Why American

[essentialsaltes]

I saw a billboard this morning for the Saturn Hybrid Aura. Great, I thought, an American hybrid, and I know a lot of happy Saturn owners. So I checked it out. The Aura Greenline is priced at $22.7K and gets 28/35 mpg. Hmmm... that doesn't sound so hot.

Let's see... the 2007 Prius gets 60/51 mpg for $22.2K. Far better performance for slightly less money.

Shit, the non-hybrid 2007 Nissan Sentra gets 29/36 with the continuous variable transmission option, pricing out to around $16K.

Sorry, GM. I know you've got twice as many retirees as employees, but you'll just have to do better than that.

Comments

[jimkeller.livejournal.com]

I average 31 MPG in my Scion XA, and my daily commute is all city driving. I paid about 14K with options. Don't be fooled by the Prius' advertised EPA ratings. It was designed to ace the test, and all the owners I know say they're operating in the low 40s in the real world.

stacymckenna wrote an interesting blog on the subject of apparently green things that aren't which you might want to peruse...

[essentialsaltes.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I knew the Prius numbers had little connection to real-world driving, but low 40s is still significantly better than the Aura's EPA numbers.

And things that are labelled "green" by their manufacturers certainly do need to be investigated somewhat in terms of their total impact.

Also...

[ajax.livejournal.com]

Is it just me, or does "Saturn Hybrid Aura" sound like a Image comic that collapsed after four issues?

--- Ajax.

Re: Also...

[dogofthefuture.livejournal.com]

After years of this, Ajax, you should know that the answer to your question "Is it just me?" is always "Yes. It is just you."

[iworshipsatin.livejournal.com]

I have been getting 29 mpg in my 04 Cavalier with my AC on.
Also I want a Prius like no one's business. It can kill everyone I know for 60 mpg.

[hagdirt.livejournal.com]

Our Civic regularly gets above 30mpg in city traffic. It's ten years old; when it was made it was the most efficient non-diesel car available. Still gets crappy mileage compared to the Chevy Sprint I had in college, which got 50 on the highway. (And couldn't go over hills faster than 45, and died at 85,000 miles, and sounded like a lawnmower, but hey.)

I'd still consider a Prius, inflated numbers and all, but then I hate spending money on gas in general. The money just goes to things I detest - repressive regimes in the Middle East, W.'s buddies, and my dumbshit oil-man uncle....

[dogofthefuture.livejournal.com]

I'm holding out for plug-in hybrids. Pretty sure my daily commute could be all-electric most days, especially if I continue to work where I do, where there is an electric vehicle charging stall in the parking structure. I suppose if I wanted one NOW, I could buy a Honda Whatchamacallit or a Ford Escape hybrid and pay $10,000 to get it converted to plug-in.

I think I'll wait.