alt.energy.renewable

On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:38:58 -0400, "daestrom"
wrote:

>
>"Blattus Slafaly 0/00 ? ? ?" wrote in
>message news:47e50261$0$30524$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>> What a piece of crap. Is this the best American can do for the
>> environment? It's pathetic. This hybrid gets 20mpg where the regular one
>> gets 16mpg.


>This is one of those things that is just sooooo stupid.

Yup. Well, unless one really needs a heavy truck for towing and/or
hauling and wants to use the least fuel...

> GM figures it won't
>sell SUV's (their highest profit margin vehicles) unless they run a lot of
>'macho ads' about how 'tough' they are.

Unfortunately, they're right. Check out some vehicle forums. Posters
are always complaining about how engines need more power. And most
customers seem oblivious to the affect of weight. Plus they don't seem
to realize how heavy their vehicles have become either. :-)

> But they want to appease the green party

Not really, they just want to stay in business.

> so they come up with a 'hybrid SUV'. Now if that isn't the
>*stupidest* direction to go, I don't know what is.

Toyota has been building a hybrid SUV (Highlander) since '06.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Highlander. It seems that the
extra cost of a hybrid is sometimes easiest marketed in more expensive
(and heavy) vehicles. Expect to see more of them. BTW, check out the
increase in the Highlander's horsepower over the years. That evolution
is typical, especially in the US.

>What's wrong with marketing a 'geeky' car that gets +50mpg?

Nothing, if the company is only interested in a portion of the market.

> Just start
>telling folks it's what the rich people drive and the 'po white trash' will
>stop wanting a 'Bubba Trucks' to drive to the kid's soccer game.

It's working a bit like that with the Prius. But the strategy has
limits. For example, lots of wealthy people drive Subaru Outbacks,
which are more macho than a Prius. Yet Outbacks are frequently
described as "gay".

>Oh well...

That's my thought on a lot of things. But lets put the blame where it
belongs - on the public. For example, 15 years ago the healthcare
industry used boogeyman tactics to scare us off the notion of reform.
Considering what's happened to healthcare costs since then, one would
think we'd have learned something. Yet only 6 years ago very similar
tactics were used to dupe us into a laughably-stupid $3 trillion war
that's likely to guarantee that for decades money will keep flowing to
the military industry instead of healthcare and education reform.
Sure, the situation is causing a ruckus, but where's the impeachment?
The same constantly-wrong "leaders" appear on TV daily spouting ever
more ludicrous claims, because they don't really get taken to task in
any meaningful way. I'd like to see reporters walk out of the room en
masse every time any of these bozos answer direct questions with
bafflegab. Unless and until we demand to see things like that
happening, we have to face the facts - voters fall for BS even more
often than they go for the promise of cash from Nigerian princes.
We're getting the products, social structure, and government we
deserve. Oh, and a Yukon hybrid weighs nearly 3 tons. It probably only
gets 20 mpg going downhill or with a tailwind. :-)

Wayne