Quote:
Originally Posted by ag4ever
It is not really fair to only compare city mileage if you want to claim an SUV is a viable alternative to a sedan. It is great that the city mileage is so much better, but until the highway mleage is also improved, GM should stick to comparing apples to apples.
But it is great that the tow ratings are fairly decent. Still a bit low for my needs, but decent.
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I think Martin explained it well enough that even I could understand. The decision to compare to a Camry was also an attempt to compare the SUV to a sedan. This makes sense considering how much effort went into supporting the SUV market and fleets. But unfortunately I think it obscures better comparisons to equivalent vehicles instead of jumping between entirely different classes of vehicles. Worse, it invites a bright reporter looking up the Camry hybrid numbers and then the GM article looks like a fraud.
I had long ago realized that hybrid technology primarily solves the low-speed problem. Ordinary vehicles have terrible efficiencies at low speeds. That is why one figure of merit is the ratio of low speed MPG to high speed MPG. In this respect, the GM, two-mode hybrid meets the requirement and is in the same order of merit as the HCH and Camry hybrid.
Now as an engineer, I would have preferred to compare the Yukon/Tahoe to the GM equivalent 'Camry killer.' But I realize fratricide is not a good business plan. <grins>
One of the things I'd mentioned is my wife wants an RV. It may be a Yukon/Tahoe hybrid might be available in a mini-RV format or base for an RV add-on. If so, I could afford to get one for her. This way I won't have to 'buy an oil well' for a vehicle that my wife might use on short trips around town and the occasional, vacation. Of course I'd rather have a trailer but they don't make them sufficiently automated for my wife. <grins>
Bob Wilson