It looks like they're bashing the oversized weak hybrids, not the Prius.

20MPG 2-mode SUV vs. Smart?

"Cadillac"

I don't think they're bashing hybrids. I think they're trying to make fun of Smart cars and also point out the irony of hybrid full-size SUVs. At least, that's my perception of it.

Or maybe they're trying to point out what jerks SUV drivers can be. They buy SUVs that say "hybrid" on them just so they can run around the roads, bossing everyone around and acting like jerks, and thinking now they're better than everyone because their escalade XXL has the novelty "hybrid" emblem on it.

Hi All,

I had a smart car behind me last night, that had the Smart insignia removed, and replaced with the three-pointed Mercedes symbols. Kinda the reverse of this commic.

Yeah I think they are having a dig at the clowns that don't buy the 5 litre V8 non-sports utility vehicle (nothing sporty about them) which gets 13mpg but instead buys the 6.2 litre hybrid version of the same non-sports utility vehicle that achieves a remarkable 15mpg.

Or could it have been a Mercedes A Class?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mercedes-Benz_W169_20060311.jpg

PA P

I think this is a jab at the new Escalade Hybrid (and the other large SUV hybrids coming to market). The Escalade still gets abysmal mileage and is your standard large obnoxious (IMO) American SUV, but now the owners can sya they are doing their part by driving a Hybrid. The point being that it is not Hybrid technology will save the planet, but a completely different mind set that takes us away from the large truck mentality.

The caricature probably aims at the recently produced Chevy Tahoe Hybrid.
Also in 2009 GM has anounced the production of the full size pick-up Silverado Hybrid .

Instead of 12/19 mpg, the Tahoe Hybrid get 21/22

There's a Cadillac logo on the side. Clearly it's a dig at poseurs trumpeting their eco-consciousness.

Count how many times that SUV says "hybrid" on it, and notice that they even have a flag that says "hybrid" on it. Now reread the second paragraph of my previous comment.

Did you see my thread on the LA Auto Show? There are pictures of actual Lorinser and Brabus Smart cars.

I got tail-gated by a Prius yesterday. Some guy that had way too much caffeine and came flying out of the car-pool lane. (I have a feeling I only bought the Prius for the car-pool stickers)
He could probably care less about gasoline prices. The funniest part to me about it was that I had just read on PriusChat earlier that day that others had been tail-gated by a Prius.

I trust you mean "I have the feeling HE only bought...."

Yeah, that's what I meant.
I was typing on my iPhone and although the keyboard works fine, trying to type a whole paragraph into a text box on a forum page can be a little awkward. Sorry. I'm glad you figured it out. I'm waiting to see if I ever get tail-gated by a Smart car. That should be somewhat amusing. Of course, it makes perfect sense; it doesn't matter what kind of car a person is driving; if you're in a hurry, you're in a hurry.
Although, I've seen some pretty [stupid] people on motorcycles even tail-gate SUVs. :der:

I agree that the cartoon is definitely the mocking the very idea of "hybrid" SUVs, or people who feel any hybrid is automatically superior or "greener" than a non-hybrid, which couldn't be any more false.

Didn't, however, a hybrid SUV of sorts win "Green Car of the Year" last year, to much protest? I have the feeling that most people are thinking to themselves, "well, a hybrid SUV is still better than a non-hybrid SUV...if we HAVE to have SUVs..."

Hi PA..,

I do not think so. I have actually seen an A Class up close. Its reportedly the personal car of a European Physist that works out at Fermi-Lab. I saw it in a parking lot, and got up close and looked it all over. This car was definately much smaller.

Looking at the picture, the three-pointed star symbol on the front of the car that was behind me was about 3 inches in diameter and with narrow needles. Unlike the one on the front of the car in Wikipedia article (tapered needles with wide roots, and about 5 to 7 inches in diameter, and mounted low). I doubt I would have been able to see the A class three pointed star symbol through rear window of the Prius, at the distance this guy was following me. I saw the following car's three-pointed star centered in the lower glass window