driver covers 100 kilometers with only 1.953 liters of diesel

Rüsselsheim. Starting from five different locations in Germany, 100 drivers in identical Astra Eco 4 hatchbacks covered a distance of up to 380 kilometers in a competition last week to find Germany's most light-footed "fuel-savers". Acting as an independent guarantor, Germany's oldest motoring organisation, the "Automobil Club von Deutschland" (AvD) was on hand to unseal their fuel tanks and record the amount of fuel consumed when they arrived at Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim (near Frankfurt).

The best competitor, Beate Herzog from Karlsruhe achieved a remarkable average consumption of only 1.953 liters of diesel for 100 kilometers. The best five drivers all recorded results of under 3.7 liters and won their own Opel Astra Eco 4 as a prize for their energy-saving performance. Indeed the average fuel consumption of all 100 participants was only 3.9 liters per 100km – well under the Eco 4's official combined consumption figure of 4.4 liters per 100 km. The 100 drivers in last week's "final" were selected from over 40,000 people who experienced the Astra Eco 4's remarkable fuel efficiency at first hand when they joined Opel's "Tour against the Clock", Germany's biggest ever economy run which took place at locations all over Germany from August to October.

The Astra Eco 4 is a fully equipped, five-seater hatchback with a comprehensive safety package (front and side airbags, ABS, Opel's patented Pedal Release System and electro-hydraulic power steering). It achieves its extraordinarily low fuel consumption thanks to a 1.7-liter direct-injection turbo diesel (55 kW/75 PS), aerodynamic enhancements and low rolling-resistance tires.