CNN: Why we need big hybrid SUVs

[benyl]

http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/06/auto...ion=2007060713

Look at it this way, though. Over 15,000 miles - about a year's worth of driving - someone who drives the Acadia will use 148 fewer gallons of gas than someone who drives a Yukon. (By the way, all the EPA estimates used in this article are based on new testing procedures that result in lower, but more realistic, mileage figures for all vehicles.)

Now let's look at another car on the list, the Nissan Altima Hybrid. It gets 34 miles per gallon overall compared to 26 miles per gallon for the similar non-hybrid Altima. That's a difference of 8 miles per gallon.

But someone who decides to buy the Altima Hybrid instead of a regular Altima will save just 136 gallons of gas a year. That's still a lot, but not as big of a difference as a mere 3 mpg improvement in a large SUV.

Sure, they save more fuel, but the overall consumption is higher. We need to get soccer moms to stop loving SUVs.

[benyl]

Drawing a big circle around one number - say 35 miles per gallon - and saying "a vehicle isn't fuel efficient unless it gets 35 miles per gallon" is silly, simplistic and pointless. It's counterproductive because it keeps car companies focused on saving fuel where the savings are needed least. The best way to an get eye-popping miles-per-gallon number is by piling advanced hybrid technology into an already-efficient small car. It gets headlines, but it limits the real impact of the technology.

Car companies such as General Motors, which sells 70 percent of all large SUVs, and Chrysler are doing the right thing by putting their best fuel economy technology where it's actually going to do the most good: in vehicles that really need the help.

Actually, this is a good point. A civic hybrid already gets great mileage.

Now, we just need performance hybrids!

[Xtrema]

That is kind of a good spin for Detroit.

But do you really need a SUV that uses 400 gallon more/year if you don't carry a full load most of the time or go into the woods.

[barbarian]

I think what we really need is to wean soccer moms back into minivans from SUVs, and get guys with small penises back into sedans from F-150's.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by barbarian
and get guys with small penises back into sedans from F-150's.

Though they don't drive F-150's, that's too girly, they drive Dodge Mega-Cab 2500's to their downtown office jobs.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok





Though they don't drive F-150's, that's too girly, they drive Dodge Mega-Cab 2500's to their downtown office jobs.

Alberta definately leads the country when it comes to small penis men.

[Nissanaddict]

Yep. Working in the petroleum section, my Mazda 3 looks like an Austin Mini next to almost anything I park near.

[old&slow]

Originally posted by heavyD


Alberta definately leads the country when it comes to small penis men.

First hand knowledge?