GM: 07 Tahoe - 16mpg City, 22mpg Highway

[Perian]

Source: wsj.com

The marketing campaign for the new version of the Chevy Tahoe will kick off on New Year's Eve during NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly. Hip-hop star Mary J. Blige will sing while two Tahoes dangle above her on a stage in New York's Times Square. For Times Square revelers, Chevy hats and headbands will be distributed.

Television ads will also begin New Year's Eve boast that the Tahoe gets the best mileage in its class. On New Year's Day, newspapers in 29 markets will be distributed in Chevy Tahoe-branded plastic bags that include the slogan, "New Year. New Tahoe."

The 2007 Tahoe is the first of several SUVs with better fuel efficiency that GM plans to launch next year with new versions of the Chevy Suburban, Chevy Avalanche, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade also set to arrive. In the second half of 2006, GM will unveil new versions of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks.

GM is hoping the launches and ad campaign can help reverse a steep slide in large-SUV sales, one of the company's most important profit engines. GM's overall November sales dropped by 7.6% compared with the same period last year and sales of SUVs and trucks fell by 13.5%.

Sales of the Chevy Tahoe alone dropped by almost 20% in November to 7,850 vehicles compared with the same period last year, while those of the comparable-sized Avalanche fell by more than 31%. Sales of the larger Chevy Suburban dropped 43.6%. After years of double-digit growth, GM expects the market for large SUVs to remain flat in 2006 at about 780,000 units.

After a loss of $1.63 billion in the third quarter, GM decided to speed up the production schedule for its 2007 SUV launches. As a result, the vehicles will come out five weeks ahead of the original timetable.

Asian car makers, particularly Toyota Motor and Honda Motor, have long held an edge on the fuel-economy front, partly because of the greater dependence of GM and Ford Motor on SUVs for a larger portion of their overall sales. Now with the arrival of more fuel-efficient SUV models, GM says it wants to get the "facts on the table" and take a jab at its competitors, particularly Toyota.

The new Tahoe will get 16 miles a gallon in the city and 22 miles on the highway, GM says.

[Perian]

Originally Posted by Perian

The new Tahoe will get 16 miles a gallon in the city and 22 miles on the highway, GM says.

I hope this will stop the "25MPG" posts.

16/22 - That's it from the horses' mouth.

Done.

[ocmdog]

Thanks for the info. I was looking for an update on the advetisements, too.

[4runner]

Originally Posted by Perian

I hope this will stop the "25MPG" posts.

16/22 - That's it from the horses' mouth.

Done.

2wd or 4wd?

[turbotoad]

I imagine the Hybrid in 2008 should match if not exceed 25mpg if the "normal" one is reaching 22mpg!

[alerogl2]

I think this is about what everybody had expected the new Tahoe to get, this is amazing mileage for such a vehicle!!! These numbers can also equate to a 20+MPG combined rating, if the DOD helps a majority of the time on the test. I don't believe the combined rating is simply an average of the two numbers, I think the one GM was quoting was an actual survey of real world results from combined driving.

With the Hybrid, we are looking at 20city and 27-28hwy!!! That is figuring a 25% improvement. And if that is the case, there would be little fuel economy reason left NOT to purchase such a vehicle.

GM is blowing the competition out of the water when it comes to truck/SUV fuel economy. The Toyota offerings look quite pathetic in comparision, so does the Ridgelines....

[TahoeMikeZ71]

I can't wait to see the 07 TAHOE.

[05/360]

I Think There Will Be Some Improvement In Mileage When The 6 Speed Is Made Availible.i Think 4 Speeds Will Be On The Early 2007s.i Think The Intial October Press Release By I Believe Bob Lutz Was A Little Misleading.it Implied The 5.3 2 Wd And The 6 Speed May Achieve 21/27.it May Have Actually Been Refering To The 2008 Hybrid.all Just An Opinion.

[Mr. Burns]

Originally Posted by alerogl2

I think this is about what everybody had expected the new Tahoe to get, this is amazing mileage for such a vehicle!!! These numbers can also equate to a 20+MPG combined rating, if the DOD helps a majority of the time on the test. I don't believe the combined rating is simply an average of the two numbers, I think the one GM was quoting was an actual survey of real world results from combined driving.

With the Hybrid, we are looking at 20city and 27-28hwy!!! That is figuring a 25% improvement. And if that is the case, there would be little fuel economy reason left NOT to purchase such a vehicle.

GM is blowing the competition out of the water when it comes to truck/SUV fuel economy. The Toyota offerings look quite pathetic in comparision, so does the Ridgelines....

hybrids havent significantly improved the milage of the SUV offerings from toyota, and they are smaller, lighter vehicles AND toyota's been building hybrid powertrains for a while. Ill wait until GM gives out hybrid numbers before predicting "28 mpg".

[86fleet]

what's the current milage?

[TahoeMikeZ71]

Originally Posted by 86fleet

what's the current milage?

16/20 2wd
15/19 4wd

[86fleet]

Originally Posted by Mr. Burns

hybrids havent significantly improved the milage of the SUV offerings from toyota, and they are smaller, lighter vehicles AND toyota's been building hybrid powertrains for a while. Ill wait until GM gives out hybrid numbers before predicting "28 mpg".

While you may be right, I think Toyota increased the horsepower for the hybrid version, which canceled out any gas milage increase. If GM doesn't increase the power and just goes for fuel economy, I think the milage will be better, though 28mpg might be a little optimistic.

[01cavalier]

I wouldnt be expecting 28 MPG on a hybrid full size SUV, but really 24-25 seems reasonable for highway if it is set up right. The Honda Accord hybrid for example, is set up to run on 3 cylinders on the highway, when extra power is needed, the hybrid motor kicks in power before running on all 6 cylinders if I remember right. With the dual mode system it should give good improvements. It has worked great on the system they use for the buses. Ive heard those get up to 60% better mileage and significantly better acceleration. Cant fault that, even though I doubt regular passenber vehicle drivers will see mileage go up that much. Especially since city driving is where a hybrid does its best in improving mileage. That was pretty obvious with even the SIlverado hybrid I drove some time ago.

[TaHoE]

Originally Posted by Perian

I hope this will stop the "25MPG" posts.

16/22 - That's it from the horses' mouth.

Done.

I have only seen 25MPG figures posted for the Hybrid version, not the regular version. It has been widely known that the regular Tahoe will get 20.1 MPG (4x4).

[mrfunji]

Hybrid milelage should be something like 20/25 not 20/27 as highway doesn't improve that much w/ Hybrids. But we shall see in 2007/8 or whenever.