http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...7/1386/METRO05
Stop, stop, stop, my sides are aching!

There is a lot to recommend with the two-mode hybrid but a blanket, "buy the two-mode system" is like saying, "You only need a sledge hammer."

In all seriousness, now that GM has legitimized the full hybrids with their own, a whole lot of auto business reporters and editors are going to discover a new reality that they had been bashing for years and years. But you know, we are an adaptive species . . . let's be charitable . . . after we wipe the smirks off our faces. <GRINS>

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

I liked this quote the best though:

"If a hybrid driver tells you he's getting 70 mpg in his stock car, he's lying."

I've seen worse articles, but this one wasn't very well researched. For instance, the author didn't know that the IMA-powered Civic Hybrid actually does quite well at highway speeds. Additionally, a Prius uses a Synergy drive, not 2-mode.

Maybe this guy plans to do like Madonna and move from Detroit to England. Then he can appear on Top Gear as he is as insultive as Jermey Clarkston, except he is more knowledgable and often is spot on concerning cars.

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

Nah, not England. He is going to go to Germany and defend the new American Hybrids against the German Diesel industry.

It is the ignorant among us that will eventually destroy us all.

this line bugged me so much that i had to write back to the author. i have gotten to work with over 70MPG with my HCH-I several times this week. the only non-stock item on it is an engine block heater.

i don't like being called a liar.......

he hasn't bothered to answer, either.

Best fill 66.7 MPG, best tank 801.5 miles


laurie, central minnesota

I was thinking about taking the top, +70 MPG car records and posting it to him along with my MPG vs miles per hour chart . . . but it might not do any good. One might also toss 'a bit of red meat' over the fence to our good friends at CleanMPG.com.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

too late, bob, that's where i first saw it.

Best fill 66.7 MPG, best tank 801.5 miles


laurie, central minnesota

That works for me.

With the recent price hikes and the probability of seeing $4/gal in Jan/Feb, all of the earlier "payback folks" will need a request to 'recalculate' their payback intervals. Only this time, there will be GM two-mode hybrids on the market.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

If anything, the highway EPA number for the hybrid Camry is understated. I got a solid 41 MPG on a recent interstate trek, and that was on a moderately hilly drive at 75 miles per hour.

Plus, the "payback" crowd doesn't have much to complain about with the Camry, since it's actually a bit cheaper than a comparably equipped V6 XLE.

But anyway, more on topic, can anyone explain (or provide a link) to a clear explanation of what GM's two-mode system actually does? As near as I can tell, it operates like a Toyota hybrid with a power-split device at lower speeds, and like a Honda hybrid with a conventional automatic at highway speeds. Is that more or less right? If so, it seems terribly overengineered for passenger vehicle duty, though I guess it makes some sense in a big SUV that's expected to tow stuff. Shame the Yukon/Tahoe is $50K, though.

Ryan