How Have We Come to Such a Pass?

Bruzilla · Jun 18, 2012

I went to lunch today, and saw a new Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid (I know... the thought of the lunacy of such a vehicle boggles the mind). I knew it was a hybrid because it had a special shadow effect tape package running the length of both side doors that proudly identified, using about 6" tall letters, that this Tahoe is a H Y B R I D.

I couldn't help but think of when tape packages were all about showing off how ballsy your car was. I thought of the 340 hood decals on the Dusters, the stripes on the 73/74 Roadrunners, the hockey stick stripes and numbers on the 'Cudas, and here was someone paying a premium to proudly inform the world they are driving a H Y B R I D. How very sad it is to think we've reached a point where graphics are no longer meant to send a message of "I'm gonna blow your friggin' doors off!" but instead say "I selected this hybrid vehicle because after I make the grossly-inflated payment on it, I can barely afford to put gas in it and I need to save every dime I can".

I don't know who they are out to impress, but it sure wasn't the guy getting out of the Roadrunner.

MoparMikey · Jun 18, 2012

I guess you havn't kept up with new cars/trucks. This one has it's full 332 rear wheel horsepower for towing etc but will knock down 23 mpg. The regular Tahoe gets about 15mpg with it's regular 332 hp engine. So for some one with enough green stuff they can enjoy higher fuel economy without sacrificing towing etc. I wish someong would re-issue a hybrid pick up, I enjoy paying out less each month to the gasoline companies.

steersdad · Jun 18, 2012

tape

Bruzilla said:
I went to lunch today, and saw a new Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid (I know... the thought of the lunacy of such a vehicle boggles the mind). I knew it was a hybrid because it had a special shadow effect tape package running the length of both side doors that proudly identified, using about 6" tall letters, that this Tahoe is a H Y B R I D.

I couldn't help but think of when tape packages were all about showing off how ballsy your car was. I thought of the 340 hood decals on the Dusters, the stripes on the 73/74 Roadrunners, the hockey stick stripes and numbers on the 'Cudas, and here was someone paying a premium to proudly inform the world they are driving a H Y B R I D. How very sad it is to think we've reached a point where graphics are no longer meant to send a message of "I'm gonna blow your friggin' doors off!" but instead say "I selected this hybrid vehicle because after I make the grossly-inflated payment on it, I can barely afford to put gas in it and I need to save every dime I can".

I don't know who they are out to impress, but it sure wasn't the guy getting out of the Roadrunner.

It says HYBRID because Pretentious Poof-Bag took too many letters.

b-star69 · Jun 18, 2012

steersdad said:
it says hybrid because pretentious poof-bag took too many letters.

amen brother !

alleyoopmgv · Jun 18, 2012

:grin:

Donny · Jun 18, 2012

The Tahoe Hybrid is a fantastic vehicle, a bit expensive, but, it gets better mileage in the city than the highway!

Meep-Meep · Jun 19, 2012

I'm not sure of the cost difference between a regular Tahoe vs. the hybrid, but I bet it takes a while to get back all that gas money he just paid for in advance. That is unless they drive it a lot.

70rr-brian · Jun 19, 2012

Meep-Meep said:
I'm not sure of the cost difference between a regular Tahoe vs. the hybrid, but I bet it takes a while to get back all that gas money he just paid for in advance. That is unless they drive it a lot.

And if you drive it a lot then your batteries that make it so special to the green freaks (require more carbon output to make the batteries than it saves) will die at around 100k miles and there is a nice $10000 expense to replace and so the cycle begins all over again.

Figure out how to make hydrogen powered cars and use nuclear to make the hydrogen or just f$%k off already.

Bruzilla · Jun 19, 2012

MoparMikey said:
I guess you havn't kept up with new cars/trucks. This one has it's full 332 rear wheel horsepower for towing etc but will knock down 23 mpg. The regular Tahoe gets about 15mpg with it's regular 332 hp engine. So for some one with enough green stuff they can enjoy higher fuel economy without sacrificing towing etc. I wish someong would re-issue a hybrid pick up, I enjoy paying out less each month to the gasoline companies.

That's not my point. My point is the use of hi-vis graphics to loudly pronounce to the world "I get better mileage".

Also, hybrids are only really useful in stop and go traffic (city) where you use the brakes a lot, which is where the energy for recharging the battery comes from. I don't see a lot of folks towing stuff through cities. That's more of an open road activity, and without repeated braking the toll on a hybrid's towing mileage drops more than advertised.

The other issue down here is AC. When I worked for Ford we were getting briefed in on the Escape Hybrid, and they told us how great the mileage was unless you use the AC a lot, which consumes so much power that little inefficient engine runs almost all the time and the mileage drops like a rock. They said this wasn't a big deal because people only use their AC a lot about three months out of the year. We had to explain to him that here in FL it's more like 10 months out of the year.

Needless to say we didn't sell many of these and most of them went south to Miami and Ft. Lauderdale where the cab companies use them because driving them full time in the city keeps the batteries charged.

Bruzilla · Jun 19, 2012

70rr-brian said:
And if you drive it a lot then your batteries that make it so special to the green freaks (require more carbon output to make the batteries than it saves) will die at around 100k miles and there is a nice $10000 expense to replace and so the cycle begins all over again.

Figure out how to make hydrogen powered cars and use nuclear to make the hydrogen or just f$%k off already.

The other problem is that battery efficiency for any rechargeable battery starts dropping from the first time it's used. While the batteries will die and need replacing at some point, they are losing efficiency every day and are slowly decreasing the available mileage throughout the lifespan of the battery set.

Meep-Meep · Jun 19, 2012

70rr-brian said:
And if you drive it a lot then your batteries that make it so special to the green freaks (require more carbon output to make the batteries than it saves) will die at around 100k miles and there is a nice $10000 expense to replace and so the cycle begins all over again.

Figure out how to make hydrogen powered cars and use nuclear to make the hydrogen or just f$%k off already.

That's true. Batteries are not the magic cure all!

Meep-Meep · Jun 19, 2012

I had a discussion with an engineer about batteries and wall transformers. He had an old car stereo that he wanted to use as a garage radio, but it required constant power to keep the memory, and his solution was to use batteries because the transformer was such a "wall wart". He didn't like the idea of that little inefficient 12V transformer hanging there with something like a 500 mA draw when the radio was off. I said it's nothing and just let it be but he said rechargeable batteries were the answer. I asked how do you recharge the batteries? The conversation escalated about various forms of energy production and my conclusion always came back to good 'ol refined crude or natural gas - hence my signature.

Perhaps the next version of car graphics will say something like "magical mystical battery power" implying that they are recharged by the good fairy while you are sleeping. We live in a twisted reality.

furyfrank · Jun 19, 2012

The other thing about hybrids is when they are in a accident some fire departments are afraid of the batteries giving someone a shock and a friend of mine a bodyman told me that they can be dangerous when welding on a car if you don't disconnect them.

Meep-Meep · Jun 19, 2012

The bottom line is: Storage batteries are a convenience item. There are losses everywhere, and if you follow the physics, it very well may suggest that manufacturing a battery requires some form of energy produced by a coal or gas burning power plant in China. Same with solar panels. However, in my life time, the gasoline engine efficiency has improved to the point of my 2012 Dodge 1500 getting an average of 16 MPG vs. my old 66 F250 that gets 11 MPG, and I'm thinking with no gov't subsidies like the hybrids get. Natural gas may be the next good thing, and I can see future conversions on older cars too! I'm a big Neil Young fan, but I'd like him a little better if he were to dump the batteries in his LincVolt and go natural gas! Long may you run!

Bruzilla · Jun 20, 2012

furyfrank said:
The other thing about hybrids is when they are in a accident some fire departments are afraid of the batteries giving someone a shock and a friend of mine a bodyman told me that they can be dangerous when welding on a car if you don't disconnect them.

There's a whole host of dangers stemming from hybrid accidents. Shock is an issue as a short during an evacuation process can really zap a rescuer due to the high discharge rates of the batteries. There is also a risk of chemical burns and fire that go well beyond what happens with a gas-powered car.

How Have We Come to Such a Pass?

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