Green Car Advisor
Cadillac
November 20, 2009
BMW's announcement this week that its ActiveHybrid X6 crossover utility vehicle will carry a U.S. sticker price of nearly $90,000 was disappointing, but even more disappointing is the fact that the model isn't alone among hybrids priced well out of reach of most people.
Toyota offers a Lexus LS 600h L for $107,300. The 7-Series Hybrid from BMW will surely be a six-figure car when it becomes available this spring. The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid starts at $73,425. The list is frustratingly long.
Our hawk-eyed colleagues at Edmunds' AutoObserver.com picked up on the trend and wrote about it in a piece that's as well written as it is informative. We encourage you to use your turn signal, pull to the side of the road and give it a read.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (1)
- Scott Doggett November 20, 2009, 9:04 AM
- Categories:
- BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Lexus, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- BMW ActiveHybrid X6
, Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Lexus LS 600h, Toyota
November 10, 2009
The Cadillac Converj plug-in hybrid concept is on the way to becoming a real car, the Detroit News is reporting.
----------
GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz with the Cadillac Converj concept at the 2009 Detroit auto show.
----------
Citing unidentified insider sources, the newspaper says that General Motors sees the highly styled Caddy, which would use the same technology as the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in, as one way to help generate new excitement around a brand that has been losing sales all year.
The Converj concept debuted at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January to rave reviews from much of the automotive press and many show-goers.
Although GM officials, concerned at the time about the company's plummeting financial fortunes, later said they didn't plant to build the car, (a decision the automaker's bankruptcy, federal bailout and new recovery plan may well have changed) GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz remarked at the show that if the Converj were to be put into production, the retail model would closely resemble the concept.
He also said he saw a market opportunity for a Cadillac plug-in hybrid because it would be easier to pass on to luxury car buyers the cost of the expensive lithium-ion battery pack (estimated at $10,000 to $12,000 for the four-seat Volt, which will retail for more than $40,000 before federal tax credits).
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell November 10, 2009, 2:30 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, General Motors, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Converj Gets Production OK
, GM Approves Cadillac Converj
November 6, 2009
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Spurred by factory incentives, replenished stocks and the relative freshness of several models, sales of hybrid-electric cars and SUVs soared in October, easily outperforming the market as a whole.
Compared to October '08 - a month with six fewer hybrid models available - sales of Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Toyota hybrids were up 12.1 percent, while sales of conventionally powered cars and trucks were flat.
The one-month picture was even rosier, as October hybrid sales jumped 22.5 percent from September's, versus a 12.1 percent hike in sales of conventional models.
Nissan, which has only one model - the Altima hybrid, - and sells it in just the nine states with the toughest emissions standards, was the only hybrid maker to record a sales decline for both periods, dropping 46 percent from a year earlier and 13 percent from September.
As with most hybrids - Toyota's Prius excepted - Nissan's actual numbers are quite small because of low sales volumes. October's sales drop represented just 46 fewer Altima hybrid sales than in September.
Toyota's redesigned 2010 Prius, sweetened by a small factory incentive, remained by far the segment leader, accounting for 55 percent of all hybrid sales for the month.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell November 6, 2009, 1:18 PM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Hybrids
, October 2009 Hybrid Sales
October 21, 2009
Incentive spending by automakers is soaring as a continued weak buyer market has inventories, which shrunk during the Cash for Clunkers program, piling up again.
It's unusual to see hybrids on the list of heavily incentivized cars, but this week two gas-electric models, the 2009 Cadillac Escalade hybrid SUV and the 2010 Honda Insight hybrid sedan, have both landed on Edmunds.com's "Deals of the Month" list.
"There are finance and cash deals on several of GM's hybrids, largely because sales have been slow all year and the automaker is hoping to move the 2009 models off the lots before the 2010s start piling up," said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell.
"And the Insight just hasn't been moving very well, so the reduced lease they're offering is a good hook to pull people into Honda dealerships to look at them," she said.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell October 21, 2009, 10:57 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Honda, Hybrid
- Technorati Tags:
- Auto Incentives
, Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, Car Deals, Honda Insight Hybrid
October 2, 2009
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
The cash for clunkers frenzy that pulled many hybrid shoppers into the market earlier than they'd intended in July and August caused a big letdown in September as sales of gas-electric cars and trucks, which had been rising steadily all year, plunged 48.4 percent.
Only 19,977 hybrids were sold in September, down from 38,701 in August. The sales slide was the first in several months and was worse that that of the far larger conventional vehicle segment, which dropped by 40.9 percent from August.
Falling sales of the Toyota Prius - they were down 42 percent for the month - contributed heavily to the numeric decline although almost every hybrid model lost ground.
On a month over month basis there were no corporate winners in the hybrid segment as even Toyota - the industry leader with three out of every four hybrid sales - saw a 39.7 percent decline in its Toyota and Lexus hybrids.
And that was the segment's best performance.
Lots of Losers
Nissan, which has been on a tear with its single offering, the Altima hybrid sedan (helped by generous incentives in recent moths), saw its hybrid sales plunge 89.1 percent in September; Honda, the number two hybrid company, saw sales fall 61.6 percent; Ford, which had been rising since the March introduction of its Fusion hybrid sedan, was off 54.5 percent, and GM's hybrid sales fell by 40.8 percent.
Compared to sales at the end of the third-quarter last year- when the financial industry collapse began and the bottom fell out of the auto market, the picture was a little better as hybrid sales last month were down just 4.1 percent from September '08.
In contrast, conventional car sales fell 22.5 percent in the September-September comparison.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (1)
- John O'Dell October 2, 2009, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- September 2009 Hybrid Sales
, September Hybrid Sales
September 24, 2009
General Motors announced today that it will create a laboratory in Shanghai to contribute to technological innovation in a number of automotive-related fields for GM both domestically and on a worldwide basis.
The announcement came less than a month after GM disclosed that its sales in China in the first eight months of this year increased 49.6 percent on an annual basis to 1,111,401 vehicles.
The China Science Lab (pictured) will be the first major laboratory established by a global automaker in China. In a statement, GM said the lab's initial focus will be on research related to advanced propulsion technology and joining technology.
But the lab will also focus on battery cells, megacity safety research, advanced vehicle development, and light materials. It will engage in additional activities in accordance with market conditions and its own research capability as it ramps up.
The lab will also carry out collaborative work with universities and government-run scientific institutions across China. It is expected to employ up to 100 staff during its early stage of operation. No specifics were provided regarding the lab's scheduled construction and opening dates or its cost.
Kevin Wale, president and managing director of the GM China Group, said that through the lab, "we will leverage the country's outstanding research talent together with GM's extensive resources to come up with new innovations for the benefit of vehicle users around the globe."
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (2)
- Scott Doggett September 24, 2009, 12:56 PM
- Categories:
- Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, China, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Opel, Plug-ins and Electric, Saab
- Technorati Tags:
- Buick
, Cadillac, Chevrolet, China, Electric Vehicle, EV, General Motors, GM, Hybrid, Jiefang, Opel, Saab, Wuling
September 2, 2009
Nissan Altima hybrid was one of the stars of August, more than tripling sales for the month despite limited availability.
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
The federal Cash for Clunkers program may have been good for conventional cars in August, but monthly sales performance was a letdown for hybrids after an explosive July.
Oh, sales of gas-electric cars and SUVs were up last month - a 9.2 percent gain from July, but that pales by comparison to the 35 percent gain the segment recorded in July over June and doesn't stand up well, either, against the 26.6% August increase posted by conventionally powered vehicles (cars and trucks except hybrids).
Overall, however, August 2009 hybrid sales of 38,701 gas-electric cars, SUVS and pickups were up 48.6 percent from 26,044 in August '08 - a significant gain explained in large part by the addition of half a dozen new hybrid models, including the Honda Insight, Ford Fusion and Lexus HS250, that weren't available a year earlier.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell September 2, 2009, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- August 2009 Hybrid Sales
, Hybrid Sales, Hybrids
August 4, 2009
Toyota's Perennial Best-Seller Records 48% Sales Jump For Month; Honda Hybrids Flat
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
If Cash for Clunkers lit a fire under July's auto dales in the general market, it apparently set off a rocket booster under the hybrid market.
----------
It was blue skies for Toyota as its 2010 Prius rebounded in July.
-----------
Sales of gas-electric cars, SUVs and trucks were up an impressive 35 percent in July - for the month and from a year earlier. Almost all hybrid cars best the 22 mph minimum combined EPA mileage that qualifies a vehicle to be purchased using a cash for clunkers voucher. By comparison, sales of conventional new vehicles rose 15.4 percent for the month and were down 13 percent from July '08.
The explosive performance was led almost single-handedly by Toyota's 2010 Prius, which saw its first full month of sales with an adequate supply on hand at dealerships.
"I think hybrids are benefiting from the buzz of new models such as the 2010 Prius and Honda Insight and fresh models in segments other than compact car, as well as from Cash for Clunkers," said Edmunds.com industry analyst Jessica Caldwell.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell August 4, 2009, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- CarSales
, Hybrids, July 2009 Hybrid Sales
July 31, 2009
If C4C Comes Back, Tech Premium For Many Could Be Offset; Manufacturer Rebates Would Do Same
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Got a gas guzzler that would qualify under the cash for clunkers program for a federal credit toward a new, more efficient car or truck? (That's if we still have a cash for clunkers program when the dust settles from Thursday's reveation that the programs's initial funding apparently has run dry.)
The situation's up in the air right now, but if you are in the mood to keep doing research, or perhaps have had the car-buying impulse jump-started and have decided to take the plunge - clunker incentive or no - this is a good time to look at hybrids and diesels.
----------
2009 Camry Hybrid has lowest technology premium, $239.
----------
If Congress keeps cash for clunkers going, or automakers step up with bigger incentives of their own to keep the market moving, the credits - ranging in the C4C program from $3,500 to $4,500 depending on the fuel economy of the new car or truck - could help make a previously unaffordable hybrid or clean diesel a lot more compatible with your budget.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell July 31, 2009, 7:09 AM
- Categories:
- Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Diesel, Ford, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota, Volkswagen
- Technorati Tags:
- Cash For Clunkers
, Clean Diesels, Clunker Incentives, Clunker Rebates, Hybrids
June 3, 2009
Sales of hybrid cars and trucks outperformed the market in May, giving lie to the belief, popular among mainstream industry analysts and pundits, that Americans are only interested in the gas-electric vehicles when fuel prices are stratospheric.
----------
2009 Prius was top hybrid with best sales in 7 months.
----------
In a month when sales of non-hybrid vehicles rose 12.9 percent from the prior month, hybrid sales were up 18.2 percent. Incentives were applied liberally to hybrids and conventional vehicles alike during May, reducing the likelihood that cash-back offers or cheap interest rates unfairly boosted hybrid sales.
And while sales of both hybrids and conventional vehicles fell far short of matching year-earlier tallies, hybrid sales were off only 26.7 percent from May, 20008, compared to a 33.5 percent decline for non-hybrids.
At the same time, conventional small car sales fell short of overall market performance, indicating that shoppers had more than just fuel economy on their minds. The hybrid market may be benefiting from increased concern that fuel prices, which have been below $3 a gallon for nearly a year after approaching the $4-per-gallon mark last summer, are on the rise again and may be heading for new highs.
In all, dealers sold 25,693 hybrids last month, up from 21,735 in April but down from 35,042 in May 2008.
With the exception of Toyota's Camry hybrid, the top-selling Prius - which continues to dominate the U.S. hybrid market - and Honda's Civic hybrid, sales of individual models are low enough that it doesn't take much to cause a large jump in percent of increase or decline.
That said, Ford's new Fusion sedan hybrid scored an impressive 75 percent gain from April while sales of the Ford Escape SUV hybrid were up 62.2 percent for the same period.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (1)
- John O'Dell June 3, 2009, 5:00 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo
- Technorati Tags:
- Hybrid Sales
, May Hybrid Sales
May 4, 2009
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Hybrid sales in the U.S. rose in April for the fourth consecutive month and posted the highest monthly volume since October 2008.
----------
Honda's 2010 Insight was one of the bright spots in the U.S. hybrid market in April.
----------
The bump illustrates the influence that novelty and price still have on the market: Honda's new Insight, Ford's new Fusion and a heavily incentivized Honda Civic hybrid overcame slumping sales of many other gas-electric models to account for the gain.
But in a month when car and light truck sales overall still fell well below the one-million mark, the performance of the hybrid segment wasn't much to get excited about.
The month-over-month increase wasn't strong enough, for example, to put April's hybrid sales in contention with April 2008, when gasoline prices averaged above $3.50 a gallon, car buyers were scouring the market for fuel-efficient models and recession hadn't begun wreaking havoc with the economy.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (1)
- John O'Dell May 4, 2009, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- 2010 Honda Insight
, April 2009 Hybrid Sales, Hybrids, Toyota Prius
April 28, 2009
Saturn Vue 2-Mode Hybrid, due this year, and plug-in Vue due in 2011 now appear dead.
GM says it will kill Saturn to help make some of its financial woes go away, and we expect the beleaguered automaker and its federal minders have done the number crunching and know whereof they speak.
But in killing its most fuel-efficient brand, GM also will be ending plans for several new Saturn hybrids, including dual-mode and plug-in hybrid Saturn Vue crossovers.
We figure that with its dramatic new restructuring plan also calling for the end of Hummer, Pontiac and Saab as GM brands, killing Saturn and its hybrids (it already markets the Vue Greenline mild hybrid and the Aura full hybrid sedan) won't damage GM's average fuel economy standing. Loss of the less-efficient Hummer and Pontiac brands will cancel out loss of Saturn and Saab in the annual corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) computation.
But GM tells us that it doesn't have plans to quickly shift the Vue hybrids -- existing and planned -- onto surviving Chevrolet, GMC, Buick or Cadillac platforms, and that's a shame. It would seem to run counter to the government's goal of getting a million plug-ins on the road by 2020.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (2)
- John O'Dell April 28, 2009, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Saturn
- Technorati Tags:
- General Motors
, Saturn Vue Hybrids
April 17, 2009
Cadillac Converj concept uses GM 's extended-range plug-in system for all-electric drive.
It's time for the "will they or won't they" game to begin.
Motor Trend magazine says that GM insiders have leaked word that the Cadillac Converj extended-range hybrid has been given the green light for production.
General Motors Corp.'s official response is that the Caddy version of the Chevrolet Volt is still jut a concept undergoing, as do many concepts, ongoing review for production possibilities.
"We'll provide details if the status changes," said GM spokesman Rob Peterson - a statement that could be taken, if you were so inclined, to mean that GM at least is holding out the possibility that the status will change.
(A Cadillac spokesman said approximately the same thing Thursday to Inside Line's Straightline news blog, which interpreted it as an outright denial.)
The Converj, which would use the same "EFlex" extended-range series hybrid system as the Volt, was a big hit at the detroit Auto Show and would give GM the opportunity to sell a premium-priced version of its plug-in hybrid to help recoup come of the development costs.
But, of course, financially crippled GM is still working with the feds on a plan to stay alive and its ability to spend big bucks to get a car like the Converj ready for production is an even bigger question mark than its desire to do so.
If the Converj were to be slated for Cadillac dealers' showrooms, it likely would be a 2012 model, with a hefty price tag: The Volt, due out at the end of 2010, is expected to carry a sticker of somewhere between $35,000 and $45,000 and a Converj could easily double that - or more.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell April 17, 2009, 8:34 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, General Motors, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Cadillac Converj
, Chevrolet Volt, E-REV, EFLEX, General Motors, Plug In Hybrid
April 2, 2009
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
It's no secret, hybrids haven't been doing well lately, on dealers' lots, in the media, or in a lot of political arguments. Sales data that comes in on a monthly basis shows hybrid sales sinking faster than auto sales as a whole. And there's nothing pretty about auto sales as a whole.
Indeed, looking at March's tally shows that the 21,433 hybrid cars and trucks sold in the U.S. last month represents a 43.9 percent drop from hybrid sales in March of 2008, while sales of all other types of new passenger vehicles, on a March-vs-March basis, were off "just" 36.5 percent.
So, the argument goes, hybrids can't hold their own, they cost too much and people don't really want them.
----------
Nissan Altima hybrid was one of only two models posting a first quarter gain.
----------
But we've never been big on the idea that a trend can be made, or broken, in a single month.
One could also argue, for instance, that March hybrid sales were up substantially from February and recovered more than did all other segments combined.
On a sales-per-day basis, to account for the shorter February selling period, March hybrid sales were up 20.9 percent, versus an 11.6 percent increase from February in sales of other types of new cars and trucks.
Does that mean that March sales show that people have changed their minds and are flocking to hybrids in droves?
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell April 2, 2009, 4:35 PM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- 2009 Hybrid Sales
March 5, 2009
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Sales of hybrid cars and SUVs continued falling in February but their plunge was slowed somewhat by a strong updraft of incentives.
----------
Camry hybrid sales were down 50 percent from February '08 but with incentive spending rose 82 percent from January
----------
While new car sales overall were down 41 percent from a year earlier, hybrid sales were off just 28.5 percent with 16,020 vehicles sold, down from 22,411 in February 2008.
The gas-electric cars cost more than their conventional counterparts and haven't been doing well as the economy tanks and gas prices remain relatively low.
Sales also have been slowed as interested consumers hold off in anticipation of the new Honda insight compact 5-passenger hybrid and the redesigned 2010 Toyota Prius, both due to hit showroom floors soon.
One Gainer
February saw only one gain - the Lexus RX400 hybrid crossover SUV was up 31 percent from a year earlier - but several models posted smaller declines than the segment as a whole.
The Lexus RX400 hybrid was helped by significant incentive spending, as Toyota's luxury division poured an average of $6,338 into each vehicle, according to Edmunds.com's True Cost of Incentives data. That was up from just $503 per vehicle incentive spending on the RX400 hybrid a year earlier and was $1,300 more than Lexus was spending on RX400 incentives in January.
Both the Ford Escape hybrid and the Toyota Camry posted big gains for the month. The Escape, with 1,172 sales, climbed 55.6 percent from January and the Camry, with 2,080 sales, was up 82.3 percent.
Camry sales really show the power of incentives: the car was among the worst performers in comparing February '08 and '09 sales, down almost 50 percent.To get the big January to February improvement, Toyota pumped up incentive spending on the model to $1,495 per vehicle from "virtually nothing in January," said Edmunds.com industry analyst Jessica Caldwell.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell March 5, 2009, 12:46 PM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Hybrid Sales
January 11, 2009
The Cadillac Converj Concept plug-in hybrid electric vehicle made its worldwide debut today at the Detroit Auto Show.
The four-passenger grand touring coupe contains the same electric-propulsion technology found in the Chevrolet Volt PHEV, which also permits a claimed 40 miles of gasoline- and emissions-free electric driving and a gas-fueled extended-range capability of hundreds of miles.
GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz is pictured here introducing the vehicle. Its propulsion system is made up of a 16-kilowatt T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack containing 220 lithium-ion cells, an electric motor that turns the front wheels, and a four-cylinder gasoline engine-generator that feeds the battery pack.
The battery is integrated into the Converj's chassis and stores electricity from the utility grid when the vehicle is plugged in. GM claims it takes less than three hours to recharge the battery at 240 volts, or about eight hours from a 120-volt outlet.
When the battery's energy is low, the gas engine-generator comes on and provides electricity to the battery pack. In this way, the vehicle can go hundreds of miles before recharging and refueling.
Will the vehicle ever enter mass production? No one can say for sure.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (1)
- Scott Doggett January 11, 2009, 12:40 PM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, Batteries, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Battery
, Cadillac Converj Concept, Chevrolet Volt, Chevy Volt, Fuel Efficient, General Motors, Lithium Ion, PHEV, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Zero Emissions
January 6, 2009
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
December's gas-electric car and SUV sales plunged almost 43 percent from the final month of 2007 as the year wound up on a discouraging note for the only alternative technology vehicles to so far make a dent in the auto market.
It was a near repeat of a stupendously disastrous November, when sales of fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles fell 50 percent from a year earlier.
For all of 2008, hybrid sales tumbled 10.3 percent with 310,724 models sold. While nothing to boast about, the hybrid segment bested the overall market's performance of an 18.2 percent drop for the year, according to Edmunds.com statistics.
The only bright spots were that hybrid sales in December actually rose a bit from November, and that 2008 hybrid sales were the second-best on record in the decade since 1999, when Honda introduced the first model, the now-discontinued two-seat Insight. The year's sales trailed only 2007, when 346,431 hybrids were sold.
Incentives Made the Difference
The 6.8 percent rise in sales volume from November to December was due to hefty incentives and discounting by most automakers and to an especially effective financing program that General Motors' financing arm provided for almost all of the company's lineup.
Industrywide, the same pricing and financing incentives led to a one-month sales gain of 20 percent.
In the hybrid segment, December's total of 17,652 sales was the second lowest of the year, trailing only November's dismal 16,536.
After that, you'd have to go back to January 2007, when only 17,591 gas-electric cars and sport-utes were sold, to find a worse month for hybrids.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell January 6, 2009, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- 2008 Hybrid Sales
December 22, 2008
Most automakers say hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are least a decade away from mass production, but that isn't stopping California from soliciting bids to build fuel stations for a hydrogen-highway network
.
Some of you will no doubt recall that last April the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, amended its zero-emission-vehicles mandate to require automakers selling cars and trucks in the state to make available for sale in California no fewer than 7,500 fuel-cell electric vehicles between 2012 and 2015.
That despite the fact that there are only 26 hydrogen stations in the state and not many more on the drawing boards. Additionally, not all of the slightly more than two dozen stations that do exist are open to the general public.
California is a huge market for many automakers, but without more hydrogen fuel stations the manufacturers aren't keen to mass produce hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Likewise, fuel companies aren't keen to invest in the fuel stations until the vehicles are being mass produced.
But this past Friday, CARB issued a statement announcing it was soliciting "competitive bids from experienced and qualified teams to design, secure permits, build, maintain and operate hydrogen refueling stations to serve as part of California's Hydrogen Highway Network."
CARB will provide up to 70 percent of the cost for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of each hydrogen station. The contractor will be on the hook for making the stations operational by June 30, 2010, and keep them operational for at least three years.
The stations will be open to the public and serve both fuel cell electric and hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a vocal proponent of the infrastructure since he signed an executive order in 2004 creating a public and private partnership to build a hydrogen highway in California by 2010. A fan of U.S. automobiles and a big believer in American ingenuity, he is pictured here driving a Cadillac.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett December 22, 2008, 1:15 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Hydrogen, Legislation
- Technorati Tags:
- Cadillac
, California Air Resources Board, California's Hydrogen Highway Network, CARB, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle, Zero Emission Vehicles
December 3, 2008
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Sales of hybrid cars and SUVs took a worse beating than the industry as a whole in November, plummeting 50 percent from a year earlier and off 24.8 percent from October.
----------
Industry leading Prius hybrid sales in November were off 50 percent from a year earlier.
----------
Industrywide sales of all new cars and light trucks were down 37 percent from a year ago.
The hbrid segment was hit with the triple whammy of falling gasoline prices, high sticker prices in a recessionary economy and tight credit that cut many potential buyers out of the market.
"The environment is taking a back seat to the macroeconomic situation," said Edmunds.com market analyst Jessica Caldwell.
With gasoline falling below $2 a gallon, many hybrid models just didn't pencil out for consumers when their premium prices were compared with prices for other fuel efficient vehicles with conventional powertrains, she said.
Altogether, automakers sold 16,536 gas-electric hybrids last month, down from 21,979 in October.
To make matter worse, consumers purchased twice as many hybrids - 33,063 of them - in November 2007, when there were several fewer models available.
Hybrids' market share dropped to 2.21 percent in November, down from 2.62 percent in October and 2.82 percent in November 2007.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell December 3, 2008, 3:30 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Lexus, Mercury, Nissan, Saturn, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Hybrid Sales Fall
, November 2008 Hybrid Sales
November 4, 2008
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
About the only thing sinking faster than new car sales these days is consumer interest in hybrids.
As the economy continues to tank and gas prices continue to fall, the number of consumers using the various Edmunds.com information channels to gather data on hybrid models has plummeted.
Hybrid consideration -- tallied by tracking the number of visitors to Edmunds' sites who spend time looking at model specifications and pricing data and cross-shopping hybrids with other hybrids and with conventional models -- is off 86 percent from its peak in mid-June.
By comparison, considerations of all new car and truck models are down 35 percent from the peak in May, according to data compiled for Green Car Advisor by Dr. David Tompkins, Edmunds.com's executive director of business solutions.
Consideration doesn't necessarily predict sales -- it could be that we're seeing the casual shoppers being knocked out of the box with only hard-core, determined buyers left looking.
Indeed, hybrid sales in October, while down 45 percent from their peak in April, were off only 9.4 percent from a year earlier. If seven models that weren't sold a year ago are omitted, the drop is sharper, at 16 percent. By comparison, total sales for the month were off 39 percent from the year's high in May and were down 32 percent from October 2007. Subtracting the 1,551 extra hybrids sold this year makes almost no difference in drop in total sales.
The sales figures show that hybrids continue to be popular among a significant slice of the public that's still buying cars -- they accounted for 2.6 percent of total October sales, their highest market share since July.
But Edmunds' hybrid consideration numbers may portend a bigger drop as the year progresses.
----------
Hydrid consideration (green) grew as gas prices rose but since summer has fallen faster than has consideration of all vehicles (red), according to Edmunds.com data. (Click on chart for expanded view.)
----------
With the nation in a recession that's been building since summer, you'd expect the numbers of people shopping for new cars, on-line and in dealerships, to decline, said Daniel Hall, vice president and data analyst at global auto industry consulting firm AutoPacific.
That the rate of decline for hybrid consideration is so much sharper, said Edmunds analyst Tompkins, shows that shoppers are being far more cautious about expenses than when gas prices were at their peak this summer and the line for hybrids at any price stretched around the block.
Back then, shoppers were enamored of the fuel economy a hybrid model could deliver in comparison to a conventionally powered model of the same vehicle.
Now, shoppers are looking not only at fuel economy -- which is less important to many as gas prices fall -- but at the so-called hybrid premium automakers charge to cover the extra cost of the battery packs and advanced powertrain components a hybrid requires.
Additionally, the nation's economic woes have made it more difficult for people to obtain loans, especially for big-ticket items such as homes and cars. When credit is already tight, a hybrid's premium price thins the herd, said Edmunds.com pricing and sales analyst Jessica Caldwell.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell November 4, 2008, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Mazda, Mercury, Nissan, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Consumer Interest In Hybrids
, Hybrid Consideration Dims, Shoppper Consideration of Hybrids
October 29, 2008
General Motors is postponing nearly all of its spending on product development in 2009 and 2010--a cost-cutting move that could delay the introduction of key fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Chevrolet Cruze, although the much-anticipated Volt plug-in hybrid is still on schedule.
The automaker also is cutting spending on engineering, design, and research and development, Automotive News reported today
(subscription required), citing unnamed sources. So far, nothing has been officially canceled, but nearly everything is delayed, the sources say.
"The 2009 stuff that's too late to cancel is coming out, then everything else gets pushed out anywhere between three months and up to a year," said one of the sources. "It's not just capital budget; it's also engineering, design ... everything that would cause money to flow out in 2009."
The automaker is taking drastic action to avoid running out of money sometime next year, the publication reported. With its product delays, GM hopes to save as much as $1.5 billion, said the source.
GM spokesman Dee Allen declined to comment on plans for individual products. "There have been all kinds of speculation," he said. "We've said we're reviewing our portfolio, and we do that as a regular course of business."
Two high-profile vehicles--the Chevrolet Camaro and the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid--are protected from the cutbacks, said one source close to GM. Likewise, the restyled Buick LaCrosse and possibly the Cadillac CTS wagon are still due to market as planned.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett October 29, 2008, 6:38 AM
- Categories:
- Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Fuel Economy, General Motors
- Technorati Tags:
- Automotive News
, Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Volt, General Motors, GM
October 27, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
An article in Sunday's New York Times did a nice job of recapping the boom and bust of the sport-utility-vehicle market, particularly as it applies to General Motors.
----------
Right, the 2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid.
----------
The reporting high up in the article about GM putting the brakes on plans to overhaul the next generation of large SUVs and full-size trucks was particularly newsworthy; our regular readers will recall that we reported the development four months ago.
The decision came amid plummeting sales of full-size trucks and increasing demand for fuel-efficient cars. But as bad as things were for the auto industry in general and the Detroit Three in particular at the start of summer, they pale in comparison to the ugliness that followed.
Back in June, GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said "we think the higher fuel prices are here to stay and they'll have a significant -- essentially permanent -- impact on the truck market."
Although gas prices have since fallen, financial markets the world over have crashed and talk about America's major automakers possibly going belly-up is on the rise.
With this backdrop, we decided to call Wilkinson again to see where things stand now with regard to the GM's plans for full-size SUVS, the most profitable products in the General's hundred-year history.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett October 27, 2008, 5:38 PM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid
- Technorati Tags:
- 2008 Chevrolet Suburban
, 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid, 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, Chrysler Aspen Hybrid, Dodge Durango Hybdrid, General Motors, SUV
October 15, 2008
Motor Trend
reported today
that there are "whispers out of General Motors" suggesting that GM might offer the Cadillac CTS with a fuel-efficient 4.5-liter Duramax V-8 turbodiesel engine.
While the emissions-sensitive engine was initially expected to serve in SUVs and light-duty pickups, GM engineers have long pointed out that the dual overhead cam, four-valve diesel V-8 will fit in the same space as a small-block gasoline V-8.
GM says the 4.5-liter Duramax is capable of delivering more than 310 horsepower and 520 pound-feet of torque. It also claims the engine meets the tough 2010 emissions standards, making it legal in all 50 states.
Motor Trend points out that while the CTS is due to get a 2.9-liter V-6 diesel in Europe, the 4.5-liter diesel V-8 could easily fill the obvious gap between the 304-hp direct-injection V-6 of the regular CTS and the 556-hp supercharged V-8 of the CTS-v in the U.S.
That's especially true, the magazine notes, now that the Ultra V-8 engine program has been canned. In the CTS, the Duramax V-8 could easily deliver comparable performance to the Ultra, with 20-25 percent better mileage.
A diesel CTS for the U.S. would be a risk, but the downside for GM is in fact minimal. The engine already exists, as does the transmission capable of handling the torque, so there's little incremental investment required and therefore fewer sales needed to make the business case. The Duramax play also makes sense in light of the proposed corporate average fuel economy regulations mandating 35 mpg average by 2020.
American consumers are rightly wary of diesels, but moves by Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi to bring 50-state-legal diesel cars to the U.S. will help transform the oil-burner's image here over the next few years. And, as Motor Trend notes, it certainly won't hurt Cadillac's image to be seen offering the same sort of technology as Europe's blue-chip luxury brands.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (4)
- Scott Doggett October 15, 2008, 2:31 PM
- Categories:
- Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Diesel, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz
- Technorati Tags:
- 2009 Cadillac CTS
, 2009 Cadillac CTS-v, 4.5-liter Duramax V-8 Turbodiesel, Audi, BMW, CAFE, Diesel, Fuel Economy, Mercedes-Benz
October 2, 2008
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
It's been pretty well established that there wasn't much of an auto market in the U.S. last month.
"Catastrophe" and "disaster" are applicable adjectives; "It sucked" is how some wags have described it.
----------
Sales of new GM hybrid SUVs like this Chevrolet Tahoe helped hybrid market.
----------
We've had Edmunds' crack number crunchers parsing the data for us, looking for any glimmer of hope that might be found in the "green" and fuel-efficiency parts of the market and, so, far, have to say that they haven't come up with much.
The first pass through Wednesday's raw sales data provides at look at how hybrids did in comparison to the market as a whole.
And depending on how you do the comparison - to the previous month or to the same month a year ago - we found a mixed message for September hybrid sales.
Hybrid Segment Outpaces Market
The market as a whole was down 26.5 percent from September 2007 and was off 22.5 percent from August '08. It was the first month since the late 1990s that sales dropped below the 1-million mark.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- John O'Dell October 2, 2008, 4:41 PM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Mercury, Nissan, Toyota
August 11, 2008
With established rent-a-car companies reporting that they are having trouble meeting customer demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, a Southern California company has begun renting nothing but hybrid vehicles.
Business has been brisk at Eqocar in Burbank since it opened its doors three months ago, General Manager Nick Hamed told Green Car Advisor today. Hamed said Eqocar, which rents only hybrid vehicles, is in talks to open four more rental-car centers, all in California.
Eventually, the company would like to expand nationwide, Hamed said.
Eqocar has a fleet of 45 hybrids, which include the Toyota Prius, Camry and Highlander hybrids, Ford Escape Hybrid, Lexus LS600h L, GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe hybrids, and the Nissan Altima hybrid. Daily rates range from $59 for the Prius to $650 for the LS600h L.
There are plans to add the extended-range plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt, hybrid versions of the Smart Fortwo, Chrysler Aspen, Cadillac Escalade, and Porsche Cayenne and Panamera, as well as the Tesla and Fisker plug-in sports cars and the bubbled-faced three-wheel Aptera to the rental fleet, Hamed said.
The Aptera is reminiscent of vehicles appearing in The Jetsons, a futuristic cartoon series produced during 1962 and '63.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett August 11, 2008, 2:42 PM
- Categories:
- Aptera, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daimler, Emissions, Fisker, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Lexus, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Porsche, Smart, Tesla, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Camry Hybrid
, Eqocar, EV, Ford Escape Hybrid, GMC Yukon Hybrid, Highlander Hydrid, Lexus LS600h L, Nissan Altima Hybrid, PHEV, Tahoe Hybrid, Toyota Prius
August 8, 2008
For a good long while, Cadillac
was synonymous with success
.
If you made it big, especially during the fifties, when Cadillac outsold all other luxury makes in America combined, you treated yourself to an Eldorado or a Fleetwood. Later, you might consider a Coupe de Ville.
Those models were retired over the years -- they had "completed their natural lifecycles," as one General Motors spokesman put it 2002. That was the year the Eldorado was laid to rest at the age of 50.
Now comes the news that the General has put on indefinite hold plans to release new versions of the DTS and STS, the remaining duo of Cadillac's once broad selection of large Caddies.
Taking their place in the Cadillac lineup will be smaller, fuel-efficient models.
"It's the absolute right thing to do right now,'' industry analyst John Wolkonowicz told Bloomberg earlier this week. "They have to build the models that a high volume of customers want to buy right now."
Some 1,500 workers build the 4,000-pound, 15-mile-per-gallon DTS at GM's Hamtramck, Michigan, plant. The plug-in Chevrolet Volt is scheduled to go on line there in 2010.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (2)
- Scott Doggett August 8, 2008, 5:38 PM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Cadillac
, Fuel Economy, Fuel Efficient, General Motors, GM
July 22, 2008
Soy foam in the seats the Ford F-150 pickups and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. Locally farmed hemp
, "ethically produced" woolen fabric and floor mats made of sisal in the Lotus Eco Elise.
Some automakers are increasingly going to great lengths to make the interiors of some of their models if not environmentally friendly, at least a bit wholesome.
But others, well...
Early today the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, posted its second-annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and children's car seats at www.HealthyCar.org.
More than two hundred 2008- and 2009-model-year vehicles and more than 60 children's car seats were tested for unhealthy chemicals that seep in gaseous form from the steering wheel, dashboard, armrests, seats and carpet.
The "new-car smell," as the gases are commonly called, mingle with the air occupants breathe and have been linked to allergies, birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity and cancer.
The Ecology Center reported that Mazda, General Motors and Nissan improved since last year's findings, with GM showing the greatest gains of the domestic automakers, with an average vehicle ranking improvement of 27 percent.
The list of the 10 best and 10 worst vehicles as picked by the Center appears in the chart above.
Average child-car-seat scores improved 28 percent overall. The list of 10 best and worst car seats for 2008 as picked by the Center appears at left. Click on the chart for a better look.
For more information, go to www.HealthyCar.org.
Below are the three worst 2008-model-year vehicles by interior pollution, according to the Center (click on each to enlarge). From left to right: Mitsubishi Eclipse, Suzuki Reno and Volkswagen New Beetle.
Below are are the three best vehicles by interior pollution, according to the Center (click on each to enlarge). From left to right: Acura RXD, Chevrolet Cobalt and Smart Passion Cabriolet.
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett July 22, 2008, 12:21 AM
- Categories:
- Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daimler, Dodge, Emissions, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hummer, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Lexus, MINI, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Pontiac, Porsche, Renault, Saab, Smart, Subaru, Suzuki, Think, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo
July 17, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
That's our sensational headline for 2008, but there's more than a smidgen of truth in it.
Last year Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Ecology Center released the first-ever consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and child car seats -- and what they reported was sickening.
The odor you inhale when you slide into a new car? It might very well be bromine, chlorine, lead, other harmful chemicals or a witches' brew of them. They've been linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births and, no doubt, cancer.
If you think the government protects you against such things, think again. Some of the vehicles on the road today are veritable toxic dumps on wheels. And many drivers are exposed to these chemicals through inhalation and contact with dust every day.
In case you missed last year's report, Ecology Center found the most toxic vehicles were the Nissan Versa, Chevy Aveo, Scion xB 5dr and the Kia Rio. The least toxic vehicles were the Chevy Cobalt, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Honda Odyssey and the Volvo V50.
Next Tuesday -- July 22 -- Ecology Center will release its second annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and child car seats, and if you're thinking of buying a new car anytime soon, you'll want to check it out. The guide will be posted at www.healthycar.org a little after midnight on the 22nd.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (2)
- Scott Doggett July 17, 2008, 1:39 PM
- Categories:
- Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daimler, Dodge, Emissions, Fiat, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Legislation, Lexus, MINI, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opinion, Pontiac, Porsche, Renault, Saab, Smart, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo
July 15, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
General Motors Corp. announced today that it will lay off salaried workers, cut truck production, borrow up to $3 billion and make additional investments in green-car technologies in response to the weak economy, high fuel prices, shifts in consumer vehicle preferences, and the lowest U.S. industry sales volumes in a decade.
GM said the moves will raise $15 billion to help cover losses and turn around its North American operations, including $10 billion from internal cost-cutting and $5 billion from selling some assets and borrowing against others.
"We are responding aggressively to the challenges of today's U.S. auto market," GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said in a broadcast to employees. "We remain committed to bringing to market great products that target changing consumer preferences for more fuel-efficient vehicles."
Wagoner noted that 11 of GM's 13 most recent major U.S. product launches, and 18 of its next 19 launches, are cars and crossovers, which are key growth areas.
Spending for non-product programs will also be reduced, the company said, but powertrain spending will be increased to support the development of alternative propulsion and fuel economy technologies and small-displacement engines.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett July 15, 2008, 1:58 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Diesel, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Hummer, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
General Motors has posted an official introductory video to the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid on GMNext.com. Click here to watch it.
The 2-minute, 48-second video follows Cadillac's product director, John Howell, as he walks around the vehicle and describes some of its features.
Here follows the transcript of the video, in case you'd rather read what he has to say. We add a few comments of our own below Mr. Howell's -- to "keep it real," as it were. Read on!
"Hi. I'm John Howell. I'm the product director at Cadillac. I'm here today to talk about the Escalade Hybrid. We'll be bringing the Hybrid out a little later this summer and it is the latest Escalade. The great thing about the hybrid is that we get superior and better fuel economy - up to a 50 percent improvement in city fuel economy - and we get that without any sacrifice really in the luxury features that people have come to expect on an Escalade.
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (5)
- Scott Doggett July 15, 2008, 12:56 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Cadillac, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid
July 1, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
A lobbying group for 10 major automakers including Detroit's Big Three, Toyota and Daimler urged federal regulators today to dramatically water down its proposal to hike fuel efficiency standards or run the risk of costing 82,000 autoworkers their jobs and the U.S. economy tens of billions of dollars.
In a thousand-page document filed today by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the automakers condemned the April 22 proposal by the U.S. Transportation Department that would boost fuel economy requirements to a fleetwide average of 31.6 miles per gallon by the 2015 model year.
That average includes 35.7 mpg for passenger cars and 28.6 mpg for light trucks. The nation's new passenger cars currently are required to meet a fleet average of 27.5 mpg, while the light-truck fleet - generally encompassing port utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans - must hit a target average of 22.5 mpg.
"This goes beyond what is technologically feasible and economically practical," the automakers said. "It would require manufacturers to expend resources at a pace that is excessive given the fact that the auto industry is already under economic stress."
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (1)
- Scott Doggett July 1, 2008, 1:31 PM
- Categories:
- BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Courts, Daimler, Dodge, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Legislation, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen
June 10, 2008
Sales of the 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid model, above, have not been brisk..
In an effort to unload its slow-selling large sport-utility vehicles and pickups, General Motors Corp. has increased its incentives for current GM owners to as much as $6,000 on its largest 2008 trucks and, for the first time, has offered cash back on its large hybrid SUVs.
The incentives, which are available to owners of GM vehicles going back to 1999 models, went into effect Saturday, June 7, and will be offered through the end of the month...
Continue reading...
- Posted by
- Permalink | Comments (0)
- Scott Doggett June 10, 2008, 1:58 PM
- Categories:
- Cadillac, Chevrolet, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid
BMW's announcement this week that its ActiveHybrid X6 crossover utility vehicle will carry a U.S. sticker price of nearly $90,000 was disappointing, but even more disappointing is the fact that the model isn't alone among hybrids priced well out of reach of most people. 
