13 great fuel-efficient cars. 3 (2.5) GM vehicles make list.

[Slowrider5]

Kelley Blue Book names cars in every category that save fuel without sacrificing very much else.

Siliverado (full-size trucks), Acadia (large SUVs), and Vibe (wagon) are listed.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/...ers/index.html

[Cabana Boy]

You have to spend $28K on a Prius to get leather seats, which I must have.
That is insane!!!! For small car like the Prius. I don't care how much interior space it has that allows it to be considered a midsize, it still is a small car, with a small footprint, lightweight and tinny. A Civic nearly matches it in FE and costs thousands less.

I don't get it's popularity.

[marinerbc]

Originally Posted by Cabana Boy

I don't get it's popularity.

Fred down the street has one; to some non car guys, it's trendy, so they have to have one too. It's like SUVs; very few actually need one, but so many want one.

[mcool]

Originally Posted by Cabana Boy

You have to spend $28K on a Prius to get leather seats, which I must have.
That is insane!!!! For small car like the Prius. I don't care how much interior space it has that allows it to be considered a midsize, it still is a small car, with a small footprint, lightweight and tinny. A Civic nearly matches it in FE and costs thousands less.

I don't get it's popularity.

I don't get it either. It's so common in L.A. that it's become a conformist's car IMHO. I rode in a coworker's new black Prius last week; it was nice enough, but if you drive the car hard and try to make it quick, that ICE is running almost constantly.

The leather obsession is funny. All the Priuses (and there are at least a half dozen) at work have it. The coworker I mentioned above paid $1000 extra to have leather installed on her lower-optioned model instead of upping the packages necessary to have the leather. The interior is like a large compact, it's not that big.

[New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66]

Originally Posted by Cabana Boy

I don't get it's popularity.

It's the "smug" factor. It's the new "status symbol". Like BMW was in the "Go-Go" 80's. And Lexus was in the 90s.

To drive a Prius says you "care more".

[chakis24]

the altima hybrid has a 35/33 rating? thats not very impressive especially when the escape hybrid has a 34/30 rating. and its not better than a diesel neither.

i am impressed however by the silverado rating. 15/20 aint bad considering it says that theyre using the new epa guidelines. but whats weird is that ive heard of people who consistently outdo those numbers (i was one of them until i modded my truck). i like the ridgeline quip. hehehe.

wheres that colorado update? they get the same mileage as the full sizers- thats inexcuseable.

congrats to the acadia.

miata for sports car? the vette is larger with 400 hp and achieves about the same mpg (18/28 instead of 22/27).

to the prius: the end is near. two-mode cant get here soon enough

[pinyon]

The sad part is they sold 24,000 Prius (is Prii plural?) in May. Even when two-mode gets out, it's only in SUVs and Trucks to start with. We need the Volt and a two-mode Malibu ASAP but it's probably at least three years out. And I'm having a hard time locating the US Prius factory.

[johnny smallblock]

Originally Posted by pinyon

The sad part is they sold 24,000 Prius (is Prii plural?) in May. Even when two-mode gets out, it's only in SUVs and Trucks to start with. We need the Volt and a two-mode Malibu ASAP but it's probably at least three years out. And I'm having a hard time locating the US Prius factory.

Agreed.
It's true that it makes the most environmental sense to put the hybrids on the biggest offenders first, but don't forget who wants to buy a hybrid. Hint: it's people looking for efficiency, i.e. small car buyers. SUV owners have proven they don't value economy, so to think GM will get a green rep by rolling out hubrid trucks and SUVs is foolish,. Wake me when the hybrid Malibu, Cobalt, and Aveo break cover.

[Flyingbunnys]

Small SUVs and trucks that would get the milage of a small car would be nice because a truck is so much better than a compact car.

[Whitesky]

Originally Posted by New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66

It's the "smug" factor. It's the new "status symbol". Like BMW was in the "Go-Go" 80's. And Lexus was in the 90s.

To drive a Prius says you "care more".

Which makes even less sense. I can see the status symbol of a BMW or Lexus, but people laugh when they see someone in a Prius.

[Wolfman01]

Originally Posted by Cabana Boy

You have to spend $28K on a Prius to get leather seats, which I must have.
That is insane!!!! For small car like the Prius. I don't care how much interior space it has that allows it to be considered a midsize, it still is a small car, with a small footprint, lightweight and tinny. A Civic nearly matches it in FE and costs thousands less.

I don't get it's popularity.

The popularity is, that if you are willing to NOT drive like you are trying to qualify for the Daytona 500, you can literally pull numbers into the upper 50's and even into the low 60's mileage wise. Add to this, the ability to be driven short distances with the engine off, and you have a pretty nice package.

The sole reason why alot of Prius owners don't get the mileage, is that they simply insisist on driving 75-80 mph everywhere. The Prius does NOT rewrite the laws of physics. Hybrids are hurt worse when driven hard, because their undersized engines would not otherwise had been used, had they been built as a conventional car.

If you handed me the keys to a new Prius today, I'd be cheering. I miss my '03.

[asim]

Originally Posted by pinyon

The sad part is they sold 24,000 Prius (is Prii plural?) in May. Even when two-mode gets out, it's only in SUVs and Trucks to start with. We need the Volt and a two-mode Malibu ASAP but it's probably at least three years out. And I'm having a hard time locating the US Prius factory.

I agree, the two modes doesn't look like it is going to be GM's future for a real efficient hybrid anytime soon, since the technology is largely on the large vehicles. But then the technology like the Volt (which is absolutely awesome) is taking way too long to come into place. argh.