In the AutoblogGreen Garage: 2008 Chevy Tahoe Two-Mode Hybrid

[eaton53]

Originally Posted by hrcslam

I am wondering what the mileage is on your wifes daily commute with the Tahoe for such a short drive.

When my sister was here she dropped the gas mileage in my Suburban so much it actually ended up being cheaper for me to drive the Suburban to work than the Ion and let her drive the Ion. It was weird.

I don't know. It's so long between fill ups I lose track.
Put it this way... if it got 10 mpg it would take two weeks to go through one whole gallon.

[red_rider]

Originally Posted by Sinner

A full size SUV that gets the same city mileage as a 4 cyl Camry blows the whole you don't need a full size SUV/PU argument out of the water.

22mpg is 22mpg no matter what you drive. Most people in N.America live in cities and their cars rarely if ever see true highway miles so saying you get 45mpg highway doesn't mean ****. If I had the cash I'd drop it on a Tahoe Hybrid in a heart beat, it beats the city mileage in my Grand Am.

Hell, you'll stop for gas less in the Tahoe due to the bigger tank, that means less impulse snacks at the convinence store, better for the environment, better for you as well.

To be objective though, don't forget the sulfur dioxide and acid rain that comes from nickel smelting (mining).

Not hatin, just presenting all the facts.

[hrcslam]

Originally Posted by eaton53

I don't know. It's so long between fill ups I lose track.
Put it this way... if it got 10 mpg it would take two weeks to go through one whole gallon.

Good point. With that low of an amount of fuel consumption fuel efficiency can be thrown out the window.

This brings up another question. Does a Toyota Prius contribute more pollution to the environment than a modified Chevy V-8 street and strip race car or a Corvette because of the difference of mileage driven on each vehicle?

It is not uncommon for a a newer vehicle to have well over 100,000 miles on it. But finding an older 1960's or 70's car with 100,000 miles on it is much harder to find then one build in the 80's or 90's. At least that is what I have noticed.

[uboys]

Originally Posted by hrcslam

Why must I always defend owning a Suburban? I have only one daughter, yes, but I also have 4 cats and 2 rottweilers and find my self moving every 6 months (I'm in aviation contract maintenance). A capable vehicle to haul me and my family around this country, as well as tow a 3500+lbs trailer (for the move), is well needed. And by the way, my daily driver is a Saturn Ion. So why would I rent an SUV if I already own one? Why is a full sized SUV hybrid needed? Because people actually need them. It might not be people like you, but many people do need big SUVs and a hybrid SUV that saves more gas than a Camry hybrid is a worthy feat. But hey you can go ahead and buy that worthless little car and borrow your friends big ars SUV every time you buy new furniture.

P.S My Suburban costs less per month than my Ion (including gas). But, you know they are just expensive, gas guzzling, environment destroying, end of the world, war causing, plant killing, road hogging, dangerous, evil epitome of all that man kind has done to destroy gods green earth, right?

Try this on for size. A Tahoe Hybrid gets the same city fuel economy as a Honda Civic Si. The difference? One can carry 6+people and tow 6000lbs. The other is a smaller little thing that goes a little bit faster.

So, why did GM make a full sized SUV hybrid? Hmmmmmm, I wonder.

If you don't vote right, pretty soon you'll have to appeal to a government agency for special permission to buy a larger car (along with a government grant to buy it).

[uboys]

Originally Posted by Michael_S

In your previous post, you only said you have a wife and daughter. If you have 4 cats and 2 rotties and move every few months, then obviously you're going to use the fullsize SUV all of the time and a rental won't cut it.


Hey, did I go on a rant? Did I call you evil? Did I demand that you sell your SUV or that the government take it away from you?

I'm just going from experience. I know 7 people who own half ton pickups, and only one uses his to tow - and he tows a little trailer that's less than two tons fully loaded. There are hundreds of thousands of people driving around 5000 pound trucks and SUVs that do not use their true space and hauling capabilities at all, or use them at most a few times per year. Be proud to be an exception, but that doesn't undercut my point - the rest are wasting their own money and needlessly contributing extra to our dependence on foreign oil.

And if your Suburban costs less per month than your Ion, how much did you pay for it? $15,000? $12,000? I want to shop where you shop, because most nicely optioned Suburbans near me run past $40,000.



The Civic SI is sold as a sport coupe, and of course it's not much of one - but it will still handily outrun your Suburban and be more fun to drive around a road course. A better comparison is the regular Civic coupe, which still gets 50% better mileage than the Tahoe hybrid.

But more importantly, there's a $30,000 difference. The Tahoe hybrid is great for the environment, and I'm glad GM made it and I hope they profit from it. But $30,000 buys a lot of gas.

I submit that you don't know anything about any of the 7 people you know with large vehicles. You only think you know what they need and when.

[eaton53]

Originally Posted by hrcslam

It is not uncommon for a a newer vehicle to have well over 100,000 miles on it. But finding an older 1960's or 70's car with 100,000 miles on it is much harder to find then one build in the 80's or 90's. At least that is what I have noticed.

A car from the 60's or 70's would be pretty much used up or rusted out by 100K miles.
Materials technology has come a long way in the last 40 years...

[hrcslam]

Originally Posted by eaton53

A car from the 60's or 70's would be pretty much used up or rusted out by 100K miles.
Materials technology has come a long way in the last 40 years...

Very true with the occasional exception of a rebuild or very meticulous maintenance. But, my point was geared more towards the fact that the amount that people drive their car depends on the gas mileage their car achieves. The better the mileage the more the owners drive it. Does this still result in a decrease of imported fuel use, or does it actually increase the use of fossil fuels? I think the answer is the increase of fossil fuels. That is sad.

[MechEng]

Originally Posted by BlueMontreal

Just a really simple and probably stupid question here : what sort of mileage would a , regular (5.3L) Tahoe get if it got all the weight saving work, the aerodynamic improvement and the 6 speed auto ?

It would get a small benifit.

Hybrid Tahoe is EPA rated at 21 city 22 hwy.

Regular Tahoe is EPA rated at 14 city 20 hwy.

With the improvements you talk about i'm guessing the Tahoe might pull off a 15 city 21 hwy. Which is about a 5% improvment. (weight 2-3%, aerodynamics 1%, 6-speed auto 1-2%).

[69Firebird400]

Originally Posted by bone

Very impressive vehicle,however, i don't see it being viable in Quebec. Also, I absolutley hate the Hybrid graffic along the side.

I hate the graphic too - but I believe it's either optional or dealer installed. I saw my first Hybrid Tahoe at a dealership as I drove home from work last night (it was black) and it did not have the H Y B R I D graphic on the side.

Originally Posted by BlueMontreal

Just a really simple and probably stupid question here : what sort of mileage would a , regular (5.3L) Tahoe get if it got all the weight saving work, the aerodynamic improvement and the 6 speed auto ?

Yes, this is sort of the dirty little secret...most hybrids have other fuel-saving tricks as well, so it's difficult to see the benefit of the hybrid by itself. A Tahoe with improved aerodynamcis (no roof rack, lower air dam, etc.), that is 300 pounds lighter with better transmission ratios and the 5.3 liter could probably meet or exceed the two mode's highway numbers, but I still doubt it could come close to the city numbers that are more battery assisted.

[Michael_S]

Originally Posted by uboys

I submit that you don't know anything about any of the 7 people you know with large vehicles. You only think you know what they need and when.

A lot of them use the bed, but none of them save the one I mentioned tow anything and none put anything heavy in the bed. They use the bed for space, but rarely cart around more than 400-500 pounds. I'm not talking about people with trucks in the neighborhood that I've never seen do anything. I'm talking about two uncles, two brothers-in-law, two friends, and a cousin.

I also know, but did not mention, three people with heavy duty pickups. One tows a camper, one carries around masonry gear for his work, and the other has a snowplow. Obviously they use the heavy duty capacity their trucks provide, and I didn't complain about it.

[BlueMontreal]

Originally Posted by MechEng

It would get a small benifit.

Hybrid Tahoe is EPA rated at 21 city 22 hwy.

Regular Tahoe is EPA rated at 14 city 20 hwy.

With the improvements you talk about i'm guessing the Tahoe might pull off a 15 city 21 hwy. Which is about a 5% improvment. (weight 2-3%, aerodynamics 1%, 6-speed auto 1-2%).

Tanks. 5 % is a lot on such a big vehicle.

[amw]

Chevrolet missed the marketing boat. 2-Mode is about every day driving performance. Better acceleration, better braking. They are fun to drive. Improved fuel economy is a desirable side effect. So long as you are not planning on towing a massive camper through the mountains this is probably the best performing large SUV you can buy. There was a great article on this in Road and Track years ago. Further, in this market, GM should be offering strong incentives to buy this model to help overcome first model year jitters. Especially as the dual-mode system is so different than traditional drive systems. No one really knows how they will fare in the real world.

Implementation wise, problems with the 60-40 split on the rear seats, the absence of a LATCH system on the left rear seat, and in my view the absence of a roof rack option leave the impression of a half finished product. The dealers are happy to remove the hybrid stickers on delivery. We'll see how much more refined the vehicles get in coming years.