Chevy Tahoe Hybrid wins Green Car of the Year award

Chevy Tahoe Hybrid wins Green Car of the Year award.

(Credit: CNET Networks/Sarah Tew)

At the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show, Green Car Journal's Green Car of the Year award was given to the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid. The Tahoe Hybrid is the largest car to win the award, with past winners including the Toyota Prius and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid. The newly introduced Tahoe Hybrid uses a dual-mode hybrid system developed by GM, Daimler-Chrysler, and BMW. GM is the first company to bring cars with this system to market. The Tahoe Hybrid uses a 6-liter V-8 gas engine in conjunction with electric motors for propulsion. The motors get electricity from a battery pack which gets charged by the engine and through regenerative braking. This system, along with another fuel-saving system called cylinder deactivation, gives the Tahoe Hybrid about 25 percent better fuel economy than its gasoline-only counterpart. Emissions data for the Tahoe Hybrid has not been published.

The Tahoe Hybrid is the biggest car to have won the award.

(Credit: CNET Networks/Sarah Tew)

We drove the GMC Yukon Hybrid, which uses the same platform and system as the Tahoe Hybrid, earlier this year. Click here to read our driving impressions of the Yukon Hybrid. With its hybrid system, the Tahoe Hybrid behaves much like a Toyota Prius, shutting off the engine while stopped in traffic and driving under electric power at low speeds. But the Tahoe also gets a continuously variable transmission, commonly used in Toyota hybrids, enhanced with a four-speed automatic transmission. The truck uses its fixed gears when it is towing a trailer or climbing hills.

[WopOnTour]

That's amazing. I wouldnt mind having a hybrid, but I'm not willing to give up my people hauling and trailer towing capabilities. (I certainly couldnt survive with a Prius or most of the other "comuter" hybrids.
This Tahoe seems to be the answer! Wonder when we'll be able to drive one at a Chevy dealer?

[godshb]

Around the first part of 2008

[Rick Cavaretti]

The ultimate in hypocritical marketing. Sorry, suv and hybrid does not go together. This is an attempt to save a very profitable product for a company that has no other cards up its sleeve. It's a dinosaur, in times of emissions issues and fuel problems, allow nature to take its course--allow it to become extinct.

[rpkelly5]

Rick,

I agree. But at least Chevy is making an effort to improve gas mileage. I think the bottom line is we can only improve our vehicles' gas mileage for so long until there is no more oil. Alternative fuel sources are a must. We need a resource that is cheap and clean. Is that hydrogen? I don't know, but we need to figure it out!

[open-mind]

Question...

In your perfect world, it appears everyone drives a Prius. That's fine, but then how are they supposed to pull their trailers or haul six people?

GM's cards are not up their sleeve, they're on the table. AFAIK, they are still the only company committed to mass-producing an electric car (E-Flex Volt) by 2010.

[bassboat8]

Rick, your myopic view of the world is sad and is what helps hold us back in developing alternative energy in a broad spectrum. I see by your post that you have participated in the Joseph Goebbel's package of Kool-Aid. Say it enough and even you will believe it. Perhaps you should laud GM (I am no GM fan) for the fuel that they will be saving rather than wanting that entire segment of our population to only buy what someone else says they need.

[gerrrg]

a. That's still below CAFE standards for cars.
b. No one at the presentation mentioned the Tahoe's carbon footprint. I wonder why?
c. A larger engine? Why did you put a larger engine in it? I thought that the point of going hybrid was to reduce the engine size, not the opposite way around!

[bassboat8]

a. It is not a car.
b. Because they do not believe in unsubstantiated man made global warming. The key is "Man Made" which is an arrogant assessment of mankind's ability to effect the globe's weather.
c. Going hybrid has nothing to do with size. Ever hear about these huge dump trucks that run on this technology? Going hybrid means economically intelligent, not a feel good answer. Also,have you considered that a larger engine might be needed to carry the extra weight of the battery charging system? It improves fuel economy, and it is a step in the right direction.

[volterwd]

This just in the big mac revamped is now the healthies fast food burger.

[bassboat8]

cute, but somewhat shallow