  Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup Post Number: 5628 Registered: 06-2004 |
A smidge of kiss and makeup from the NYT? http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11 /16/automobiles/16STICKER.html and a middling review of the Escalade hybrid - the opening is pretty funny http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11 /16/automobiles/autoreviews/16 AUTO.html | ||
Rid0617 Member Username: Rid0617 Post Number: 348 Registered: 03-2008 |
They better do more with hybrids because people are not going to spend $25,000 on a vehicle that will only run 3 hours after an over night charge. | ||
Scottr Member Username: Scottr Post Number: 929 Registered: 07-2006 |
just which vehicle are you referring to, rid? | ||
Scottr Member Username: Scottr Post Number: 930 Registered: 07-2006 |
the beginning of the escalade hybrid review was funny... but the rest was some of the most ignorant drivel i've ever heard. Complaining about the weight but then wishing the batteries were bigger? does she have no idea how much those batteries weigh? And although I'm no fan of SUV's, or the Escalade, the fact is that nothing close to its size and level of amenities can come anywhere near that kind of fuel economy. But apparently this moron is expecting 40mpg out of this thing. What she is doing writing an automotive review when she clearly knows nothing about them is beyond me. | ||
Rid0617 Member Username: Rid0617 Post Number: 349 Registered: 03-2008 |
Can't remember the names but have seen lots of total electric cars on TV. Runs up to 30 mph for 3-4 hours then needs an over night charge. I haven't looked to close into this Volt. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 2004 Registered: 04-2006 |
The Volt is not a 3 hour vehicle Rid. It has a gasoline engine that kicks in when the batteries start to run low. You put 4 gallons in the tank and it takes you 400 miles. | ||
Melocoton Member Username: Melocoton Post Number: 53 Registered: 01-2008 |
"And although I'm no fan of SUV's, or the Escalade, the fact is that nothing close to its size and level of amenities can come anywhere near that kind of fuel economy." That's the whole point of the review. Why build hybrid version of a bloated giant that will never be fuel efficient? | ||
Gumby Member Username: Gumby Post Number: 1876 Registered: 11-2003 |
quote: Why not? Isn't responsible to have a more fuel efficient version? If people are buying them, which they are, I think it is great that they are getting 10 more miles to the gallon. | ||
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup Post Number: 5635 Registered: 06-2004 |
Melocoton, people want large vehicles. The *only* reason they recently fled to small vehicles was the price of gas. The hybrid Escalade gets that cost out of the picture as much as possible while giving GM a project to work with moving toward the future. Once they beef up and refine a system to get the Escalade to run on battery power under load there's no looking back. The other point of hybridizing the large vehicles is that's where the greatest gains can be made. The idea of shoving everyone into tin cans as the only way of achieving higher efficiency is low level thinking. As is mentioned in the Volt piece, as soon as that technology is available to spread through the GM fleet all the efficiencies will go way up since that technology will translate to any vehicle that can run on battery while under load. Scottr, 'Ezra' is a guy's name.  The opening is great because if people stopped and thought about it, especially New Yorkers like Ezra probably is, there's a tremendous amount of fuel waste while idling or running slow - a lights, in drive through lanes, in heavy city traffic, etc. - and a behemoth hybrid Escalade is better in those conditions that even a two-banger gasser. | ||
Oladub Member Username: Oladub Post Number: 892 Registered: 08-2006 |
I read one calculation of all the energy used by a vehicle. In addition to miles per gallon, the energy used to build, ship, and recycle the vehicle were also calculated. It turned out that over the life of the vehicle, the Chevy Aveo consumed less energy than the Prius but, as we know, has less status. Also, there is three times as much hydro carbons emitted per mile by gas consuming autos as from autos operating on batteries consuming coal produced electricity including the coal emissions. | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 1174 Registered: 10-2003 |
I have to agree with Melocoton. Anyone who is going to plunk down that amount of money for an Escalade probably aren't really worried about the mileage they're getting. And yes, I agree with the last line of the article about the Escalade Hybrid being for the Escalade driver with a guilty conscience..... | ||
Shorthook Member Username: Shorthook Post Number: 6 Registered: 10-2008 |
Forget CAFE and the Volt, let's celebrate Detroit's best! :-)  | ||
Scottr Member Username: Scottr Post Number: 931 Registered: 07-2006 |
quote: oops. brain fart. quote: Because Gm ran the numbers - and if you really want to reduce consumption, without sacrificing lifestyle, this actually has a greater effect. Remember, this vehicle came out even before $4 gas. At the time, people didn't particularly care about the price of gas, as evidenced by the huge numbers of SUV's people were buying. But this reduced consumption and therefore dependence on foreign oil, and was a step towards increasing the mileage as gas prices were sure to increase. (No one expected the kind of rise we saw, however.) 'fuel efficient' is a relative term anyways, but most of the media likes to use it as an absolute. you're comparing apples to oranges. it's like saying a prius isn't fuel efficient, because a train uses a lot less fuel. This Escalade hybrid is fuel efficient, compared to other vehicles used for the same tasks. Consider this, a simplified scenario, but effective for this argument. Say I need to take 6 kids to a place 60 miles down the freeway. I can use one trip - 60 miles - in a hybrid Escalade at 21 mpg, using 2.85 gallons of gas. (in comparison, a non-hybrid would use 3.15 gallons) Or, I can take two trips, plus a return trip in between - 180 miles - in a 45 mpg Prius, and use four gallons of gas. So which of these two, again, is more fuel efficient? In this case, the Escalade, but the fact is, it depends on the situation. if I'm driving alone those 45 miles, of course a Prius is more fuel efficient. If I have to haul people or cargo, the Escalade might be, depending on how far, how much, and how often I'm hauling. And if I've got a trailer, there's only one choice between the two. And I'm still going to want it to be as fuel-efficient as I can get it. | ||
Rid0617 Member Username: Rid0617 Post Number: 350 Registered: 03-2008 |
Detroitplanner that is a car I'd be interested in (Volt). All I've seen is these see through eggs that are total electric. Shorthook I almost have the twin to that car picture. I have a fully restored Buick Deuce and a quarter (225). Rebuilt motor and transmission and the seats sit better than my couch. Now the 455 engine is not the kindest thing when gas was $4 a gallon. | ||
Melocoton Member Username: Melocoton Post Number: 54 Registered: 01-2008 |
quote: Something tells me the only numbers GM ran were the short-term profit margins to be had on big, expensive trucks in the late 90s. quote: I get the point you're trying to make, and while you said it's a simplified scenario it is a pretty stacked one. Unless you actually have six kids, there are barely any reasons to ever need to drive six kids around (and hey, the Prius has a big trunk). We all know that most Escalade buyers are not buying the truck for this sort of scenario, though--they're buying it for the "having a kick-ass truck and driving it around with the radio on" scenario. Which is fine, except it's bad for the planet that we all share, etc. etc... And yes, fuel efficiency may be a relative standard as you say, but we can't take this too far--RELATIVE to the other kinds of vehicles that are available, and which consumers are buying, the Escalade has poor fuel economy, even with the hybrid fuel cell. (Message edited by melocoton on November 17, 2008) | ||
_sj_ Member Username: _sj_ Post Number: 2795 Registered: 12-2003 |
I agree, why waste time with that behemoth. We would be all better off with them off the road. Why not focus on making more cars a hybrid. Oh yeah thats right, they only turn profits on trucks. (Message edited by _sj_ on November 17, 2008) | ||
Shorthook Member Username: Shorthook Post Number: 7 Registered: 10-2008 |
Nice Rid! Just trying to get a smile here and there.... | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 9147 Registered: 10-2003 |
I heard some interesting talk about a scenario in which plug-in hybrids, most of which would be charged at night in off-peak hours, being used to help subsidize the grid during peak hours in the day. The utility companies would put plug-in access in business parking lots for free in order to benefit from this. I can't find a link that isn't audio, so I'll leave it at that unless someone else can find it. |
