Video: Hyundai launches Save the Asterisks campaign for 40-mpg Elantra

2011 Hyundai Elantra gets 40 mpg, no asterisks – Click above to watch the video after the break

Hyundai wants to do its part to save the asterisks. You see, the Korean automaker says it has noticed an alarming trend: the needless wasting of perfectly good asterisks on window stickers all over the country.

Some automakers, says Hyundai – since it stops short of naming names, we'll go ahead and do it for them... Chevrolet Cruze (Eco), Ford Fiesta (SFE) – create multiple versions of a single model, one of which throws everything possible (including a higher sticker price) at scoring a great fuel mileage rating from the EPA, while the volume models return a few miles per gallon less across the board. Hyundai, on the other hand, is keen to point out that all of its new 2011 Elantra models earn the same 40-mpg highway rating. No asterisks required.

Let's repeat that: all 2011 Hyundai Elantras, regardless of transmission option, score 40 mpg on the highway. Nicely done, Hyundai. It also bears mention that Hyundai, starting with the month of November, 2010, is the first automaker to specifically pull out the actual number of units sold that reach the 40 mpg benchmark. For those keeping track, the figure from November was 192 vehicles – expect that figure to rise dramatically in the coming months.

Of course, great fuel economy is only one part of a much larger puzzle to marketplace success. Fortunately, we'll have a First Drive report of the new 2011 Elantra to share in short order, so we'll have a better understanding of what, if any, concessions were necessary to manage its laudable efficiency metrics. Stay tuned for that, and check out Hyundai's Save the Asterisks video after the break.