Karl on Cars slams Saturn Aura hybrid

An exercise in marketing?

Back in March I called another journalist's Saturn Aura hybrid versus Toyota Prius comparison, nonsense. Even though it wasn't my comparison, some suggested I should compare the Toyota Camry hybrid to the Aura hybrid.

Why? It's still nonsense, but then again, I have hybrid a bias.

Karl on Cars recently tested the Camry hybrid, the Aura hybrid, and the Nissan Altima hybrid and stated, "the Aura got about 19 mpg, or about half what the Altima and Camry hybrids recorded. It was also slower than the other two cars, and our test car had a nasty high-pitched rattle coming out of the center stack area above 4,000 rpm. The upside would be that it costs less than the Altima or Camry Hybrids and the trunk isn't negatively impacted by its "hybrid" technology (though the Camry Hybrid's trunk is plenty large, too)."

Yet, Karl, whom isn't the biggest fan of hybrid vehicles, didn't stop there.

"The real tragedy here is that this car, like the last Accord Hybrid and the current LS 600h, is yet another example of the technology being used for marketing purposes rather than truly saving gas or cutting our dependence on foreign oil or reducing CO2 emissions or any of those other things that we're supposed to feel good about when buying a hybrid."

Now, my critics claim I'm paid off by Toyota, is Karl?