AutoblogGreen

I hate to say it, but here it goes: I think what we need to remember is that there is a certain aspect of our society that rests on the difference between those with and those without. The haves and the have nots. The have nots will always emulate the haves, but only to the extent that it is possible. So perhaps it is a good thing when the haves drive "hybrids" if it trickles down to the have nots driving prii.

I would love this to be the case, but I think because we can expect the famous and rich to stop driving wasteful pieces of junk, we need to make it so that there is no ruling class of famous and rich.

But then I'm just going to rant on!

------
Benjamin Jones
http://www.ecomodder.com

Reply

To be fair at 8.7 tons of CO2 per year it is likely better for the environment however marginally it is. Compare this with s500/750li with less power at 11.4/10.2 tons respectively, and more comparable s600/760li at 13.4/12.2 tons, and it begins to make a little more sense. Yes it's only marginally better in some cases, but any improvement is better than no improvement. Of course if they went with a prius they'll half that at 4.0 tons, but what can you do.

Reply

This is the same reason i can't bring myself to buy any toyota product. The prius could be better, it could be a plugin, or could get better mileage than some european vehicles, but it doesn't. And as for all other toyota products, the only one that actually does what it needs to is the Landcruiser. The suspension in the rest of them is terrible. And apart from that they're all beige. Totyota = beige.

Reply

In theory, Luxury could be "green" if it meant buying high quality, efficient, reliable and durable goods, and buying only to meet needs and basic wants.

Unfortunately, far too often, "Luxury" means conspicuous consumption far in excess of need or even wants, and extravagant waste as a way of showing off wealth. That is definately not "green".

Lexus certainly has the "well made, durable and reliable" part down, and is working on "efficient". Unfortunately, Lexus also has some "extravagantly wasteful conspicuous consumption" to sell.

Reply

Craig,

I agree with you, furthermore the antics of the Auto Alliance (of which Toy is a member) during the recent USA Energy Bill really shows just how green they aren't. Honda seems to be one of the few that are not part of the Auto Alliance that take the green thing seriously. With the exception of the Accord Hybrid of course.

Reply

Why do people think that the Lexus hybrids are any different from the Toyota ones? The hybrids that brought extra horsepower to the table were the ones by Honda (i.e. the Honda Accord Hybrid).

The Lexus RX400h and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid get pretty much EXACTLY the same fuel economy.

Reply

I'd like to see more cars that are small, fuel efficient yet with nice interiors. As evident in the "Acura RL is a failure without a V8" threads there is an assumption that anyone who wants a luxury interior also wants a massive engine.

So what's the nicest interior in a car with a 4 cylinder? Or nicest interior in a car that gets 25mpg?

Reply

Lexus hybrids offer

BETTER MPG
CLEANER EMISSIONS
MORE POWER

They may not all work as perfectly as planned. (The GS450h seems to strike a much better balance than the LS600h. The new RX350 engine is as powerful as the hybrid.) But this is still a new technology. If Luddites like Mr Blanco want Lexus to just go about with business as usual, they could put luxo-barges out there like some competitors and get 12 mpg whie spewing dirt exhaust.

The rich are going to conspicuously consume. Thats what they do. I save my complaining about wealth inequity and championing class warfare for political sites. For here, as long as the rich are going to spend $60-100,000 on a car, let them at least purchase something that is a little less damaging to the world that I also inhabit with them.

Reply

These comments do nothing to displel the feeling amoung many that the green movement is back door socialism.

Reply

To 78towncar : I'm fully agree that a lot of "greens" are a sort of neo-socialists\communists. Usually their ideology is to dictate others what to do.

To Marc: Not only you are fully right, but let me quote the article
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/11/09/la-2007-preview-cadillac-escalade-hybrid-all-the-details/
The Escalade does keep the electronic brake system that provides for blending of regenerative and friction braking to help maximize efficiency and, like it's counterparts, should achieve a fifty percent improvement in urban fuel efficiency which would put it at about 18 mpg. It's no Prius but for those who insist on driving such a behemoth, 12,000 miles of driving will save over 330 gallons of gasoline per year.

End-of-quote.

So, in my opinion even the Prius ( which I admire ) isn't "green". Using Prius instead of Corolla saves at best 200 gallons of gas per year. But using "hybrid behemots" instead of "just behemots" saves much more. It worths nothing that for owners of such "behemots" the money doesn't matter - it IS important, that less and less USD ( or Yen or EUROs ) will get their way to Persian Gulf.

So I'm happy with every hybrid sold - even the 18 MPG one...

Reply