Escalade Hybrid rates as absurd

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Payback would come in a mere 218,600 miles.

Jeff Sabatini - The Wall Street Journal - Dec 10, 2008

A sad but factual commentary. -- Ed.

Not in my lifetime has a car company come up with anything as absurd as the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, the latest example of hybrid greenwashing.

The two-wheel-drive model's 20-mpg combined fuel-economy rating may be 5 miles per gallon better than the regular Escalade's, but it's still tied for the worst mileage of any hybrid vehicle rated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The beefier four-wheel-drive hybrid weighs so much that it is exempt from government mileage testing. Imagine that, a hybrid that falls into the same category as Hummers and Ford Excursions.

Like every other Escalade, the hybrid model reeks of excess rather than thrift.

Most hybrids employ smaller-than-standard gasoline engines as part of their strategy to help boost fuel economy, though Cadillac's idea of downsizing the huge 6.2-liter V8 in the standard Escalade is the merely extremely large 6.0-liter V8 found in the hybrid.

General Motors' "two-mode" hybrid drive system employed here differs from most complementary electric-motor assists in that it's designed to ensure that this giant, eight-passenger truck can still tow up to… [Read More]

[Chuck]

Originally Posted by article

The beefier four-wheel-drive hybrid weighs so much that it is exempt from government mileage testing. Imagine that, a hybrid that falls into the same category as Hummers and Ford Excursions.

Art Spinella - where are you when we need you?

[killer6795]

"FSH" anyone? Fuel Sucking Hybrid. Leave it to General(ly bad) Motors. Sigh.

[laurieaw]

power running boards that automatically drop down when you open a door

[Chuck]

If the Escalade is too small...

[chibougamoo]

Ah, but the recent GM full page ads assure us, that the bad times of 1980 thinking are all over, and that they offer more hybrids than any other company ...

And all that torque and towing power? That's exactly what they NEED to get themselves out of the ditch they've driven into, going full speed ahead.

Gangrene Motors sure has some great optics.

[Chuck]

[99LeCouch]

But think of the difference you get when you can motor along getting 20 mpg instead of 15! That's 133% of the range of the regular version! That means the owner of the hybrid can both cruise with friends, and at the end of a long, stressful night of cruising, have enough gas left to get a late-night snack.

[DocOc]

im glad someone finally said it. im sick and tired of watching those dumbass escalade commercials: "someone should hybrid this thing. oh wait, did i spoil the surprise?"

[dsharp]

A certain number of people are going to purchase large SUVs regardless of fuel economy. Isn't giving them a more efficient option a good thing? Sure for the idealists the best scenario is for everyone to stop buying SUVs altogether and start riding bikes, walking and taking mass transit. However, in the real world, that's not going to happen, at least not in one fell swoop. Hybrid SUVs are a reasonable interim step while we work on changing people's attitudes toward fuel economy, and getting our mass-transit system up to snuff.

Are these perfect vehicles? No. However, to call them worthless because they aren't as efficient as smaller hybrids ignores the reality of human nature and the fact that some people are going to purchase a large vehicle regardless of whether it gets 15 MPG or 20 MPG. This is even more true now that gas prices have some down ($1.39 at the 7-11 near my home).

The first rule of optimization is to go after the low-hanging fruit. Getting those people who are bound and determined to drive an SUV up from 15MPG to 20 MPG will save as much or more gas than getting 3 non-SUV people from 40MPG to 50MPG.

Edit:
Just to clarify, I'm not taking a position on this particular hybrid SUV's merits. I just wanted to provide a counterpoint to the human nature ignoring, anti-SUV viewpoint that seems to be pervasive on this site. I'm all for getting rid of SUVs if you can do it, but I honestly don't think its going to happen, given human nature.