Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, GMC Yukon Hybrid seeing lackluster sales

[petervegas]

I work for a solar power company. As a "green" company, we were interested in buying a Tahoe Hybrid as a company vehicle.

We inquired of our local Chevrolet dealer in Southeast Washington State and they told us the Hybrid Tahoe's & Yukons were unavailable in our area until late this year at the earliest? This is a perplexing article considering our experience.

Also the price, even had the Hybrids been available, was off-putting.

Secondly, why buy a Tahoe or Yukon Hybrid now when we know the direct injection version of the V-8's and possibly even the plug-in versions will be available in the near future?

[TruckMan]

I tend to agree that these hybrid SUVs were a bad idea. The only thing they may have been good for was the development experience and technology maturity. But GM failed to study the intended buyer in the case of these SUVs. A large majority of people that buy Hybrids do so for the money savings, not for the novelty of owning a Hybrid (with the expception of Paris Hilton). At $50k+, not many people can justify the price. And if you have this type of dough to dish out, you're probably not worried about gas prices.

I agree, it would be better to stick this technology in the lower end and smaller trucks/SUVs instead of these large loaded ones.

[boblutzfan]

I have seen many of the Hybrid Tahoe and Yukons here in San Antonio. Funny - based on the numbers I have seen - probably three just in the last few days - I assumed they were selling really well.

I do agree that the powertrain should be offered in less luxurious form to lower the price of the truck and get more people into them. Speaking of trucks...get this in the Silverado four door on all trim levels and then watch sales rise.

[boblutzfan]

Also - why not offer this in the Suburban? It seems that since all the money was spent developing this very complex but efficient powertrain that GM should offer it in every GMT-900 vehicle. Make it one of the options.

[JeffInDFW]

SO, they thought they would sell 1,000 units a month, and instead they have sold 1,100 in 6 months!?!?!? Holy failure, batman.

My feeling is, anyone who is buying a $50,000 vertion of the Tahoe is not concerned about getting a few more MPG in the city. The person who buys the $33,000 vertion would be more concerned, in my mind. Like others have stated, just make it an option on all Tahoes instead of only offering it on the loaded one.

[jlt0x]

I think the point a $50k hybrid Tahoe makes is that the techology (for GM) is too new and thus still cost too much to make at their current production levels. It would be a big industry "power play" move for GM is they were to make at least 25% of Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade production with the 2-mode hybrid transmission just to get a bunch of the GM-hybrid-tech out there. And it wouldn't hurt if a hybrid model can be owned for $35k (basic radio, rwd, cloth, etc).

And maybe somebody that can afford a $50k SUV can probably keep their current vehicle and purchase a more fuel efficient "day-to-day" vehicle; and leave huge/sporty/utility gas-guzzler at home during the week.

[MadeInUSA]

[quote=JeffInDFW;1413260]SO, they thought they would sell 1,000 units a month, and instead they have sold 1,100 in 6 months!?!?!? Holy failure, batman.

........ is not concerned about getting a few more MPG in the city......

You're right, The problem is most of these Hybrids dont live up to the advertised EPA numbers. They do better than their gas-only counterparts but not by what they promised you. Slam the Alu hood, Gate, seat frames and earodynamics on a conventional Tahoe and the difference becomes even smaller. But I have to admit,its still a better choice than getting a smelly diesel. If you have to have such a big vehicle and have some money to spare, then the hybrid is for you.

[windvale]

My observation is that GM is not really all *that* worried about building and selling the cars people want.

It looks to me like GM is really into pushing the cars (or usally trucks) that they are comfortable with. Which means that GM dealers are stuck trying to sell inconsequential BS cars like the Lucerne, Aveo, Solstice, etc. The Tahoe/Yukon hybrid is another one of the unending string of miscalculations (apart from the Malibu) by Wagnor and Lutz. The Tahoe/Yukon hybrid was the answer to the question that no one was asking...but that didn't slow Rick and Bob down one little bit. In their heads, it made sense.

Let's face it - what most American's wants is a compact or mid-size car (6 out of the 10 best selling cars are compacts) that is consistenly well built, gets really good gas mileage and has a bit of pizaz. The Corolla's and Civics of the world do this really well. And this is the consumer that GM has no time (or product) for.

[bone]

How many Tahoe/Yukon buyers hold onto their vehicles for 5 years? How many drive them enough to consider saving a few dollars on gas?(Most owners have smaller vehicles that are the daily runners.) Hybrids work well on small vehicles,not on behemoths.

[motorman]

Originally Posted by Ambalanche

I've seen several commercials also but I agree that they need to put it in the less expensive LS and LT versions and get it in the pickups' lower content models as well.

GM needs the profit from the upgrade packages to help defer the $$$$ loss on the hybrid system

[yamahr1]

Maybe the ridiculous number of badges and decals is partly to blame, no??

[tgagneguam]

Originally Posted by yamahr1

Maybe the ridiculous number of badges and decals is partly to blame, no??

That's what I was thinking, yamahr1, (in a kidding sort of way, of course).

[63GrandSport001]

Originally Posted by joemac

The article fails to mention that we're in a down market. Everybody is down. Consumers are holding tight for the most part, especially when it comes to expensive items, add to that combined with expensive options such as the Hybrid GMT-900's, there's just not much moving. The more expensive the item in a down market, the more consumers are large will resist the purchase.

If the economy were in better shape even with $4 gas, they would be moving much better.

indeed they would be moving better but honestly probably not much better as people most likely want to make a bigger gain in fuel cost. Im sure that most of the people who buy GMT-900s do not tow anything with it so Ill be willing to bet you that people would rather spend much less money and get something like an Acadia rather then spend $50,000+.

[2648562]

I always felt like their target should've been the foreman/superintendent type who spends most of the day talking into his Nextel & doing paperwork in his truck, while occasionally hauling a few rolls of felt paper around his subdivision. Or, the city/county types who check meters, do inspections, and that sort of thing. Those guys could really benefit from a hybrid. But they don't spend $50,000 on trucks though, so in GM's eyes they're lower than dirt (I'm beginning to really hate their stupid @sses BTW). The ones that do seem to be guys that've never worn anything less than Perry Ellis in public and have their wives do most of the driving.

[chakis24]

"In order to get into a hybrid Tahoe, buyers will have to plunk down at least $53,000 — $4,000 more than a comparable gasoline-only Tahoe. Although buyers will recoup that price difference in gas savings over five years — not including a $2,200 government rebate — most buyers find it hard to justify a sticker price that high. Gasoline Tahoes match their hybrid counterparts in highway mileage (20/22 mpg 4WD/2WD) but get about 6 to 7 mpg less in city driving — 13/14 compared to 20/21 (4WD/2WD)."

thats actually reallly good deal and quick payback when compared to car hybrids.

Originally Posted by GMusa

I think it may be due to the fact that GM doesnt market their cars well at all.. I have no seen one commercial about the Tahoe/Yukon Hybrids!

has anyone seen it live either? i havent seen one on any lot. gmc or chevy.