Escalade hybrid versus the mini Cooper?Have you seen the latest
Cadillac Escalade hybrid commercial? The one comparing the Escalade hybrid to the Mini Cooper in city fuel economy?
I hate to say it, but that was mine.
At the LA Auto Show in 2007, I made the same comparison, except it was the
Chevy Tahoe hybrid, which had just claimed the Green Car Award, and the Mini.
As I stumbled around the show floor wondering how some giant SUV could win a green car award, I found myself in the Mini Cooper section. So, I checked them out for a small car Soultek feature. Quickly, I realized that in city driving, a land yacht like the Tahoe hybrid (or the more loaded Cadillac hybrid) is just as efficient as many Minis.
I was seriously shocked. Immediately, I blogged
Tahoe hybrid: Cause for Mini celebration?Following the show, at CES in Las Vegas, GM CEO Rick Wagoner cited Hybridcarblog regarding this story, and now it's a commercial. I guess, ultimately, the comparison to the Camry just didn't offer the same shock value as the Mini.
Obviously, I think it's a pretty good commercial. Yet, I've always been less impressed with the Tahoe hybrid's fuel economy, than I've been disappointed in the crappy city fuel economy of something as small as a Mini.
If the future is congestion, Mini fuel economy is far, far inadequate. I guess that's just why I love
hybrid vehicles so much, and why I feel
Highway fuel economy is for suckers.
Labels: escalade hybrid, Hybrid Vehicles, tahoe hybrid