Consumers in no rush to buy big, hybrid SUVs

Source: MSNBC

With the price of gasoline hitting daily records and the shaky economy hitting consumers in the pocketbook, a sport utility vehicle that seats eight and gets over 20 miles per gallon would seem to be a promising product. But even with the price of gas nearing $4 a gallon, early indications suggest car buyers are not warming to the industry’s first full-size, hybrid gas-and-electric-powered SUVs.

When they were launched in the fall of 2007, the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid and the hybrid GMC Yukon seemed like good options for consumers who wanted to pack a big family into a SUV and still save on fuel. The Tahoe, for example, promised up to 21 mpg in city driving and 22 on the highway — a 50 percent improvement over the conventional version. The two-mode hybrid was named the 2008 Green Car of the Year at last year’s Los Angeles auto show.

But although the Tahoe and Yukon hybrids are still new, early sales figures suggest Americans are not buying them in large numbers the same way they are stampeding toward smaller, fuel-sipping cars, according to Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com, an automotive Web site.

The reasons include the cost of the vehicles, which both have a starting price above $50,000, putting them beyond the budget of most middle-class car buyers.

Another issue is the stigma attached to driving a large SUV, which in the current age of heightened awareness about climate change and record gas prices is seen as wasteful, especially in environmentally conscious states like California, Toprak said. To counter this view, GM has plastered the vehicles with “hybrid” labels, he added.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24466666/

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FAIL. Try again. Get it right next time, please.

I never understood why idiots thought they were cool.

You still can end up eating too many and gaining weight, and all in all, not a part of a healthy diet.

I agree in both cases. Any benefit is just an illusion you create to make you feel better about doing something bad for you. :thumbsup:

:rofl:



50,000 grand... worth 35,000 as soon as you drive it off the lot :rofl:

It's ridiculous for vehicles to still only be hovering around 20 mpg.

Try 60 - 100 mpg and then maybe people will get excited.

If you can afford to buy a huge SUV then gas costs are not a problem for you.

model, with only 2,500 miles, because someone is desperate (lots of someones) to unload it? $30,000 buys a lot of gas.

If you really want an SUV, now is the time to get a barely-used 2007 or 2008 model for peanuts.

mikey_the_rat

Ford has been building a 30+ MPG hybrid SUV for 4 years now.

It is smaller than an Explorer, but bigger than a RAV-4 (and cleaner-running, and more fuel-efficient).

The price of the Ford Escape Hybrid is about half that of the Tahoe Hybrid.

Its a great car in the city and driving long distances.

if this keeps up. Maybe I will be in a Yaris, Celica, or Vibe sooner than later.

"city car". They are SO cute. And completely practical for me.

If they want to keep selling SUVs they need to make them all electric.

of GM has a fair amount to do with this. Toyota's been building hybrids for years, and they've not turned into clunkers. I sure can't blame anyone for not plunking down $50K for a vehicle that might be practically worthless in seven years.

$50k on a Tahoe. Absurd. Folks spending that much want either exclusivity or a marque.