Chevy Tahoe hybrid sips gas

[CRF450]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080221/COL14/802210312/1081 Pretty interesting stuff, the Tahoe Hybrid may actually get much better mpg than the EPA rating.

[thunder rising]

1. Does it have a Toyota engine in it?

[CRF450]

3. No, just read the article.

I think that 6.0 engine is similar the LS2's that were used in the Vettes, just with added features. I may be wrong, but I dunno.

[Redstone]

8. No, that hybrid system is in the transmission, not the engine. Co-developed with

BMW and Mercedes, so expect to start seeing it elsewhere.

It's a damn nice piece of engineering.

Redstone

[DainBramaged]

11. Nope

I gots me the service manuals. 20 something Li-ion batteries, power involters, electric this, shut off the engine when stopped that, big ass rotational generators, lots of cool engineering to get BETTER city mileage than a Toyota V6 Camry.




AND you can run it on corn whiskey. (snark)

[Selatius]

45. See, I never saw the point of a V6 Camry at all.

The original draw for the Camry was the 4-cylinder models, which still outsells the V6 version by leaps and bounds, but if folks wanted a V6 in their Camry, it was their foot they were shooting off.

[Beausoleil]

47. I read that once Toyota realized

that people who were interested in Toyota hybrids were not nesessarily interested in 6-cyl, they came out with the 4-cyl Camry hybrid which is doing much better.

[CRF450]

49. I thought maybe the v6's were selling about the same as the 4cyl models

I see them quite often here.

[Rosemary2205]

2. my brother's Ford fusion does too.

The rating for his Fusion was 21 city and 27 freeway and he's averaging 34 overall with mostly stop and go driving. -- that is of course a non hybrid -- I'm wondering if the rating system was reformulated because so many people were complaining????

[CRF450]

4. As far as I know, alot of people were complaining about cars getting lower than EPA est.

Which in my experience hasent been the case, except once. My 04 Dodge Dakota averages 16mpg, I decided to take it 4x4'ing one day. Oh god, it drank gas like a fuckin airline jet! I think I'll stick to using it for work and hauling my dirtbike around.

My 01 Trans Am is rated 19/28, I average 22mpg, and have reached 31mpg on the interstate going 74mph.

[LeftCoast]

5. A few years ago I spoke with a neighbor who had recently purchased a Prius

She was kind of grumpy because she found that she wasn't getting the gas mileage that they said she should be getting. At the time I assumed it was because of all the hills here in SF making the car use the gasoline engine more often. Sounds like it was a problem outside of SF too.

[CRF450]

6. Some people reach the EPA estimates, the Pruis's milage is mostly over-rated.

[DainBramaged]

13. Excerpts

"The hybrid system operated nearly seamlessly. The automatic engine shutoff was unnoticeable, smoother even than in a $115,000 Lexus LS 600h L hybrid luxury sedan I drove recently. The automatic restart was also very smooth."

$115,000 for a hybrid, what is the point???

"Incidentally, the 344 gallons of gasoline saved by driving a Tahoe hybrid rather than an Expedition or Armada is greater than the reduction in fuel use the EPA predicts by switching from a mid-size gasoline-only Chevrolet Malibu to a compact Toyota Prius hybrid."


If you have a recreational life (boat, horses, trail bikes, anything requiring towing) and a large family, big dogs, small business or lots of stuff, it ain't fitting in a Priiui.

But it will in a Tahoe.

[TexasProgresive]

16. I remember reading an article about EPA testing and hybrids

The testing (at that time) gave false results and both Toyota and Honda were aware but are not allowed by law to give any figures but the government ones. The auto makers were in a quandary because they knew that owners would be disappointed in their actual mileage results. I don't know if the EPA tests have been adjusted to give more accurate numbers.

[CRF450]

25. The 08 EPA numbers...

Are now considered for worst possible driving conditions. Most autos were getting right at or better than the old estimates.

[TexasProgresive]

34. This problem was only with hybrids.

[CRF450]

36. They lowered the numbers on all vehicles, not just the hybrids.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. 26 mpg in a 6,000 pound truck? Fantastic! And it has...

decent cargo and towing loads, too, unlike the Escape hybrid which cuts them down to almost nothing.

Of course, the naysayers will hold their noses at GM anyway and complain that 26 mpg sucks, although that's good for a Camry, not to say a truck. This as they drag out their old copies of "Who Killed the Electric Car" and whine about the EV-1's they never had a chance to get. Oh, and that towing capacity-- that's for the boat, which is an ecological nightmare in itself.

Said naysayers will often, in the next breath, complain about outsourcing, globalization and taking American jobs away, as they drool over the thought of buying a Prius-- which is made where? Or a Land Cruiser, made by that same "green" company.

The truth is that this Tahoe, the Volt and the independant electric cars are the future, and we're getting there fast. Think of the stuff we'll see in the next ten years!

[CRF450]

10. Indeed.

Thats twice as heavy as the Prius, and the Prius gets 50+mpg. For the given weight amount, plus the fact that its way more powerful and quicker than the Prius, thats pretty damn good.

[michreject]

14. Exactly

Take the same size truck with exactly the same specs, ratings and performaance but made in Japan and these people woud be creaming in their jeans.

Proud to say that I've never owned a vehicle that had its ownership in a foreign country.

[OwnedByFerrets]

9. Who the hell can afford a new car now....

I know I sure as hell cant.

[cornermouse]

15. If it makes you feel better, there are enough roads

in not great shape that make you wonder if you should have spent the money to buy a new car just so the roads can try to tear it up.

On the other hand, knowing you get great mileage helps when you have to fill the tank.

[blues90]

32. That's what I would like to know

I worry about tires when I need them . I wouldn't be able to afford a hub cap if it flew off .

[DainBramaged]

12. OOPS, it's competitors do more than just suck gas

Ford Expedition, Infiniti QX56, Nissan Armada, 12 m.p.g. city and 18 m.p.g. highway; Toyota Sequoia, 14 m.p.g. city and 19 m.p.g. highway.


They just suck. And such great car names, Toyota, Nissan. (snark)


They missed the Land Cruiser, from our friendly hybrid makers

http://www.toyota.com/landcruiser/

Should be Land CRUSHER

STARTS at $63,200 (oh what a feeling)

"Toyota strives to build vehicles to match customer interest"

Mileage Estimates (mpg city/highway) 13/18

Plop plop fizz fizz, oh what a scam it is.

[Rosemary2205]

23. I want you to know

You just made my UAW retired brother in law spit pepsi all over my living room.

You just earned a new follower. :)

[DainBramaged]

17. Detroit 2008: Saturn shows off Vue hybrids, plug optional

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/14/detroit-2008-saturn-shows-off-vue-hybrids-plug-optional/

Saturn showed off the second and third hybrid versions of the Saturn Vue today at the Detroit Auto Show, both of which use GM's two-mode hybrid technology just like the big Tahoe and Yukon hybrids. For the smaller Vue, however, the entire system has been repackaged for a front-wheel-drive application. Where versions 2 and 3 differ is the battery technology. Version 2 comes late this year using the more common nickel-metal hydride type battery packs in combination with the General's direct-injected 3.6L V-6 to give a reported 50% boost in fuel economy. Version 3 comes late 2009 at the earliest and swaps the nickel battery for a lithium-ion unit. Those batteries will come with a plug that allows the owner to get a full grid charge in about 4-5 hours. That's enough juice to run around at city speeds for about 10 miles without starting the engine. If they meet their Job 1 target, GM will likely be the first manufacturer to put a plug-in hybrid into production.

[Historic NY]

18. I'm waiting for that 0% 60 month financing so I can get one....

I figure by the later summer or fall its coming back. With my 8yr old GMC being worth something around 13-14k and a few grand from my account I can get myself a payment of around $350 a month for one, no bad and the savings on gas could account for a payment or two along the way.

[DainBramaged]

19. www.chevrolet.com

http://www.chevrolet.com/fuelsolutions/?evar10=HP_promo_right_fuelsolutions

[CRF450]

24. Thats a good idea.

Usually you want put down as big a down payment as you can on a new vehicle to keep the payments low.

[liberal1973]

20. Interesting but

A GM product is not a choice for me. I'm going for the Lexus Hybrid or Toyota Hybrid. With the Lutz idiot and the choice GM did with their ads.

[Pavulon]

21. GM = Union. Toyota nope..

GM has made some great vehicles. Our work fleet has suburbans 2500, which are great cars for moving lots of stuff or people.

[Selatius]

44. Japan has few labor unions out of an agreement forged roughly 40+ years ago.

Labor and management came to the deal that labor would stop agitating for unionization in auto plants but also in other sectors in return for long tenures of employment up to life in a good number of cases, a voice in the decision-making process, and good pension plans. Since then, the relationship has largely been stable.

[DainBramaged]

22. Buy that Japanese inport, put America out of work

There is a word in the dictionary

PUTZ

Is your picture there?

[SammyWinstonJack]

26. ...

:thumbsup:

[tabasco]

41. Blame the customer for a failing business.

Utter stupidity, just like GM management.

[DainBramaged]

42. Feh

Go to a union shop and say that.:mad:

[wuushew]

43. It is entirely possible to be a union business and still fail

n/t

[OmahaBlueDog]

27. I think it's great that GM makes Hybrid SUVs (really)

BUT why can't they make something small (like a Cobalt) in a Hybrid that will get 50+/gallon?

AND why can't they design a hybrid to run on E85, so I can buy as little foreign oil product as possible, or on bio diesel, or on CNG?

And while I'm ranting, why can't I get the Honda CNG in my state (Nebraska) and get the device to fill it in my garage?

OH, and why haven't Nebraska and SD followed Iowa's lead and started building big windfarms here?

End of rant. Now I feel better.

[CRF450]

28. Your wish will come true in a couple years.

[DainBramaged]

29. Go here

http://www.chevrolet.com/fuelsolutions/

Yes Virginia, there will be an E85 hybrid.

[OmahaBlueDog]

30. Thanks for the info!

.. and so you don't take my Honda CNG comment too much to heart, every car I've purchased or leased in my adult life has been a Chrysler, Ford or GM product build in the US. My wife and I are funny that way.

However, if GM could make a small, efficient CNG vehicle, so I could fill with cheap,plentiful, clean CNG at my houseand get the $4K tax credit, that'd be nice, too.

[candice]

31. Can't Americans just lose weight and drive around in smaller hybrids?

Who needs all of these steel fortresses on the highways?

[DainBramaged]

33. We share the highways with fools who are distracted, stoned, and drunk

Give me lots of steel around me, or rubber cars with parachutes and retro rockets.

[U4ikLefty]

35. Yes, and many of those "fools" are driving SUVs

while driving distracted on the cell-phone while killing innocent women & kids with their "steel".

[CRF450]

37. Theirs idiots in all kinds of vehicles.

Yes an SUV/truck can cause more damage, but a car can also damage and kill. And theirs plenty of them that do it.

[dysfunctional press]

39. whose idiots?

:shrug:

[OmahaBlueDog]

38. Not if you have kids

Kids come with "stuff"

You need something big enough to haul the kids, with the storage space and power ports to plug in DVD players, refrigerators, video gaming equipment, etc.

[Rosemary2205]

40. SUV's are popular because Americans are fat?

I thought it was because men and women (but especially the women) liked a "station wagon" that sat up higher. I'll have to tell all my skinny friends they have to beef up if they are going to be running around in an SUV.

[Selatius]

46. Man, I dunno about you folks, but I'm not going to plop down 50,000 for a Tahoe hybrid.

Now, 20,000 or less is something more in my range. Too poor to afford the luxuries, and from the way the economy is tanking, I'm thinking more and more people are saying the same thing.

[DainBramaged]

48. How are you going to plop it down if you don't have it?

And if you don't need it, even if you had it, why buy it? Guy came in today with a $110,000 Lexus top of the line full tilt boogie gas pig. Can't tow his boat. Buying a Silverado diesel. Giving the gas pig to his wife.

$20000? $10000? Most people who cannot buy a new car buy the best they can used. But most of the time, they settle for what they can afford.