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Car Blog Showdown: Currently Available Hybrids

Here’s our latest Car Blog Showdown. This week, in celebration of Earth Day, tgriffith and jgoods were each invited to select their favorite currently available hybrid vehicle. Which is your favorite?

2009 Saturn VUE Hybrid V6

jgoods’ 5 reasons why the 2009 Saturn VUE Hybrid V6 (sometimes called the VUE Green Line 2 Mode Hybrid) is his favorite currently available hybrid:

The VUE Hybrid V6 has a 500-plus-mile range and reports a 50 percent improvement in fuel economy over the standard V6 VUE (which translates to 28/31 mpg).
This crossover uses state-of-the-art technology to couple with a 3.6-liter V6 for high torque and horsepower. The VUE Hybrid V6 will get you to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds and can tow up to 3,500 pounds (not at the same time).
The Hybrid V6’s 2 Mode system uses regenerative braking, fuel shut-off during deceleration and idle, and two 55-kW electric motors integrated into the transmission. This provides all-electric, combustion engine power, or a combination as conditions demand.
It’s the sharpest looking crossover out there.
Despite Saturn’s projected demise, this car will likely continue as an Opel.

tgriffith’s 3 reasons to avoid a 2009 Saturn VUE Hybrid V6:

Saturn’s probably going out of business. Do you really need two more reasons not to buy one? I’ll keep going anyway.
An all-wheel-drive system will not be offered with the VUE Hybrid V6.
The Hybrid V6’s 2 Mode technology was co-developed with BMW and Chrysler, so look for models from them and hope they stay in business!

2009 Ford Escape Hybrid

tgriffith’s 5 reasons why the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid is his favorite currently available hybrid:

It’s rated at 34 mpg in the city.
The 2009 model has a new 2.5-liter engine and new brake system, eliminating concerns from previous versions.
Available four-wheel-drive makes it a practical choice, even in areas that get a lot of snow.
A 15-gallon gas tank gives the Escape Hybrid a range of about 500 miles.
It’s a solid, efficient American vehicle from the strongest of the Big 3.

jgoods’ 3 reasons avoid a 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid:

As CarGurus reported, you may have trouble getting one, and even at its high price, Ford is still in the red with this car.
You may well get better fuel economy with the VUE Hybrid V6 and enjoy its beefier engine.
Ask New York taxi drivers (and riders) how they like these cars.

What’s your favorite currently available hybrid? Why?

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Should V8 engines be outlawed?

Someday the era of gasoline-powered vehicles will come to an end.

While no one really knows what technology will come forward to take over the top spot from fossil fuels, we all know the cars on the road in 50 years will be very different from the ones we’re buying now.

In the short term, carmakers obviously need to become more fuel efficient (which is the topic of major controversy recently) to maximize every drop of remaining oil. The biggest change I think will be the demise of the V8 engine, especially as higher performance V6 engines and diesels become more popular.

2010 Cadillac SRX

Take a look at the 2010 Cadillac SRX and you won’t see the fire-breathing Northstar V8 as an option, but instead a duo of V6 options. The outgoing V8 put out 320 horsepower with a 4.6-liter engine, while a new turbocharged V6 is reported to put out 300 horsepower from a 2.8-liter.

That, my friends, is the kind of progress we can expect to see in the coming years. I’d even go so far as to say V8 engines should be completely outlawed. With new technology like the SRX’s V6 and the clean diesel technology from companies like Mercedes-Benz, traditional V8 engines might be better suited for museums than street use.

2010 MINI Crossover concept

While families who need the space of an SUV will still be able to buy them, other options such as the 2010 MINI Crossover Concept will spring up for those who need a moderate amount of space, all-wheel-drive and the fuel economy of a 4-cylinder engine.

With options like high-performance V6 engines, clean diesels, and practical, moderately sized 4-cylinder crossovers, who needs V8 engines? Should they eventually be outlawed?

-tgriffith

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Geneva: Cars, Watches, Good Food and Money

Geneva has always been the most refined of the auto shows—not the largest, not the most debuts, not the most media noise. Yet the major manufacturers generally are there, and the atmosphere is less frenetic than at other venues. This year it will feature some introductions, and we want to share a few interesting preview photos with you.

Much talk has been generated by the so-called Bio Bentley, a biofuel-powered Continental GT we’ve seen only in a “teaser shot” that doesn’t give much away. If the Queen can convert her limo to bio-goo, it’s probably a good idea for commoners.

The new Benz E-Class Coupe replaces the current CLK and reportedly may go on sale later this year after the sedan debuts in the summer.

Opel has a 5-door hatchback called the Ampera (above), a lithium-ion battery powered, 220-volt rechargeable, with a small IC engine for longer distances. They want to be “the first European automaker to provide customers several hundred kilometers of non-stop electric driving.” Several hundred?

2007_chevy_beat_conceptside_view2 2008_chevrolet_sparkrear_three_quarter_view2 Much media malarkey has been generated over the Chevrolet Spark, which will finally appear in the flesh, so to speak, at Geneva. We covered some of this before, but here are three photos showing the progression from 2007 Beat concept to 2008 Spark and now the expected 2011 car (on right). As in most cases, the concept “beats” the execution.

More concept cars for Geneva: The EDAG, a black blob in basalt fiber (lightweight, stable, recyclable, and fairly cheap stuff, they say) is an all-electric, 150-km range car using light-emitting diodes for front and rear lighting in glass panels. The company is calling it “an open-source project,” meaning it wants to work with others in the further development of the car. Interesting, but glass front and rear panels?

Mitsubishi will show the MiEV SPORT AIR, an all electric zero-emissions effort with removable top and interesting lines, at least in the sketches. If you can’t tell front from back, you’re not alone. The company is pushing this as a performance vehicle that should go on sale in Japan by year’s end for “the equivalent of $24,000.” Some 30 are being tested on Tokyo’s streets.

All right, readers, tell us which of these cars you would like NOT to come to the U.S. . . . and why not?

Find more on the Geneva Auto Show website.

—jgoods

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As a car junkie and an American patriot, it’s hard for me to believe I’m ...

Is it too late to save the Big 3?

Can we even call them the Big 3 anymore?

There’s news today that the massive automotive bailout plan is heading for defeat. Even if it passed, I doubt it would guarantee the long-term survival of the former automotive giants.

Here’s why: The finances of Ford, GM and Chrysler are being sucked dry by the labor unions and retirees. Current management of these companies have made poor strategic decisions leading, at least partially, to the mess they now find themselves in.

A financial bailout is nothing more than a band-aid and is useless unless it’s a bailout that addresses the above issues. As a car junkie and an American patriot, it’s hard for me to believe I’m even writing this, but I believe at least one of these 3 will cease to exist within the next year.

The options for success just aren’t there, as a financial bailout is becoming unlikely and bankruptcy… well, who’s going to buy a car from a bankrupt automaker?

We’re at the brink of automotive history. We can read what automotive bloggers have to say about the situation and argue about whether or not we should try to prevent collapse, but it’s already happening.

One way or another, major change is on the horizon, and all we can do now is band together and make the best out of whatever change brings us.

Comment here: How would the collapse of at least one of the Big 3 affect you?

-tgriffith

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