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Originally Posted by Tim
The concern that I have expressed in the past is that this happens in balance - that cars using hybrid technology as nothing more than electronic turbochargers does not drown out making high-FE vehicles. The initial trend is not all that encouraging - lots of 6 cyl sedans and SUVs getting the technology with power as the first reason and FE as a by-product. Only the HCH, Prius and Insight there in the high-FE group where mileage is the primary reason. I'll fully agree that any means to gain more acceptance of the technology is good, so in that regard any hybrid is a good hybrid. However, if all we have are hybrid Hummers, we've most certainly lost our way.
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My Dad has been all over my FEH since I got here to Colorado. Despite the cold weather, and driving primarily with little to no warm up time between being started and reaching local destinations, I'm managing to maintain a 31-32 mpg average for the vehicle. I doubt that even the four cylinder non hybrid version can hold a candle to what I'm getting in the current environment. Just because the hybrid version is utilizing the same displacement engine as it's non hybrid counterpart, doesn't mean that the vehicle's fuel economy is going to suffer. Using a retuned version of the same engine in a non hybrid car helps reduce production costs. This is where some of the premium for the hybrid tech will be reduced somewhat.