A couple from Melbourne, Australia, Helen and John Taylor, are getting ready to embark on an eco-cruising challenge that has plenty of people wondering how they plan to accomplish it. The hypermiling couple have set themselves a target of going 2,000 miles on a single tank of gas in a Chevy Eco Cruze.

The Eco Cruze isn’t an expensive car. It isn’t even a hybrid. It’s just a very efficient gas-powered vehicle, yet the couple thinks can do it.

Possibly even more amazing is that the couple isn’t even planning on doing this on flat track that lets them cruise unimpeded, but on a normal trip as they drive through all 48 states in the U.S. The entire trip is expected to take them over 9,600 miles and somewhere in there, they intend to do 2,000 straight on a single 12.6 gallon tank of gas. Accomplishing this feat would mean coaxing 158 MPG out of the Chevy Eco Cruze which sounds pretty unlikely.

The Taylors have a history of squeezing incredible mileage out of cars though. They currently hold 88 world records for hypermiling so they get the benefit of the doubt here. They had their gas tank sealed just outside of Burbank and currently attempting the record as of the writing of this, so good luck Taylors!

Chevrolet topped the list of compact cars sold in the U.S. for the month of May, a position the company hasn’t held for five years. The Chevy Cruze boasted 22,711 sales beating out the number two contender, Ford Focus, by 408 cars.

The other relatively fuel-efficient compact cars on the list of the top five for May sales include the Hyundai Elantra (20,006), the Honda Civic (18,341), and the Toyota Carolla (16,895).

May numbers show that cars in this class accounted for just over half of all Chevy sales which is a dramatic increase over last year when they only accounted for 36% and around 25% from five years ago.

In a list that is generally topped by Japanese vehicles, do you think these numbers are reflection of an effect created by the Japanese tsunami or is it simply a matter of the American cars outperforming in the marketplace?

The Chevry Cruze had been scheduled to launch production at the General Motor’s Ohio factory in April of next year, but the company has just announced that the launch date has been pushed to July.

This push comes regardless of earlier launches of the Cruze in China and Europe going smoothly. The Cruze is expected to hit 40 mpg in highway driving with its new 1.4-liter turbocharged four cylinder. According to reports, the delay will also give GM time to have every variant of Cruze ready for customers on day one.

If the Chevy Cruze can get 45 MPG it’ll put the 2009 Toyota Prius, which gets 45 MPG highway, in place as real competition.

Today, General Motors released two interior photos to coincide with the Chevy Cruze’s unveiling at the Paris Motor Show this week. And can we just say that the interior looks swank? With tweed-like fabric covers and slick colored panels along with a slick, centrally-located LCD screen, the Cruze definitely trumps the Colbalt in design.

Chief designer Taewan Kim says that the new Cruze’s design is meant to be “bold, not evolutionary. We wanted to take a big step forward, making a strong design statement for Chevrolet products around the world.”

The Chevy Cruze, which is speculated to be taking the place of the Colbalt, will hit the European market in March of 2009, with U.S. production at the Lordstown, Ohio, plant, where the Cobalt is currently made, beginning in June 2010. So US buyers won’t be getting the Cruze until April 2010 as a 2011 model.

On 2011 Cruze’s official site, GM says, “Cruze boasts ample interior space, surprising cargo capacity and comfortable seating for five. With exacting safety standards and quality build, Cruze delivers on Chevy’s promise to offer a smartly designed compact at an exceptional value.”