NYTimes Rips Lexus RX400h hybrid

In a new article NYTimes writer, JEFF SABATINI, rips on the Lexus RX400h hybrid because it provided few gains in fuel efficiency on his test drive. While a valid criticism, Mr. Sabatini, also acknowledges that hybrid vehicles do their best in city driving, yet Mr. Sabatini's test drives took place on highway drives of several hundred miles.

Mr.Sabatini also states, "But the government's testing procedure (for fuel economy) has a habit - one that seems to be exaggerated with hybrids." Actually, if Mr. Sabatini were being fair, he would have to acknowledge that essentially ALL vehicles fail to meet EPA fuel efficiency ratings. More important, as hybrids do less well on the highway, conventional vehicles do less well in the city.

In fact, Detroit lobbied the government NOT to allow the EPA to revise its testing methodologies, which consumer groups claim inflate conventional vehicle fuel efficiency as much as 35 percent. (Read more)

If Mr. Sabatini had spent a few days fighting Chicago traffic -as millions do everyday - the Lexus hybrid would have made significantly greater gains in fuel efficiency versus the conventional Lexus. Even more important, if Mr. Sabatini were to drive a Hummer, Escalade, Explorer, Escape or Suburban in the same Chicago traffic, each vehicle would have achieved far less than their EPA estimates - not to mention emitting far more pollution.

Obviously Mr. Sabatini had too much of an axe to grind to be fair or objective. He even goes out of his way to suggest that Toyota isn't as green as portrayed.

Perhaps not, yet Toyota is still greener than Ford, GM, and Chrysler. In fact, only Honda is more green. Number 2 isn't good enough?

Moreover, until millions of hybrids are sold, their sales will have little affect on foreign oil dependency or in cleaning the air. Thus, hybrids could be called a work in progress, and new hybrid batteries offer the potential for huge gains in efficiency. Witness the evolution of the first generation Toyota Prius to the second generation Prius.

Finally, we're talking about a Lexus here, right? People don't buy a Lexus solely because they are trying to save the planet, so let's be real. Nonetheless, buying a hybrid Lexus today could lead to more fuel efficient luxury hybrids tomorrow as the technology evolves.

That is the potential of this emerging technology. Isn't that the real point of the Lexus RX400h?