Chevrolet Tahoe And GMC Yukon Hybrid The Only Hybrid SUVs At Texas State Fair

[Mr. Wyndham]

LINK
Awesome advancements. This kind of thing is what I'm talking about when I say GM is back in the game.

[TAG UR IT]

SWEET!!! That means I get to see them first hand! I'll be at the fair to see the concept, hopefully pull some info from a little birdy, and enjoy our car show. So, sounds to be even more fun now.'

BTW, a HUGE SUV like that getting 30mpg's??? Dang! That'll make GM a lot more sales!

[Power Junkie]

The trouble with these HYBRID cars is that they aren't as "enviro-friendly" as they'd like you to believe... Yes they do get better mileage / put out less CO2... but the cost in nasty gases to build them is extreme plus they are fairly heavy.

Also it's interesting that they never put anything in about all the precious metals that are burnt in a catalytic converter... such as Platinum, Rhodium, palladium.

[Mr. Wyndham]

you can't really help that, about the Cat...reporting it's bad won't do much - because there really isn't much choice in what to use. Those are catalysts to get what they want done, done.

And what other "nasty gases" are caused during building a hybrid, vs building a regular car? I've never heard this one before...

Again, the wieght isn't a contestable issue, they're adding equipment to improve fuel economy, it's going to add wieght. I think the fact that it still improves fuel economy that much is a tantamount to how efficient it really is.

I think that the point of Hybrids, initially, was to offer better fuel economy - which, though it does, was distorted into meaning these were eco-friendly angel cars...

btw....I agree with you that people inflate what Hybrids actually do, I'm just being Devil's advocate above ^ sorry...

[DGthe3]

There are really two problems with hybrids. 1) they don't give you much if you don't drive effieciently. 2) the making of advanced batteries is quite harmful to the environment, as is current disposal methods.

In the end, current hybrids may end up doing as much harm as good. The best thing for the environment is to not drive personal cars and instead walk, bike, take the bus, and take the train. Since that wont happen, cars like the Volt are the next best alternative. Now that being said, I still want a 400 hp Camaro

[Mr. Wyndham]

What about 400hp (in kilowatts) Sports car with over 800 ft/lbs of torque in the year 2020...

[Silverado]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

In the end, current hybrids may end up doing as much harm as good. The best thing for the environment is to not drive personal cars and instead walk, bike, take the bus, and take the train. Since that wont happen, cars like the Volt are the next best alternative. Now that being said, I still want a 400 hp Camaro

Unfortunately, (fortunately in my opinion, but....) not everyone has the opportunity to utilize the other options you mention. For example, I live just far enough from work that walking/riding a bike isn't really an option. I could probably do it, and the exercise would help, but I would be drenched in sweat when I got to work and sitting in an office all day after sweating isn't a great option. Plus, here in Nebraska, there are certain months out of the year that it is way too cold to be outside walking/riding.

Add to that, there isn't any bus or train service of any kind out here. Not that I live in the boonies or anything, but the bus service doesn't run in the western half of Omaha. It has something to do with the city trying to give the lazy-ass-welfare recipients a chance to get around, so they only put the bus service in that part of town. I don't live or work there, so I don't get to use it (I pay for it, but I don't use it....they use it but don't pay for it....different topic/thread).

So, driving is the only option. Now, if the Volt or that Tesla roadster were available (and in the Tesla's case, by available, I mean that it doesn't cost over $100K), I'd look at that as an option. But I won't drive a Prius or an Insight (I pretty much won't drive a Toyota or a Honda anyway, but....).

So I'm left to drive my good old, American made, (ready to tow a Toyota Race Team Trailer) Silverado. And before anyone starts bashing me for driving a full-size, crew cab, 4-wheel drive pickup to and from work, come live through a winter in Nebraska when we get 3 feet of snow on the ground. You can call in to work saying you won't be in because your econo-crap-box is snowed in. But, if you're going to call, call me at the office. My Silverado got me there with no problems at all. Oh, and I did my nice deeds for the day, because on the way to work, I pulled 3 other people out of snow banks, medians, and ditches that they got stuck in.

Back to the original topic....those full-size hybrid SUV's by GM will start swaying more people to the Hybrid way of thinking. Why? Because they don't look like the typical hybrid, they don't drive like the typical hybrid, they aren't slow and underpowered like the typical hybrid. People are more than willing to buy hybrids. They just aren't willing to sacrifice style, power, and comfort to save a couple mpg. Tahoes that get 30mpg...damn. Yeah, I know about the driving style, but even if the Tahoe only increases to say 22 or 23 mpg....that's far better than the 13 or 14 they get now....and they will fly off the dealer lots. Are hybrids worse for the environment? Maybe, I don't know. But if I can trade in my '03 that gets 13 for an '08 that gets 23...I'm going to do that.

[Dark Knight]

Silverado brings up a good point. I live an hour away from work...so riding a bike would take me hours upon hours lol. And a bus doesn't even come to the small town i live in. But here in Tennessee small things are being done to help the enviroment. Passenger trains have been brought back and they are currently working on extending a new railroad system to reach more cities in middle tennessee. Baby steps i know but it's better than nothing. But ya got to admit that we (humans) are doing much better than we were in the past. Everytime i watch the news there is less and less talk about the ozone,pollution,etc.

[Silverado]

Sorry, I didn't really mean to come across like an ass, but I hate it when people just assume that everyone could walk, bike, take a bus or train, etc to work, shop, etc. It just isn't possible for everyone to do that.

I have another problem with the whole bus/train thing too....they run on a schedule...and usually, that wouldn't be on my schedule. Selfish? Maybe, but sometimes I need to leave early, sometimes late. If I was "stuck" with their schedule, I couldn't do that. You also can't easily run errands on the way home either (which is a big part of "conservation" too really...you know, combining trips...), or go pick up my kid at school when need be.

[TAG UR IT]

Originally Posted by Power Junkie

The trouble with these HYBRID cars is that they aren't as "enviro-friendly" as they'd like you to believe... Yes they do get better mileage / put out less CO2... but the cost in nasty gases to build them is extreme plus they are fairly heavy.

I think people will want to buy them for the better gas mileage alone. Environment friendly comes second to a vast majority of people. Tell them they can save thousands in gas money and you'll have a sale.

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

Again, the wieght isn't a contestable issue, they're adding equipment to improve fuel economy, it's going to add wieght. I think the fact that it still improves fuel economy that much is a tantamount to how efficient it really is.

I think that the point of Hybrids, initially, was to offer better fuel economy - which, though it does, was distorted into meaning these were eco-friendly angel cars...

The weight issue on these giant SUV's was the main issue...and also probably why the SUV was getting such poor gas mileage in the first place. I don't know, but I want to see proof of how much the hybrid is over the regular. It would only make sense that GM would make the hybrid lighter. But, I agree w/ the point that this was done to offer better fuel economy.

Originally Posted by Silverado

Back to the original topic....those full-size hybrid SUV's by GM will start swaying more people to the Hybrid way of thinking. Why? Because they don't look like the typical hybrid, they don't drive like the typical hybrid, they aren't slow and underpowered like the typical hybrid. People are more than willing to buy hybrids. They just aren't willing to sacrifice style, power, and comfort to save a couple mpg. Tahoes that get 30mpg...damn. Yeah, I know about the driving style, but even if the Tahoe only increases to say 22 or 23 mpg....that's far better than the 13 or 14 they get now....and they will fly off the dealer lots. Are hybrids worse for the environment? Maybe, I don't know. But if I can trade in my '03 that gets 13 for an '08 that gets 23...I'm going to do that.

EXACTLY. And the buying public is going to see this exact point. Why keep a 12mpg Tahoe when I can have one that gets double the gas mileage??? Once again, a money saving factor to get people to but the Tahoe...and the environment is second important next to money savings. But, both reasons are reasons enough to trade in or buy a bit larger SUV than the one you were thinking about because you can now get that HUGE SUV getting better MPG'S!!!

[Pencil.Fight]

Originally Posted by TAG UR IT

EXACTLY. And the buying public is going to see this exact point. Why keep a 12mpg Tahoe when I can have one that gets double the gas mileage??? Once again, a money saving factor to get people to but the Tahoe...and the environment is second important next to money savings. But, both reasons are reasons enough to trade in or buy a bit larger SUV than the one you were thinking about because you can now get that HUGE SUV getting better MPG'S!!!

I don't know the pricing on either the Hybrid Tahoe or the regular version, but generally a Hybrid won't end up saving you money. The increased cost of the Hybrid tends to exceed or cancel out any savings you might get on gas over the few years you drive the car.

My main problem with Hybrids (i.e. the Prius) is that they are ugly as sin. I mean, seriously, who designed the back end of that car? I'm glad to see they're making them look more like real vehicles now.

[DGthe3]

I know from experience that the options that I mentioned won't work for everybody. I live in a small town that is at least a 30 min drive, at 80 km/h (50 mph), until i get to a city. There is no mass transit within walking or biking distance for me either. That's why i specified that the solutions i provided are never going to solve the problem. And for people in situations like silverado, SUV's like the hybrid Taho and Yukon are good options.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by Pencil.Fight

I don't know the pricing on either the Hybrid Tahoe or the regular version, but generally a Hybrid won't end up saving you money. The increased cost of the Hybrid tends to exceed or cancel out any savings you might get on gas over the few years you drive the car.

My main problem with Hybrids (i.e. the Prius) is that they are ugly as sin. I mean, seriously, who designed the back end of that car? I'm glad to see they're making them look more like real vehicles now.

okay, okay.... now I get to say this...and give another poin to GM...the Malibu Hybrid...22k. That's it. AND It's a gorgeous car!

[Pencil.Fight]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

okay, okay.... now I get to say this...and give another poin to GM...the Malibu Hybrid...22k. That's it. AND It's a gorgeous car!

Sweet! Now that's the way it should be.

I'm sure, before too long, we'll be seeing some hybrid/alternative fuel Camaros on the line. I hope they'll be able to keep the sound of the V8 intact.

Imagine a Camaro that gets 40 mpg without sacrificing a thing? I know, I know, I'm dreaming.