GM hybrids spotted in the wild!

A local Native American casino is giving one away over the next few weeks (through 2008-05-25):

Isleta Casino & Resort - The Premier Entertainment Destination! - Promotions

 

I remember reading online about a month ago about how Paris Hilton was supposedly going to buy a GMC Yukon Hybrid. I guess that will help her sleep at night...

 

That dual-mode (two-mode) hybrid system did catch my attention. Nice innovation there. 25mpg in city is pretty good for a Tahoe.

 

Huh? Per Side-by-Side Comparison, the 2WD and 4WD Tahoe Hybrids are (new method) EPA rated at 21 city and 20 city respectively.

 

Ohh!

I have my numbers mixed up. I must have been thinking about GM's claim that it is more efficient, not mpg. My bad.

Still, 21mpg in a Tahoe? That's pretty good for an 8-cylinder SUV. <:0)


...not as good as the Prius. Definitely not as good as MY Prius once the Plug-In conversion is done. :0)

 

Every day I drive by a GM dealership and they have a big black Yukon Hybrid proudly displayed on their front lawn. The car's been there for at least a couple months... no takers I guess.

 

21 Hwy and 20 city who are they kidding. You can put lipstick on a pig and it just a pig with lipstick. I guess that is pretty good when you consider that the regular Yukon get probably gets 9-11 around town and 15 on the highway. Most people (or folks like our illustrious president likes to call them) don't need an everyday vehicle that is that large or gas guzzling.

 

I'm guessing that the ginormous SUVs, Yukons, Sequoias, Denalis, Tahoes, Suburbans, Expeditions, etc., get about 10mpg city, low teens highway, regardless of what the manufacturers or the EPA might say. Thus, if some of those monstrosities could be configured with a hybrid setup that allowed them to get 20 or thereabouts, that'd save a bunch of gas over the service life of a lot of big ol' hogs. We Prius drivers tend to get pretty pious about our mileage, I'm guilty, but if they can improve them in this respect it's going to make a difference and I'm all for it.....although I'll not personally be buying one.

 

That's the ironic part. No one will really know what the true improvement is because there is no solid data to compare it to... everyone has to guess.

By the way, I saw one today. A dealer was dropping it off for a "Green" event, so they could park it by the specially decorated Prius there. The thing had those big "H Y B R I D" decals on the side, so you wouldn't mistake it for a normal guzzler.

.

 

I saw one at the dealership, next to the Toyota joint. Seeing a bunch on the road at once? With sales of a measly 300 per quarter (that would be 1,200 per year) I would expect GM to be driving them to the CRUSHER

After all, there was a waiting list of thousands for the EV1 ... yet that's what GM did to their coveted electric car ... so COME on GM ... DO THE RIGHT THING

 

When CR tested the following vehicles, this is what they got:
07 Tahoe LT 5.3L V8 4WD: 14 overall, 9 city/19 highway, 17 for 150 mile trip
07 Suburban LT3 V8 5.3L V8 4WD: 14 overall, 9 city/20 highway, 17 for 150 mile trip
07 Ford Expedition EL Eddie Bauer Edition: 13 overall, 8 city/18 highway, 16 for 150 mile trip

You can see what they got for the most fuel efficient vehicles including the Prius at ConsumerReports.org - Most fuel-efficient cars.

 

I've seen the same convoy. As fast as they were going, I knew that they weren't getting the fabled 20 mpg that they're supposed to get but then it dawned on me that they're drafting. It's the only way they can get decent mileage out of those hogs. If you consider 20 mpg to be decent that is.

 

I was looking at cars on a GM lot and they had no less then five Tahoe hybrids, all priced at $55,000 or so. They are definently making them, its hard to tell if they are selling them.

The price is simply outrageous. You can get a standard Tahoe for $20000 less. I can't say its a $20000 premium but its also not like a $5000 premium either.

 

It all comes down to mileage and the Detroit 3 are finding out the hard way that all of their lobbying to keep fuel economy standards low and easy to meet can't help them to successfully lobby the consumer. Even the gas-only Saturn Vue which is very nice and small but only gets 17 mpg has that problem. Why buy it when you can get a much bigger SUV that gets 17 mpg? What I always ask and never get an answer to is why can't GM build cars with better mileage?

 

Saw a hybrid Tahoe on the highway here yesterday. The old guy was driving slow in the fast lane. The Hybrid badges are huge and screaming bright. What a ride. What a sight.

 

I see them everyday now... highly suspcious though, due to the dealer plate on the Two-Mode and the Michigan plate on the BAS, since those sightings are always within a block or two of the RNC (Republican National Convention) location.

.

 

I finally saw either a Tahoe or Yukon hybrid on the road the other day.

It was obvious from it being a looking like a current gen monstrosity class Tahoe or Yukon and the HUGE HYBRID lettering on the side.

On a side note, I saw the Vue Hybrid for the first (and only) time in the wild a few months ago. It was parked at a shopping mall.

GM's hybrids sure aren't catching Northern California on fire...