Escalade hybrid to start at $71,685: Cadillac says more hybrids on the way

[rfruth]

FWIW the celebs will love this (Paris Hilton)

[FL_Prius_Driver]

Originally Posted by joe1347

.......possibly using a Cadillac Escalade to help GM play catch up with Toyota may in fact be a well thought out strategy.

Yet all indications are that it is a reaction to being clobbered.

Originally Posted by joe1347

Then again, the Prius has been out for around 10 years and only a company managed by complete idiots (GM) would be incapable of manufacturing a 45+ mpg car comparable to the Prius.

It hard to overlook basic facts.

[cwerdna]

Here's another article:
Cadillac has high hopes for Escalade Hybrid: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

[galaxee]

i can think of about a billion better ways to spend $72k.

[jelloslug]

Originally Posted by joe1347

In GM's defense - not that they deserve it - incorporating hybrid technology initially on their premium priced vehicles may be a reasonable strategy for GM to develop the necessary technical knowledge on new hybrid powertrains - without losing money - prior to applying the new and 'advanced' hybrid technology on affordable high volume vehicles. By advanced, I'm implying 50mpg hybrid technology - not the hybrid technology currently used on the 32mpg hybrid Chevy Malibu. GM knows that they have to play catch up to Toyota (fast) with regards to advanced hybrid technology and given GM's dire financial condition, possibly using a Cadillac Escalade to help GM play catch up with Toyota may in fact be a well thought out strategy.

Then again, the Prius has been out for around 10 years and only a company managed by complete idiots (GM) would be incapable of manufacturing a 45+ mpg car comparable to the Prius.

In my past life as an electric motor engineer I worked directly with a Tier 1 GM supplier (and former division of GM) on hybrid drive development for one of the small GM cars. With the exception of one lead engineer (that man was a genius) the entire project was a cluster and the people in charge were certified morons. The scope was a power assist and very low speed all electric operation but the types of motors being used and their configuration in relation to the rest of the vehicle and with their control system was absurd from any kind of engineering standpoint. They insisted on "reinventing the wheel" rather than using the "correct" types of technology. Oh, this was only a few years ago at the most.

[jeffreykb]

...

[jeffreykb]

Is it called the "Stop Gap Edition"?

[nyty-nyt]

I wonder when the first big recall on these will happen.

[hill]

Originally Posted by Godiva

Are they nuts? What does a Lexus hybrid SUV go for? (450h?)

20 mpg? I guess if you can afford $70,000 for an SUV you can afford to fill the tank with gas no matter how much it costs per gallon.

(And I can't believe they didn't fire Rick Wagoner's a$$)

20mpg if you drive carefull. 19mpg and lower in real world
leave it to Wagoner & (k)Lutz to think the land barge is what the average shloemoe is looking for when the unimportant need to impress is priority.

Hooe yah, we're sure ready to trade our AWD 30mpg Lexus hybrid SUV in for a land barge that'll cost a Benjamin to top it off. The question now it how long before it meets the same fate as the Hummer.
.

[morpheusx]

Originally Posted by joe1347

In GM's defense - not that they deserve it - incorporating hybrid technology initially on their premium priced vehicles may be a reasonable strategy for GM to develop the necessary technical knowledge on new hybrid powertrains - without losing money - prior to applying the new and 'advanced' hybrid technology on affordable high volume vehicles. By advanced, I'm implying 50mpg hybrid technology - not the hybrid technology currently used on the 32mpg hybrid Chevy Malibu. GM knows that they have to play catch up to Toyota (fast) with regards to advanced hybrid technology and given GM's dire financial condition, possibly using a Cadillac Escalade to help GM play catch up with Toyota may in fact be a well thought out strategy.

Then again, the Prius has been out for around 10 years and only a company managed by complete idiots (GM) would be incapable of manufacturing a 45+ mpg car comparable to the Prius.

Or they could have accepted an offer from Toyota to share and license the HSD, but GM passed on it saying that their customers weren't interested.