Video: GM ad for Chevy Tahoe hybrid says other hybrids are "tinsy-winsy"
This is why I could not wait to see the ad for the hybrid Chevy Tahoe. I knew something like this was coming when the GM PR guy at Boston AltWheels told me the Chevy Tahoe was a "big ass hybrid." Twice. So, the theme of the ad is the same as other recent Chevy ads, kids learning about GM cars in nature. The children are asked are hybrids "small?" The kids respond yes because obviously they are small. "They're tinsy-winsy, aren't they?" asks the teacher again. The kids respond "yes," again. Then the teacher says, "wrong."
The teacher explains this Tahoe is the first "full sized hybrid SUV." Is it "brilliant?" "gigantic?" and "can it do jobs tinsy-winsy hybrids can't do?" the teacher asks. Yes to all those questions the kids reply and "that's why they made it" the teacher replies. The kids giggle. The fine print is interesting. The teacher says city mileage is 40 percent more than the non-hybrid Tahoe but the EPA has not released the numbers. So the fine print explains MPG 20 city is "based on GM testing." I think that's the first time I have seen that in an ad. Watch it after the break.
[Source: GM]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mannisto.ilkka 1:04PM (10/22/2007)
Hehee, this'll get the treehuggers angry ;-)
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Kardax 1:15PM (10/22/2007)
I could be wrong, but I thought automakers were legally required to only advertise EPA numbers...
As usual, automakers place way too much emphasis on the "hybrid" badge. The Prius sells because it's both practical _and_ has excellent MPG... not because it's a hybrid.
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Lascelles Linton 1:21PM (10/22/2007)
Kardax, Here is the law...
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=16425ee8610bae152a9c042de5607a74&rgn=div5&view=text&node=16:1.0.1.2.23&idno=16
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Mark 3:38PM (10/22/2007)
I really cringed when I saw this add. Someone please make GM marketing stop before they kill again. Whatever cred they are gaining with the Volt and E-flex they are wasting with this trash.
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MIkeW 2:12PM (10/22/2007)
That 40% improvement will drop when the 6 speed automatic replaces the 4 speed automatic across the board.
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Kardax 2:22PM (10/22/2007)
Nice find, Lascelles.
I guess they're ok making their own guesses as long as the fine print pops up on-cue; the only definite problem is the failure to disclose a highway MPG estimate. (Not a surprise, really--it's probably exactly the same as the non-hybrid version.)
Still, if a big boost in city MPG is really achieved, this is a good thing given the popularity of this type of vehicle as a suburban people-mover.
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why not the LS2/LS7? 2:27PM (10/22/2007)
I don't like SUVs. But I think this is a smart way to sell it. Look at the Hybrid haters on here, part of their complaint is they aren't beefy for big jobs. This one is. So advertising it makes sense.
MikeW:
The biggest improvement on this is in city mileage, whereas the biggest improvement with a 6-speed is on highway mileage. So it might not reduce the gap as much as it would seem.
It's simultaneously amazing to me GM can still do okay on mpg with 4-speeds in their trucks and also that they haven't gotten a 5 or 6 out yet except in the Escalade.
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werepants 3:09PM (10/22/2007)
Makes me ashamed of my species that so many of us are swayed by size comparison. I guess like big tv's, hummers, and mcmansions, hybrids will take off mass market when we can use them to compensate for ahem... *inadequacies*.
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Bill 4:44PM (10/22/2007)
So how much more is the hybrid?
Our business's new, fully loaded 2007 Chevy Suburban ($55k sticker, $41k out the door) is living up to its 15 mpg city rating, at least so far.
Just wondering what it would cost upfront to wring a few more mpg city out of the 'Burb.
(I would have preferred diesel, but I bet the discount off sticker isn't anything like with the petrol-powered model)
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Chuck 5:16PM (10/22/2007)
The EPA ratings have already been announced. The Tahoe and Yukon Hybrid 2wd will get 21/22 mpg and the 4wd version will get 20/20mpg.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/09/27/general-motors-tahoe-yukon-hybrids-to-get-21-22-mpg-from-epa/
You can also see the ratings yourself on the EPA website.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov
That may not sound alot, but no other full size SUV comes close to those numbers. This is in the ballpark of fuel economy that midsized sedans get.
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Der Alte 5:57PM (10/22/2007)
Before we get too pissy on GM here, let's again remember. They are a business that is there to make money. They make money by selling products that people want....and unfortunately a lot of people still want a big ass vehicle like this. The hybrid badge is supposed to make everything better and the guilt of purchasing a vehicle like this go away.
What really needs to be done is for a large number of people who buy trucks like this to take a look in the mirror. Why does the public insist on ever larger vehicles? Because they go with their ever larger homes and just about everything else that is increasing in size unabated. The consumer mentality is ingrained in people's minds. It is seen as normal to spend everything you have, and even what you don't have on endless amounts of stuff. We need bigger houses and bigger vehicles to carry all this stuff around. The idea of living within your means or even saving a bit seems to be an outmoded one. This is the mentality that fuels the market for these vehicles.
Yes, there are legitimate business uses for these vehicles, but I would take a guess that those represent the minority of purchases. You are not going to see fewer of these vehicles on our roads until the consumerist mentality comes to grip with reality. People need to wake up and see what is going on in the rest of the world.
What is really unfortunate for Americans is that this mentality has spread to Government as well. The US Government is in trillions of dollars of debt and it just keeps getting bigger every day with no end in sight. Most of this debt is owned by nations such as China and Japan. China has trillions of dollars in reserves that they are only now thinking of taking out of the bank and starting to invest. Mark my words you will see Chinese interests buy up a lot of American companies in the next decade (evidently purchasing American debt isn't seen as the solid investment it used to be).
Americans are powerless to defend against this because everybody is too busy spending and getting into debt and nobody is saving anymore. America is broke and if the country collectively doesn't change its ways soon, the rest of the world will be feasting on its bankrupt carcass before long. Of course, whether or not in light of globalization that would really be a bad thing is for a different debate in a different place.
So in short, this is the mentality this vehicle represents and why so many find it so objectionable. Sticking a hybrid badge on it isn't going to change the problem one lick.
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Joseph 11:54PM (10/22/2007)
This is ridiculous.
"Small cars are so funny and stupid! Kill Toyota!"
What I absolutely cannot stand is using children for this. Obviously the marketing department couldn't think of a good advertisement, so they decided using cute little children would do a good job to sway the public opinion. Advertising...if you gave an archeologist from the future advertisements from America, he/she could easily figure out the entire social/political system.
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mannisto.ilkka 7:45PM (10/22/2007)
"Sticking a hybrid badge on it isn't going to change the problem one lick."
The badge doesn't help, but the MPG numbers do. People want big cars, so GM isn't to blame. Wasn't there recently an article that manufacturer doesn't affect consumption nearly as much as vehicle weight does. At least GM leads the pack in full-size SUVs.
That other stuff you wrote .. we're doomed, blah blah. There isn't a need for any drastic changes. Gas will get more expensive, new technologies will be developed, business as usual. Hybrid tahoe is an incremental step in that process.
Lexus LS600h and Tahoe get similar MPGs .. not very good, but better than non-hybrids. Just goes to show how brand doesn't matter.
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Matt 8:34PM (10/22/2007)
I've seen tons of Toyota Yaris' and Scion xD's as well as the small Nissan(can't think of the name) around Central Florida. It's my understanding that the U.S. automakers can't make these small cars at a profit so they don't. Maybe now that GM got the ret. healthcare monkey off their back they can make some nice looking small cars. Hell, I'm 6'1" and the Yaris is not cramped(I was really surprised).
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Murc 11:49PM (10/22/2007)
Der Alte said:
"The hybrid badge is supposed to make everything better and the guilt of purchasing a vehicle like this go away."
guilt? :/
who gets guilt from buying a roomier vehicle?
only a environmentalist could even think of it that way. I dont care what people drive...its a free country, you can do what you want.
glad to see that SUV's are getting in on the hybrid action.
BTW, does anyone know what ever happened to the Hydraulic hybrid that (supposedly) Ford was working on for the F-150 and other big vehicles?
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Mike Weston 6:57PM (11/09/2007)
Are these things out yet? I followed both of them (a Tahoe and a Yukon) down Page Mill Road (above Palo Alto, CA) this morning, and wondered if they were doing some testing or demos or something.
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