2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid

Is it OK to buy a car this big if it's a hybrid?

From the Los Angeles Times

I've got three points: 1) Replacing a Toyota Sequoia with a Tahoe Hybrid saves more fuel than replacing your Camry with a Prius. 2) The complaint about offering better aero packages and low rolling resistance tires applies to the Prius, too. It's a very narrow car with low drag, etc. The hybrid powertrain benefit it questionable, and mostly good PR. 3) Hybridizing an SUV does MUCH MORE to improve a company's CAFE than doing it to a smaller vehicle, because the guzzlers affect it the most. This is just one of the failings of CAFE.

Randy @ 5:06 AM PST, Jan 6, 2008
Someone should think about the cars that will be available under rules supported by the Times and the CA lawsuit against the EPA. The only vehicles available will be 4 passenger, lightweight Prius types. What if you need to carry more than 4? Get two cars! Great for the dealer, the manufacturer but does it really help the environment? Hardly.. double the foot print, double the space on roads and double the need for parking. And if you ask Toyota, the Prius doesn't meet the regulations in 2016. Watch out, you may just get what you ask for and the unintended circumstance that follows.

scott @ 7:23 AM PST, Jan 5, 2008
The commenters who have mentioned an alternative are right. Hydrogen, will run in any of big SUVS, no carbon atoms so no carbon dioxide, monoxide or ... When it burns it returns to the atmosphere heat, oxygen and water. Would be easy to convert my Suburban to it too. All of us except the big oil companies with their infrastructure to haul liquid fuel will be happy. Oh and no toxic waste issues with battery disposal.

Mark @ 9:05 PM PST, Jan 4, 2008
What is needed is a fuel efficient vehicle, apparently that means over 30mpg in town. That seats 5 to 8 people COMFORTABLY. Then I will junk my Suburban. Oh and I hate to chain up so it needs AWD for the trips to the mountains. I believe the current list of vehicles that meets or even comes close has nothing on it. If it seats 4 it will not meet my families needs.

Mark @ 8:56 PM PST, Jan 4, 2008
Awarding the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, a car that gets 21 mpg, the "Green Car of the Year" award is ridiculous. Why is GM wasting so much time and resources on producing inefficient vehicles in these days of $3.50 gasoline and climate change? The Tahoe gets an overall modest 30% increase in mileage from the conventional model. A Honda Civic gets 45% better mileage, and a Toyota Prius gets almost 100% better mileage than comparable mid-size sedans. The Tahoe Hybrid is green washing at its worst. Flashy ads will convince consumers that this hybrid is better for the environment, but it is still an expensive gas hog.

Michael @ 1:04 PM PST, Jan 3, 2008
Caglar, my co-worker was driving a suburban and was hit by a semi truck and it pushed him into 2 other cars. He walked away without any major injurys. The car was totaled but NOT THE DRIVER.

Jim @ 11:57 AM PST, Jan 2, 2008
This hybrid Tahoe is a step in the right direction just as the Toyota Prius is. We are going to be forced to change our attitude towards Tahoe and Suburban sized cars when gass reaches $6 -$7 a gallon. Ethanol is not the answer. Vehicles will have to becomea lot more efficient than 20 - 40 MPG. And don't blame the problem on liberals or conservatives nor government or oil companies or the american auto industry. We buy em and we drive em. Its no ones fault but our own...

Norwester @ 3:13 PM PST, Dec 28, 2007
(3) Public transportation will always be the most efficient way get people from A to B. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible for public transportation to become mainstream in the U.S. with the way cities are built here. So, to continue this way of life, we will always have to waste a lot of energy on personal transportation. SUVs only make this problem much worse.

Caglar @ 11:58 PM PST, Dec 27, 2007
(2) If an 18-wheeler hits you, what you were driving really won't matter. There will be enough momentum in the 18-wheeler to flatten most SUVs. So really, if you are claiming that you drive an SUV for safety, your main concern is the presence of other SUVs around you. Thus, through your "solution", you become a part of the problem yourself. (It's like buying assault weapons and artillery because there are too many people with guns around.) Obviously this is NOT a solution.

Caglar @ 11:57 PM PST, Dec 27, 2007
I have 3 points to add to this discussion: (1) The problem with large vehicles is not the fact that they use a lot of fuel while carrying a lot of people and stuff. It is that these vehicles are rarely put to such use. After all, a Metro bus uses much more fuel than my Civic, but is still the greener vehicle if it is carrying 15 people. I hardly ever see an SUV with more than 2 people in it (heck, make it 1).

Caglar @ 11:57 PM PST, Dec 27, 2007
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