GM hybrids get off to a slow start in first quarter

As shelly noted above, every new vehicle that's debuted comes out first with all the bells and whistles for those 'just-gotta-have-it-at-any-price' buyers. That part of the debut is good marketing and every maker does it.

In addition they do have a 'shakeout' period that's required. Normally one would want loyal GM buyers to participate in this initial period because if there are any issues then it's easy to get in touch with the new owners and these might be more amenable to working with the manufacturer to get any issues resolved. When the Prius first was introduced in 2000 the first owners had to apply to Toyota to be qualified to buy the vehicle. Toyota only wanted a particularly innovative group as as the first drivers, they were named the 'Pioneers'.

Now how quickly GM expands the technology to the other models is a good question. Apparently it's already scheduled for the Silverado/Sierra ( a natural extention ) the Vue and the Malibu/Aura. I'm guessing 2+ years.

 

why would I buy a hybrid Tahoe for $50,000 +

I could buy both a Prius and a regular SUV (for the one or two times a year that I would need it) and still save $$$ and Gas.

 

It's intended for the GM loyalist that 'normally' spends $45000 - $65000 on a vehicle...something like a Land Cruiser buyer at Toyota. The price is not the key issue. The new technology is.

These are intended only for a limited clientele initially. Negotiators, bare bones type buyers, the budget conscious need not apply ... at least at first. At some time down the road there should be a $39000 T2M and a $41000 T2M and a $45000 T2M, etc.

The natural progression of this technology is toward the lambda crossovers. The big BOF vehicles may soon die off like the dinosaurs but the crossovers are the vehicles of the future. Adding the 2-Mode to say a Buick Enclave would jump that vehicle immediately into the range of the Highlander Hybrid, except that the Enclave is bigger and arguably nicer.

It's pretty easy to determine what would be 'the effect' of adding hybrid technology to just about any vehicle, assuming it's physically possible.
Take the gasser EPA values...
...Add 50-60% to the City EPA value
...Add 10% to the Highway EPA value
Voila' the new hybrid values.

 

So after Toyota makes the swan fly more efficiently, GM puts a pig on roller skates to impress....exactly who?

 

Not us who don't need that type of vehicle. But that's one reason that a lot of us are Toyota and Honda buyers to begin with.

But it's a huge market. There are people who believe that they can't live or simply don't want to live without an SUV. It's 100's of thousands of buyers annually and there's money to be made there. That's the reason that Toyota is expanding into the big trucks. Money, dinero, cold hard cash, profits. It is afterall just a business and the bottom line is what matters most in business.

But as I noted just above, this technology is really most useful for their lambda lineup of crossovers. The 2-Mode will be every bit as competitive as the HSD in the Highlander and RX400h, assuming of course that there are no issues with the rollout in the T2M and Y2M.

 

"Hybrids are certainly not the answer...It's gonna cost more money than the traditional Tahoe, and in turn, you may get two miles more per gallon," Elliott says, comparing hybrids to Flex-Fuel vehicles.


That's why this Chevy dealer doesn't offer any hybrids, and either do most dealerships in the area.


One conclusion many car salesmen came to for the lack of hybrid sales in East Texas?


"Most of us cowboys and such want the V8 engine," Lancaster jokes.
When gas prices hit what many predict could be six dollars a gallon in a couple years, maybe there will be more Country-Western songs about 4-cylinders.

Hybrids: Relevant in East Texas? | KETK NBC 56 - News, Weather, and Sports - Jacksonville - Tyler - Longview, Texas | KETK 56 News

 

Thats one of the funniest things I've ever read on PC ound:

Rob

 

I don't necessarily disagree. Of course if you convince the dude commuting in a Tahoe that a Prius would do just as good a job hauling his butt around he'd save 612 gallons of fuel instead of 222 with the 2-mode. Thats my biggest problem with the whole thing. Its one more reason for people to keep driving their big nice person trucks and believe they are good red blooded patriotic Americans with strong Christian values.:usa2:


My mother-in-law commutes 60 miles a day in a Tahoe, because my good red blooded American with strong christian values father-in-law tows a boat once or twice a year, so I guess this probably hits a little too close to home for me. His latest talk radio inspired idea is it should be illegal for people to run their car air conditioners when the outside temp is below 78 deg F, because of the gas it wastes :Cry:

Rob

 

Not this year. That was the 'two bucks or less per gallon' scenario.

 

Let's ask Malorn why SUV nuts aren't coming out of the woodwork for these land barges !
Heck, I'll bet he owns TWO of 'em ... what's $50,000 + as a base price to a GM dealer, when you sell such a HUGE quantity of guzzlers movin' ... after all he DOES believe fuel/gas costs are coming down