Green Car of the Year?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I just saw a magazine ad for a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid. Claims to be the Green Car of the Year, awarded at this year’s LA auto show. MPG is 14 city/20 hwy. I thought this was a joke. I’ll admit I am not a SUV person (or van or truck either) but is this the best we can do? My 8 year old Volvo gets way better mileage.</p>

2

<p>[Chevrolet</a> Tahoe Hybrid Named 2008 Green Car of the Year<sup>®</sup> | Green Car .com](<a href=“http://www.greencar.com/features/2008greencar/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_features]Chevrolet”>http://www.greencar.com/features/2008greencar/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_features)</p>

<p>apparently, it is true – and they are very, very proud of their 21 MPG city. So – should I get a Tahoe or a Prius, with both being such energy efficient vehicles! Think of how little I will spend in gas money with a car that gets 21 MPG!! That is 21 miles more than my huge Ford van gets – I can’t even afford to drive it to the gas station.</p>

3

<p>I think it is 20 mpg in the city. They upped it by 4 miles per gallon. I think it is just a guilt vehicle. In other words, it is designed to make people who will purchase a Tahoe anyway feel better about themselves that they are driving a hybrid.</p>

<p>If you want a fairly large SUV that is hybrid, I would nominate the new Toyota Highlander hybrid. It gets 27 in the city and 25 on the highway.</p>

4

<p>I’m waiting for the Loremo. <a href=“http://blog.cardomain.com/blog/2008/02/150-mpg-turbodi.html[/url]”>http://blog.cardomain.com/blog/2008/02/150-mpg-turbodi.html&lt;/a&gt;
Hopefully out next year. Between 100-150mpg.</p>

5

<p>Loremo is a cool looking car but I suspect a lot of women won’t want to climb into it. </p>

<p>The germans are really going at it with diesel technology. Some of their diesel cars can run on biodiesel. That means not only extending mpg but also using alternative fuels.</p>

6

<p>i am a woman and I would buy it</p>

7

<p>How about the Whisper? (This is what I learn when I look at my S’s Popular Science magazine :slight_smile: )</p>

<p>[Inflatable</a>, Affordable Electric Car Announced](<a href=“Goodbye”>Goodbye)</p>

8

<p>still waiting for my smart…</p>

9

<p>The smart car is already showing up in No VA. When we were in Italy in 06 they were everywhere, comical to see their showroom, because they are placed in like legos! Also wierd to see parked on a sidewalk, they make the mini look like a sedan. We actually have a picture of our son next to one. We told him we would buy one and bring it back for him…he pleaded that we would not do it since he was afraid his friends would pick it up and move it on him during school hours as a joke!</p>

10

<p>My 1984 Dodge Colt got 47 mpg around town and 52 on the highway at 55 mph. Sat 5, if 3 were kids (or six when we ran out of room for carseats) and we never really had a problem till the floor rusted out at 185K miles. Total cost: $6,006. The $6 was for its one option: a cigarette lighter.</p>

11

<p>@ bandp You had to get on a list last year to be in line to purchase one. They told me that the expected date for availibility in this part of the country, despite being on the list is Spring 2009. Some people got theirs through gray market imports, others must have signed up really early for the current models.
not holding my breath…</p>

12

<p>

Surprisingly, they don’t get nearly the mileage one would expect by looking at it (33/41) although it’s better than most vehicles and I’ve read they aren’t the best on the freeway due to their small size and I sure wouldn’t want to get into an accident in one (E=MC^2). They should be easy to park though.</p>

<p>The new diesels coming out, largely from Germany, should beat out even the current Prius for mileage. Too bad diesel fuel costs more than regular gas.</p>

13

<p>@ucsdad
Who is coming out with the diesels for the US market? VW? There are so many diesel models over there, that aren’t available here - vw golfs, volvo, etc.</p>

14

<p>The Loremo does look like a problem getting in and out - I have long legs but I don’t see how you would get in without brushing against the outside… which would be either hot, wet or dirty much of the time.</p>

15

<p>If room (or money) isn’t an issue.</p>

<p>[Tesla</a> Motors](<a href=“http://www.teslamotors.com/]Tesla”>http://www.teslamotors.com/)</p>

16

<p>

You’ll soon start seeing them from Audi, VW, Mercedes, and others. Mercedes has several models available now that use their ‘Bluetec’ clean diesel. Clean high mileage diesels will be in domestic and Japanese cars as well. They’ve made a lot of strides in diesel technology to make them very efficient and clean as well. It’ll take a bit of a sales job in the USA but the mileage figures should do most of the talking. </p>

<p>And to change up the game a bit more, there’ll likely be some diesel/hybrids coming out that’ll yield some really high mpg numbers. Once battery technology hurdles are overcome, we’ll eventually see some practical, affordable all electric or mostly electric vehicles.</p>

<p>One example of a diesel:
[2009</a> Volkswagen Jetta TDi Test Drive: Clean Diesel?s 50 MPG Meets Prius-Humbling Thrust - Popular Mechanics](<a href=“http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4235586.html]2009”>http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4235586.html)</p>

<p>Last summer I rented an Audi A5 diesel and drove all over the UK in it. Seriously, at first I thought the fuel meter might have been broken because it lasted so long on the first tank (good thing given fuel prices over there that are double ours). I never calculated the mileage but it had to be very good and it had plenty of pep, started right up, and didn’t smoke.</p>

17

<p>

</p>

<p>Apples and oranges. The Toyota is a Camry with a big station wagon back, the Tahoe is a truck-based SUV. If you want a station wagon, the Highlander is fine. If you want to carry a bunch of stuff and tow a lot more stuff, the truck-based SUVs are still the way to go. (I’ve never owned an SUV, by the way.)</p>

<p>And the Smart car is stupid. Just compare a real car to this weird little bit of automotive “I’m Green!” jewelry. Smartfortwo, 33mpg EPA city, carries two people, 0-60mpg in 15.5 seconds (that’s VW old Bug territory). Honda Fit, 28mpg EPA city, carries four real humans, 0-60 in 9.0 seconds (that’s modern real car territory). Car and Driver magazine reported a real 33mpg for the Fit during a 40,000 mile long-term test, and 32mpg for the Smartfortwo on a short-term test. EPA cargo volume for the Smart: 7.8 cubic feet (2 cubic feet more than a Miata). For the Fit, the number with the rear seats up is 21.3 cubic feet, and 41.9 with them folded.</p>

<p>According to the EPA, the Fit costs 1 cent per mile more than the Smart to operate. The car mags would say the mileage is a wash. I guess I would rather be Fit than smart.</p>

18

<p>But WashDad, I could still squeeze the smart into the garage.</p>

19

<p>

</p>

<p>Heh. I’ve been reading that one for 20 years.</p>

20

<p>

</p>

<p>You have a garage that’s too small for a Honda Fit? Does it say “Fisher Price” on the side?</p>