Re: GM starts playing catch-up with hybrids

There are 3 type of hybrids. Full, and 2 others which I don't know what they call them. GM Silverado is the weakest type. I think it just turns the engine off at stop lights or something stupid like that. Toyota Prius is the best and I think Ford SUV Escape due out in a few months is the best type too. THe new Accord hybrid is the medium type I believe.

Turns engine off??? Weak? Huh? Its a "truck". I thought the question was on all wheel drive apps?

The terms FOUR wheel drive and ALL wheel drive are different and are starting to be thrown together when they shouldnt be. One is for off road use only (4 wheel) and one is for road use (all wheel). Bravada's were the earliest to use intelligent AWD where power to the other wheels were applied only when the rear wheels slip. Driving all the wheels at once constantly eats up tires and reduces fuel mileage.

IIRC the Prius has a difficult time getting better gas mileage than none hybrid cars unless you keep it under 60 on the highway.

Displacement > There are 3 type of hybrids. Full, and 2 others which I don't know what

It doesn't get much better mileage than non hybrids, period. Poor mileage is a BIG complaint about it - the only reason it's EPA numbers are so good is because the way the car operates tends to trick the EPA's methodology into putting out a better mileage number. In real life, 40

- 45 mpg is the reasonably expected best mileage. There were cars 20 years ago that could achive that.

And, the Prius is a dog in every way. It accelerates like crap, it's tiny, and it can't handle either. It the exact kind of car people rejected 10 years ago when they went to buy their urban assault vehicles.

The Accord Hybrid is interesting (it's an actual, if bland, car). But it's city mileage is 'only' 30mpg - not much better than a diesel.

Of course, if gas in the US wasn't such low octane, things woulds be better...

Chrysler's new "Hemi" shuts cylinders and some new Honda minivans do this year too. I use the quotes because it's not a true hemi (which wouldn't pass EPA these days). I think pent roof combustion chambers are supposed to be better anyway. *shrug*

Yeah so long as your paying for my gas. 93 octane is enough unless you got some dragster with 13:1 compression or something.

The Hemi's "way" over rated. The LS6 is way ahead of it in every aspect and it doesnt have 16 silly spark plugs. Much easier to work on too. People are going to start crapping their pants when they go in for maintenance with their new Hemi's and see the bill.

"Spark plugs with labor...160 DOLLARS?!?!?!?"

Remember, you don't get something for nothing. The only way to get better mileage is to improve efficiency. As I recall, the Honda's city mileage is better than its highway mileage, which makes sense, because in the city, you do a lot of braking, and when braking, the generators return some of the energy that would otherwise be dissipated as heat back into the batteries. On the highway, you don't do a lot of braking, so what is there to improve gas mileage?

I didn't think a hybrid drive did anything on level ground at a constant speed. It only helped when your speed or the grade changed a lot so there's some opportunities to put some charge on the battery. The latest Prius has a more aerodynamic profile to help highway mileage but I've no idea how much good it did. I always figure the car's cross section had more influence on highway mileage than anything else.

ron 94 SL1

The hybrid system allows the car to have the same performance with a smaller engine. On the highway the smaller engine runs with a wider throttle opening at any given road speed. This results in better volumetric efficiency for the engine and higher milage.