Eating a doughnut might provide nurishment, but its still going to make you heavier and make your car work harder to move you around. Point is, we are blessed to live in America where we can do what ever we want. If they want to drive a Durango, let them. Just make sure its a 30mpg Durango and you have your problem solved. Then again, people are never satisfied.
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Big, Hulking SUVs Starting to Turn Green
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"Here's the answer to anyone who asks why you should bother putting hybrid technology in a large SUV," Appel said. "It's still more fuel-efficient to use a smaller car, but the fuel savings is far greater when you add a hybrid drive train to a gas-thirsty vehicle, and so the reduction in fuel use means it makes much more sense to hybridize a large vehicle than a compact."
While hybrids may offer gas savings, they usually cost more. A Toyota Highlander can cost $27,300 for the base model, while the Highlander Hybrid can cost from $31,978 to $37,704, according to automotive research site Edmunds.com.
"My issue historically with hybrids is it would cost you thousands of dollars more to buy one over the regular model and take years to pay that off in terms of the fuel you'd save," said Global Insight's Lindland. "So a hybrid doesn't make a lot of economic sense to me, but [the automakers] have been able to moderate the prices of hybrids so they are starting to make more economic sense."
Another issue for consumers is performance, notes Consumer Guide Automotive's Appel. While towing capacity can be reduced, Appel notes that in some cases their performance has been enhanced.
"The 'two-mode' hybrid system used in the Chevy Tahoe and Silverado gives an immediate torque from its electric motors when starting a vehicle from a stationary position, so you get going more quickly," he said.
HybridCars.com's Berman thinks the hybrid market will continue to grow and the technology will continue to proliferate through the full range of vehicles now on offer. Aside from the Chevy Silverado and the recently announced GMC Sierra Hybrid, one untapped area for hybrids is pickup trucks, he added.
"Pickups sell in large numbers so I'm surprised," he said. "I think it's a missed opportunity,"
A truck like the F-150, the nation's best-selling vehicle, if it were to be produced in significant numbers as a hybrid could help an automaker like Ford take control of the hybrid market, Berman continued.
"When you look at the Highlander and the Camry, there's a fairly large take rate for the hybrid version," he said. "When Americans think of pickups they still think of American brands, so pickup buyers are intensely loyal to American brands."
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