GM Two-Mode Hybrid SUVs to start at about $40,000
The GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid SUVs will be starting full production next week and rolling into showrooms across the countries in the following weeks. We know the EPA mileage ratings (21/22 mpg city/hwy) and the towing capacity (6,000 lbs). The last really big question that has gone unanswered so far is the price tag. Although GM hasn't made any announcements yet, a GM spokesman said the price would be coming in at about the same price as the conventional 5.3L model with similar equipment. For a rear wheel drive model that should put the price at about $40-45,000 depending on exactly what equipment is included. That means there will be virtually no price premium for the hybrid.
[Source: General Motors]
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
Throwback 11:45AM (10/30/2007)
18. The reason some of us criticize it is because making a gigantic SUV a hybrid is like handing out free needles to drug addicts or passing out condoms to pre-teens. It treats the symptom - not the real problem.
So is it GM's responsibility to change how and what we drive? Or is it their responsibility to provide value for their share holders and jobs for their employees? GM realizes people want SUVs, but they also want better mileage. This is their solution. We do still have free will in this country, if people stopped buying SUVs tomorrow ALL of the automakers would stop building them. Either we want a free market economy or we don't, personally I do.
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Schmeltz 11:49AM (10/30/2007)
Ryan:
Excellent comparison of mpg figures you posted. Thanks--that drives a good point home.
Why is their complaining about a vehicle normally considered in-efficient, that can now achieve mpg ratings better than many 6 cylinder vehicles on the road today? Just hard to figure that one out.
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motorman 12:08PM (10/30/2007)
a lot of these soccer moms weight 200+ pounds and they are not going to fit into a prius.
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dean 2:39PM (10/30/2007)
Some people forget that GM is running a business, and that SUV's sell. And some people are forgetting that these businesses can also take the lead and help change consumer's minds. Lots of businesses are greening themselves, and honestly, GM could do better by offering the Hybrid on other models that are more fuel efficient.
But wait, they are! Soon we will see 4-cylinder Malibus and Auras putting out 30+ mpg city. And then later, Cobalts and Astras putting out 45+ mpg city. The Tahoes and Yukons are just the beginning. The SUVs also are bigger profit-makers, so they help absorb the cost of the expensive hybrid gear.
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gsolman6 1:47PM (10/30/2007)
"a lot of these soccer moms weight 200+ pounds and they are not going to fit into a prius."
Isn't it ironic that one form of overconsumption, i.e. food, leads to another, i.e. fuel.
So it costs about $10k more than an 8 passenger Sienna or Caravan and gets the same mileage. Tells me that they should have hybridized a 6 cylinder with multidisplacement into a CUV/Minivan since most families don't need to tow.
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Drake 1:51PM (10/30/2007)
Wouldn't be great if we could all just drive the car that we need at that moment. A one-seater electric car for commuting to work, a midsize car for those trips to the store, and the 8 passenger Suburban for family vacations to the lake house.
But until then, people will buy the largest vehicle they need for any anticipated activity as it will fulfill all other requirements. You can drive your Suburban to work just as easily as your Prius, but you can't take 8 people and tow a boat to your lake house with a Prius. Drake
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Bill 2:06PM (10/30/2007)
We do use SUVs in our work (moving people & equipment)
The 2007 Suburban we just got is rated 15 city.
Considering the miles we drive (all city) another 5-6 mpg is a welcome improvement, if the initial cost is roughly the same.
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Chris M 3:09PM (10/30/2007)
Hmm... One excuse for the Suburban is that it can carry 8 people. But the Toyota Highlander Hybrid can also carry 8 people and gets much better milage - and costs less...
The complaints isn't so much for those that really need hauling capacity, like plumbers, carpenters and other contractors. The complaints is getting a bigger and more gas guzzling vehicle than will ever reasonably be needed.
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Throwback 3:47PM (10/30/2007)
28. Hmm... One excuse for the Suburban is that it can carry 8 people. But the Toyota Highlander Hybrid can also carry 8 people and gets much better milage - and costs less...
True, but can it tow 7,000lbs? What GM is offering is a higher mileage vehicle for people who want a large SUV, whatever their reasons. I wouldn't buy one, nor would tell my neighbor he doesn't "need" one. I don't want him telling me what I do or do not need either.
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richardtoh 3:50PM (10/30/2007)
People are free to buy whatever they want. I sense that some may feel a little defensive and try to justify their purchase based on need rather than want. They should not have to do so. It's ok to buy something and not use it for its intended purposes.
For example, some claim that they need to carry 8 and haul a boat to a beach house. Now, how many of those making such claims do actually haul a boat with 8 persons in it and to a beach house to boot?
Another observation: I have not seen or met a plumber or contractor driving a full-size SUV like the one shown here. Most I know drive either a van or a beat-up pickup.
Bottomline - it's your money and you can spend it anyway you want.
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mike 4:31PM (10/30/2007)
Sheesh, Richardtoh, what about the "common good"?
We don't have another planet Exxon we can Migrate to. The Arctic Icecap has already lost 25% of it's snow cover, there is a National Drought. We're coming up on our EXPIRATION DATE. People with no background in Science shouldn't be Changing the Parameters of the Planet Just for a Buck.
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Paul 4:39PM (10/30/2007)
Agreed that Americans tend to buy cars for every eventual need rather than what they require in a typical week. However, we do this with everything we consume: electronics (do you really know every feature of your computer?), appliances, clothes (the dress that gets worn once a year), etc. In fact, housing is the most obvious form of "want" there is in our society. 50 years ago the typical family had 3 kids and lived in 1100SF 2 bedroom houses -- today we have 1.5 children in 3000SF mansions. It is a total waste of space, materials and energy and completely beyond the needs of 90% of Americans but we want it. And in the free market, we get what we want -- environmental impacts be damned. A CO2 tax (starting with gas, progressing to home energy consumption) would go a long way to forcing us to rethink needs versus wants. The reasons Europeans don't drive Suburbans is because they have no space to park them nor the scratch to fill them up (and better transportation options of course).
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richardtoh 5:00PM (10/30/2007)
I am sorry I came across as someone who is for Big Oil and not for the common good. I am not. I make personal conscientious choices in my purchases daily. My reasons are personal: it is not good to waste and I don't derive satisfaction by showing off. Simple life stuff.
However, I also understand that it is quite impossible to change anyone unless the person is open to change or compelled to do so. Until such time, people will continue the way they do.
Back to the topic of this SUV. GM's offering of a better fuel-economy option should be treated as a positive move for the environment.
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haqitman 10:13PM (10/30/2007)
It's a step in the right direction. GM is sending a message that it's serious about improving mileage and it won't come at a ridiculous premium. It knows its image is tarnished so they're starting with high profit, high profile vehicles to prove their intentions. I can't wait to see what GM does with a smaller version of this system in, for instance, the Malibu.
Ryan the civic mileage figures you stated (21/29) are for the Si. The regular sedan is rated at 26/34 for '08 with a manual and 1 better each for the auto (?!?!). Another comparison would be one of my favorite cars, the Subaru WRX STI which has mileage figures for '07 of 19/25 - practically the same mileage as the Tahoe in a car that weighs half as much. Granted these two cars have completely different missions, but GM must be doing something right here.
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Bananas 9:26AM (10/31/2007)
Why is it that some think as soon as they see an SUV with only a driver, that it is a wasteful person? I don't drive my wife and three kids with me everywhere I go, nor do I take them to MY work each day and every trip. So by your logic, I am wasteful? Please! I cannot afford another car to have when I only need to drive myself. And we would not all fit in a small car or even a midsize car. We need a van (which we have) or and SUV (which we also have). Stop telling the rest of us what to do. I pay the same amount for gas as you, and since I only drive locally, I fill up my 30 gallon tank every 6-7 weeks. How much gas do you get & use?
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Furion 9:35AM (10/31/2007)
@hagitman
The environmentalists' first target are the SUVs since they are the easiest. It's easier for a layman to spot a Hummer and put the hate on, than spot and differentiate between Subaru WRX, normal Subaru Impreza and kitted out ordinary Subaru. Performance cars will be the next target, though (read = anything more than 100 hp or top speed larger than 55 mph).
Saving on emissions caused by housing would also be one target. The problem is that while you can find a large portion of people who don't care if they drive a crappy car, I don't know anyone who wouldn't want a big and nice house. So the environmentalists can (possibly) make people get off of SUVs and sportscars, but can't possibly make people want to live in small and energy efficient flats.
That's also why Leonardo DiCaprio rocks a prius while living in multiple mansions. Nothing like a chauffeured Prius from your mansion to your private jet to get eco-friendly ;-)
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Furion 9:44AM (10/31/2007)
"I pay the same amount for gas as you, and since I only drive locally, I fill up my 30 gallon tank every 6-7 weeks. How much gas do you get & use?"
Good point. MPG is just as important as the amount you drive. The environment doesn't give a crap whether the 30 gallons worth of emissions comes from
A)600 miles in a H-Tahoe or
B)1500 miles of Prius.
Environmentalists would have us believe though that option B) is better for the environment. MPG is discussed to death, but little is done to reduce overall driving miles.
10 MPG Ferrari is not going to pollute 5 times as much as 50 MPG Prius. Ferrari is usually a 4th or 5th car, and isn't driven nearly as much as a Prius. Also, larger MPG usually leads into greater amount of driving. Still, the EU would rather ban a car with 400 grams CO2 / km than look at the big picture.
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CB 10:55AM (11/12/2007)
It's human nature to want something for nothing and wanting a two-mode hybrid in a low priced vehicle is product we all want yesterday.
Sound business economics limits this goal. GM, BMW and Chrystler combined their R&D efforts and made a huge invetment in creating the two-mode hybrid transmission and have placed it in high priced Chevy Tahoe and the GMC Yukon SUVs in order to recoop some of their investment.
Has anyone ever wanted one of the initial priced $15-20,000 plasma screen TVs bought only by the affluent. We had to wait until the price came down. When production volume increases, costs will be reduced by volume, the prices per unit come down. This is called the economics of scale. The early adopters of new tech help to pay down the immense R&D investment. It's affluent folks who will buy this vehicle and they are paying the freight that will make it possible for me to get one in the future. Yes, I want a two-mode hybrid in a more affordable priced vehicle, but I fully understand GM's need to turn a profit before they can create a smaller, lower priced veicle that will benefit the rest of us.
Face it, SUVs are profitable to make and sell. GM needs profits right now. I for one applaud the long term investment GM is making to creat more fuel efficient products.
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