Hybrid Esclade comming fall 07

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060201/FREE/60201002/1041

They are saying it could get close to 30 Mpg.
They say they are getting 25% better gas milage Is it me but that dosent seem that big.
I guess every litile bit helps.

Power Stroke?

Ok for a "test" Just to see how good I could do.
This moring on my way in to the office I wanted to see what kind of MPG I could get. I jumped on 280 at woodside road headed towards SF and reset my MPG gauge. Going up 280 at around 65 mph The MPG droped to around 12 mpg and as I got going the MPG just kept going up. I took this picture just as I was getting off the freeway at Airport blvd in SSF. It Read's 23.5 MPG. Yes it is some what inflated because the last 2 miles of my trip we some what down hill. But you can get 21.Mpg with out to much trouble

Grant, those MPG guages are terribly inaccurate.

If you want good mileage, drive 55 mph. It's the efficiency sweet spot, where you are maxmizing the speed / drag ratio. I don't have any actual experience with this, but it's why the speed limits were dropped to 55 during the oil crisis in the '70s.

I think the 55mph thing was before most cars had overdrive transmissions. But I really don't know either.

And I agree that the MPG gauges are inaccurate.

im actually pretty suprised how good the mileage in my denali is! cruising at like 65mph i can get 20-21 but up at 75-80mph it goes down to like 16

yeah but 25% less money having to spent on gas is awesome

While an overdrive gear and a more aerodynamic car may increase the actual ideal speed a bit, it doesn't change physics. Fuel economy is directly related to air drag force, which increases by the square of the velocity. Go faster = burn more fuel to overcome drag.

Trace, And I thought I was the computer nerd....

Backing a Hybrid into the water(even slightly) to launch.... NO THANKS!

One question would be how much more the Hybrid model will be over the normal model. I have read that the extra upfront cost of a typical Hybrid does not equal to the savings in fuel - just curious.

Hybrids are junk! Anyone know where the nickel for the batteries comes from, and worse, where does it end up after 100,000 miles?



Stupid tree huggers! I don't mean you guys... you are just trying to save fuel. I assume G is not trying to make an eco statement like a lot of people that buy hybrids are.

http://www.hybridcars.com/environment-stories/hybrid-battery-toxicity.html

Do this: fill it up before trip and fill after trip. Then figure your "actual" mpg. I doubt you can get 21 driving normaly. Babying it maybe, but that's not the way you normaly drive, Im pretty sure.

Why are you even thinking about MPG... last time I checked you live in a lakefront mansion, and you are also probably a slum lord! LOL

David, you ARE a computer nerd. I'm a physics nerd. ;)

Sparky: Yes I bet If I filled and checked and then re-filled at the end of the tank I would not be getting 23.5 mpg. The sticker says 19 Hwy and I forgot city? I think 14mpg . I bet thoes #'s are pretty real. So if you drive the whole tank on the freeway then yes your gonna have some where between 17-21 mpg if you throw in some city driving and or your heavy on the throttle they your milage is gonna go down.

Im not saying that I baby it 100% of the time. Its just nice to know that IF you wantend to you could stretch out your MPG. Im not saying I drive like this all the time.

Ever since I got the new rig I have had a change in driving. The whine of my last supercharged F-150 and the pull that it had sorta tempted you to drive it a bit faster harder. And the best MPG I could get from that on the freeway was 14.5 mpg. When I got the EXT I thought my MPG was gonna be worse or the same as my Supercharged F-150. I know my EXT weighs more and its AWD ect. Im not trying to be a tree hugger or anything its just cool IMO if you can sorta get by or get over on the oil companys by driving cars that get better milage. I say this as a hypocritcal Esclade owner. But I see the Pryus owners and they are doing the same thing as me Driving down the road and they are getting more than doubble the milage than me using less gas. I sorta feel guilty using twice as much gas doing the same thing. I know you cant tow with a Pryus but when I feel guilty its when Im not towning or using the rig the way its intended. I have this big old 4 door driving 1 person. Is that being a tree hugger?
Atilla: Save money on gas and buy your lake front mansion. Anyone who says the price of gas dosent matter is false IMO. My EXT cost almost $100 to fill. The boat is pretty close to that.

Attila, you need to read your own article.

"More than 40,000 metric tons of lead are lost to landfills every year. According to the federal Toxic Release Inventory, another 70,000 metric tons are released in the lead mining and manufacturing process."

So in essence a regular lead acid battery is more toxic, then either of the Prius batteries. Toyota does not require very much nickel to build the Prius batteries either. Most of the nickel goes to "Other" battery manufacturers for things like digital cameras etc.

"Toyota and Honda place decals with a toll-free number on their hybrid battery packs. Toyota offers a $200 bounty to ensure that every battery comes back to the company. In a press release, Toyota states, "Every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case and the wiring, is recycled."

So where is the environmental damage there? Toyota has included into the purchase price of the vehicle a $200 buy back. That is pretty cool in my book. No other car manufacturer is doing that for any type of recycling.

"Stupid tree huggers!"

Thanks for calling me names...

Bob, I did the return on investment, for my Prius, and it worked out in my favor, but I drive a lot. The fuel savings are enough to more than offset the additional cost. The vehicle is also very high tech with lots of nice features. Since I commute all over the Bay Area it also allows me to drive solo in the carpool lane. That is worth up to a 1/2 hour per day of my time.

At an average speed of 55, my vehicle will get over 57 mpg. At 73 mph it get 47 mpg. See a direct correlation to speed?

Grant, thanks for thinking and caring about the environment. If more people just did the little things to help, the world would be a better place. For instance the recycle bin at your house should be fuller than the garbage can.

Im sure Attila was just joking. He wasent calling you names. I dont think he knows you drive a Pryus. Good point about the garbage vs the recycle bin. Come to think about it I dont have a re cycle bin or re cycle, but Im gonna change that as of now. Your totaly correct. If we all just do a little bit I.E save gas and re cycle im sure it makes a differance in the big picture. I have been meaning to start re-cycling but never challanged myself. And what does it cost you? a few extra seconds by thorwing it in the right container? It cost you nothing in fact it saves you my garbage pick up just went up in cost. If I recycled I bet I could drop down to a smaller garbage can. Not like the extra $5 makes a big deal I guess its just the waste that rubs me wrong. I guess its just a change in the way you do things. Im used to throwing everything in one trash bag and people are used to driving 75 mph ect. Whats it cost you to slow down just a bit only a few min's. Your wallet at the pump will thank you. Peter thanks for the challange.

Trace: Too funny!!!

Every time I reset my MPG guage I try to take it easy and see how good of gas mileage I can get... Coasting down hills, babying it uphills, holding steady speeds, etc...

That lasts for about 5 minutes, then it's back to WFO. Something about that turbo whistle that gets me every time. LOL!!!

Motorcycles, now that's where it's at. Performance and mileage.

Seriously though, I'm wondering how this whole hybrid thing will play out in the long run. What'll happen to these cars after they're out of warranty and with their second or third owners. What will the batteries cost to replace and will the operating systems hold up long term. I think the hybrid idea is a good one provided they go the distance. Doesn't the new Lexus hybrid have 350 hp? Pretty impressive.

Peter C... Toyota pays 200 bones for you to sell them back the used batteries, but they don't recycle the batteries!!! Toyota is not in the business of recycling batteries my friend. They turn around and pay “recycling” companies to get rid of the used batteries.
Since it is extremely costly to properly dispose of these batteries, these less than noble companies load them onto cargo ships headed for African landfills. They wash their hads clean like Pilatus. LOL This is pretty much common knowledge people!

I am all for conserving resources, turning the lights off, keeping the thermostat at a reasonable temp, selective cutting, yada yada yada... I just think the Prius plays on people’s softer side and exploits them in the form of auto sales.

My wife drives an 06 civic EPA 30/40 and no crappy performance / high pollution trade off and all without the price premium of a hybrid.

There was recently a 30 min TV program that claimed that driving a prius for 200,000 miles produces about the same amount of pollution as a Hummer H2 once you consider the battery making/smelter/recycling process!!! The only difference is that the air pollution isn’t restricted to the town you are driving the prius in… so keep on thinking you are saving the work with your prius my friend and I will say, check out the chump in the clown car!

Grant, I wish I knew you were selling that HD F150, I love those things and I want a matching 2003 HD road king classic!!!

Attila that is the best post I have read in a long time ... my son and I did a school report a few years back on recycling and the trade offs of taking it to the landfill once and burying it or carting it all over the country then melting it down and then making raw material then transporting it and the engery involved in recycling it ....you get the picture..The only guys benefiting were the recyclers huge huge profits.

Thanks Joe... I am only going to run 1800lbs of ballast in my boat this year instead of the normal 2500 in an effort to save the world. I am also going to recycle every single can of beer we consume on the boat from now on!

30mpg sounds not to bad for a big car like that. But it's not really economical either in Europe... Large cars overhere with Petrol or propane engines uses that. The normal cars have a rate of 36-38mpg. Small cars like the mini and other Italien or French cars drive easily 50mpg (also when driving 100mph+ in Germany). The Prius is not a real economical car in Europe. But it works in the US...
It starts with the small things, I drive a propane car without any trouble for years. It's clean, it's cheap (about 2,5x or 3x less expensive then petrol) and it's easy... So why not then if it also helps to polute the environment a little less. We also converted our boat to propane this year. True, it's an $1500,- investement. But propane prices are 2,5-3 times lower the petrol and it polutes the environment less then petrol. It starts with the small things, without changing our lives to much. And see what happens from there on..

I'm not a treehugher btw....

This car runs on a normal road under normal conditions more then 270mpg with only a diesel engine... That is fuel efficient IMHO... But it's ugly as hell

/\ /\ it is a VW. The turbo diesel engine they use for the jettas and gulfs get 42 MPG around town!!! I was looking to find one here in CA but they have a bunch of legistation in CA to make them hard to find and you can only buy one used. The refined VW turbo diesel for 2008 should be legal to sell new in CA next year. Not 270 MPG but diesel can pump out the MPG

This is also a VW that's turbo and has good aerodynamics but it's gas milage is not as good.

Art: Thats eco friendly it gets rid of that evil gas that we all love so much.
I will quote my brother about the Veron.
" I love that car because it basicly is so crazy it falls apart at top speed. At full throttle it will run out of a full tank of gas in like 12 min's and even if you had a larger fuel tank you cant drive at top speed for long because the tires will over heet and blow up.
That car awesome.