Recent Comments:
Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon hybrids get a price: $50,490 - $53,775 {Autoblog}
Nov 14th 2007 2:09PM How long has any manufacturer had a full size SUV hybrid? How many other manufacturers have hybrids that operate at highway speeds?
Gm is hitting its sweet spot in the market they dominate. They do trucks and body-on-frame SUVs better than enyone else. There is nothing on the market that comapres to this currently and certainly nothing from a decade ago.
Do you begin every post with a thoughtless platitude? "Shame GM is a decade late to the party."
2007 GMC Acadia revealed - UPDATED {Autoblog}
Jul 13th 2006 5:26PM #57 wrote:
"Why does the 2gr-fe engine make more power and torque than this? The Lexus RX350 has a junk exhaust system and still makes 270hp on 91 AKI fuel."
You answered your own question by including the 91 octane rating. This GM 3.6 makes 267 HP @ 6600 rpm and 247 lb/feet of torque @ 3200 ON REGULAR 87.
The Lexus engine you just touted makes 270 hp at 6200 rpm and 251 lb/feet of torque at 4700 rpm ON PREMIUM 91 (according to Edmunds.com).
After observing these stats, one must ask:
1- Why would anyone want an engine that uses premium fuel at an extra 40 cents a gallon to simply gain a paltry 3 more HP and 4 mpre lb/feet of torque.
2- Would you prefer an engine making max torque at 1200 less rpm (and likely having a flatter torque curve because of it), or an engine making 4 more lb/feet of torque at +1200 rpm?
3-Why does GM have a better engine than Lexus' 3.5?
Click and Clack tackle cost effectiveness of ethanol {Autoblog Green}
Jul 11th 2006 1:29AM LMFAO @ HOward.
Do you realize how much the US governemnt subsidises oil exploration for companies reporting profites in the SCORES of BILLIONS?
When you buy Gasoline, you have already given Big Oil a fat chunk of your taxes before being reamed at the pump. Please, take a long look at every energy bill passed by the senate since you were born my friend.
Heck, the subsidies for ethanol are paltry compared to the Oil subsidies in the 2005 and 2006 US energy budget. I don't disagree with this- Oil is a much larger piece of the US energy pie. However, don't you feel a little stupid subsidizing the oil companies from which you will eventually purchase gasoline at $3.65/gallon?
Do you think that exxon/mobil with $36,130,000,000 in profits should be subsidized by US taxpayers? Well, they were in 2005, and they have been since I was born in 1980.
But no, you're right. Why subsidize ethanol? I mean, how silly is that?
Algae tapped for biodiesel production by PetroSun {Autoblog Green}
Jul 10th 2006 12:45PM Howard... 100% basically doubles the base value.
30 times more Biodeieel is equal to 100%x30... or 3000%. You might want to refrain from pointing out other's mistakes until you thoroughly think about the comment.
I have always advocated algae for Biodiesel ever since reading articles about it in hte early 90s. Alas, the corn lobby is ever-growing in influence...
Yet more on the Corvette Blue Devil... or should we say Sting Ray? {Autoblog}
Jun 8th 2006 11:45AM To all of those touting the aftermarket, a Lamborghini Gallardo for +45K, and generally thinknig that this can be had for cheaper/better elsewhere...
The Sting Ray is going to weigh less than 3000 pounds. The aftermarket does not get you a magnesium roof frame or an all aluminum chassis. I'm sorry, but the only way that you cut more weight via the aftermarket is by GUTTING a base corvette. No A/C, reipped out seats, dashboard, door panels, power locks, stereo, everything. Even then... you still might not make it.
600+ hp, less than 3000 lbs. Do the friggen math people. If this thing can hold traction, what exactly can compete with those numbers from ANY factory anywhere in the world?
Toyota hybrid production could hit 1 million units within next decade {Autoblog}
May 27th 2006 3:57AM #2-
Mr. Karesh has been one of the most perspicacious and reasonable posters on this blog and many of the forums that I read as well. Thanks Mr. Karesh- and I will be joining your site as soon as I buy a new automobile.
You should really read his piece on the GM-BMW-DCX hybrid.
The hybrid system can work with a wide range of engines, from different manufacturers, which allows for application across multiple platforms and drivetrains. From BMW's I-6, to a 1.9 litre Turbo Diesel or a 5.3 Litre V-8 with AFM,this system fits squarely in the already designated automatic transmission location of most currently produced autos. It also grants the benefits of a CVT, effectively eliminating the need for developing both technologies.
Saturn announces pricing for 2007 Vue Green Line hybrid {Autoblog}
May 25th 2006 4:38PM Umm- No. K0an, you're data is hideousely flawed.
Firstly, the EPA rating of the VUE automatic is 22/27. The 23/29 rating is for the stripped MANUAL version of the car.
Secondly- it is far better to use the combined EPA rating since the true EPA ratings neglect wind resistance, and speeds over 55MPH. In most cases, the combined rating is FAR more accurate than going just by the highway rating- unless your region lacks any form of traffic, and street driving. Lucky you!
My math indicates that the combined rating of the standard automatic VUE is 24.5 MPG combined, versus 29.5 MPG combined for the hybrid. 5 MPG is a huge difference, making the VUE hybrid more than 20% more fuel efficient versus your butchered example.
Using your math;
20,000 miles / 24.5 * $3.20/gallon= $2,612.25 per year
20,000 miles / 29.5 * $3.20/gallon= $2,169.49 per year
Or, roughly a 442.76 price difference.
As for the price difference;the MSRP of the VUE with an automatic transimssion is $19,345, versus $22,995 for the hybrid model.
This is a 3,650 dollar difference.
Subtracting the $2,500 dollar tax break we find a more accurate price difference of $1,150 with a yearls savings of $442.76
It would take 2 years, 7 months, and twelve days to fully recoup the price difference for this Saturn... Which is by FAR the best option in the hybrid SUV market currently.
Cadillac Escalade leading charge as gas guzzlers flourishing despite fuel prices? {Autoblog}
May 18th 2006 5:14PM What is it about a GM SUV that somehow propogates discussion ranging from a US-China free market comparison to the illusory ideal of American freedom?
It's a God Damn SUV people.
And for those people touting hybrids as being a responsible answers to the global hydrocarbon imbalance
- the simple production and transportation of your Prius from Japan to the US consumes more hydrocarbons that most 3rd world people use in their lifetime. Are you sure you want to be casting stones?
And in recent news, many posters on autoblog.com are no longer contributing Methane gas to global warming. You see, their shit doesn't stink.
GM set to open Las Vegas "autotainment" park {Autoblog}
Apr 6th 2006 5:06PM Ok Leo...
I believe that people who want to "experience" a vanilla-auto such as the Camry, Accord, or Malibu can get an adequate understanding from a standard test-drive at the local dealership.
This "experience" by GM will completely differ from anything that a dealership can offer for performance and off-roading automobiles. It is also a viable alternative to a roller coaster ticket, which it would not be if provided with a Malibu or an Impala.
How the heck are they misleading the public? They have a huge event that is completely free, called the "Auto Show in Motion" by the way, that allows for a complete sampling of everything they make. This is still an attraction competing with roller coasters at New York New York, MGM Grand, Circus Circus etc. You make it seem like this is some kind of fraud manipulating the public. At least GM has a healthy stable of performance vehicles. If toyota did this, what would you want to drive?
GM's GMAC sale: home run or pop fly? {Autoblog}
Apr 6th 2006 3:37PM #6 said: "It made $2.5 billion last year, for crying out loud. Sure you get $14 billion up front, but thinking future (something GM's incapable doing), you're looking at making that amount in 6+ years."
By still owning 49% of GMAC, your numbers are rather off. GM will still be making money from GMAC, just not as much. 10 billion up front this year, and an additional 2 billion each year for the next two years is FAR superior cosidering GM's current situation.
They need to invest in product and pay for restructuring NOW, not spread it over 10 years.
GMAC was a crutch which allowed GM to make subpar vehicles. GM's auto production had a profitability cushion provided by GMAC (And large SUVs). Now, GM appears to finally be playing the "Car Making" game, and structuring the business to compete as such.
