GM Teases 2014 Chevrolet Impala, 2013 Chevrolet Traverse

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by DaBears

Well I think that is a mistake. EV cars are great but are very limited in how far they can go before needing a charge. Hybrids are still the best alternative right now especially since they have gotten much cheaper now.

Hybrids are yesterday's news. Everyone's moving towards one or both of two things: PHEVs or EVs, both of which are vastly superior to any traditional hybrid setup. GM probably doesn't want to throw money into developing something that's already obsolete.

[Stew]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Hybrids are yesterday's news. Everyone's moving towards one or both of two things: PHEVs or EVs, both of which are vastly superior to any traditional hybrid setup. GM probably doesn't want to throw money into developing something that's already obsolete.

I don't honestly see this. hybrids are big right now. Toyota sold more Prius Cs in 3 days that GM does in a month for the Volt. Cars like the Volt and pure EVs are very cost prohibitive right now. IMHO by not offering a true Hybrid in their midsizers and something akin to the standard Prius GM is missing a lot iof sales. If hybrids are obsolete Ford would not be making a new Fusion Hybrid, Toyota would not be mking a Camry hybrid and the Altima and Accord would not be coming out with hybrid vrsions next year. The Eassist is a lam duck system. the only reason they made ANY sense before was that they were cheaper than everyone elses conventional hybrids, that just isn't the case now. Eould I buy a Hybrid? probably not. Do i see the business sense in making a TRUE Hybrid powertrain available? ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!

[SleepWarz]

Not when the majority of people are brand biased into buying toyota.

[shank0668]

When will we see the Impala?

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by shank0668

When will we see the Impala?

NYIAS press days are April 4th/5th, so either on one of those days or sometime before.

[DaBears]

Yup, Subaru will likely come out with a couple hybrids next year as well. Im actually really hoping one of them will be an Outback Hybrid, that would be PERFECT for my needs as a daily driver.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by Stew

I don't honestly see this. hybrids are big right now. Toyota sold more Prius Cs in 3 days that GM does in a month for the Volt. Cars like the Volt and pure EVs are very cost prohibitive right now. IMHO by not offering a true Hybrid in their midsizers and something akin to the standard Prius GM is missing a lot iof sales. If hybrids are obsolete Ford would not be making a new Fusion Hybrid, Toyota would not be mking a Camry hybrid and the Altima and Accord would not be coming out with hybrid vrsions next year. The Eassist is a lam duck system. the only reason they made ANY sense before was that they were cheaper than everyone elses conventional hybrids, that just isn't the case now. Eould I buy a Hybrid? probably not. Do i see the business sense in making a TRUE Hybrid powertrain available? ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!

People want the Prius, they don't want hybrids. The 30 or so other hybrids on the market, if you add them together, don't outsell the Prius. In fact, the Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger combine to rival all hybrid sales -including the Prius. Thats 3 pony cars vs 30 hybrids

[Overflow]

I really hope Chevy does the Impala right this time.

Come'on. Can you get anymore plain than this?

[fielderLS3]

Originally Posted by Stew

You do realize a new Camry hybrid starts at $100 CHEAPER than a 13 malibu Eco, is rated for better MPG, and hits 60 MPH 1.5 seconds sooner. Another point of interest, Car and Driver tested an EAssist regal and it only 26 MPG average, given the base 4 cylinder only got 24, the bigger though is that they got 27 MPG from the turbo. I am sorry, but using Eassist in lieu of a full hybrid system is a joke.

Toyota's full hybrid system is more expensive than GM's mild hybrid system. The batteries alone are a fortune. The price difference in the cars is in trim levels, content, and other areas.

Originally Posted by Stew

I don't honestly see this. hybrids are big right now. Toyota sold more Prius Cs in 3 days that GM does in a month for the Volt. Cars like the Volt and pure EVs are very cost prohibitive right now. IMHO by not offering a true Hybrid in their midsizers and something akin to the standard Prius GM is missing a lot iof sales. If hybrids are obsolete Ford would not be making a new Fusion Hybrid, Toyota would not be mking a Camry hybrid and the Altima and Accord would not be coming out with hybrid vrsions next year. The Eassist is a lam duck system. the only reason they made ANY sense before was that they were cheaper than everyone elses conventional hybrids, that just isn't the case now. Eould I buy a Hybrid? probably not. Do i see the business sense in making a TRUE Hybrid powertrain available? ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!

Hybrids really aren't as big as you think. They make up a small percentage of total vehicle sales. Toyota individually has good sales numbers, because for a lot of years, they had the entire market, and today, still have most of it. That still doesn't mean the overall market for hybrids is that big, and every other company that is not Toyota has struggled in the segment, and with more and more companies than ever trying to compete for that limited market, it is only going to get harder.

[Stew]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

People want the Prius, they don't want hybrids. The 30 or so other hybrids on the market, if you add them together, don't outsell the Prius. In fact, the Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger combine to rival all hybrid sales -including the Prius. Thats 3 pony cars vs 30 hybrids

They just need to sell enough to be profitable. I see Hybrids getting more popular in the short term too and those that get the highest mpg for the best price will be the winner. If hybrids weren't important they wouldn't be building them. Honda, Nissan, even VW are going to ave new hybrids on the road this year to early next, and everyone will be priced Similarly to the Malibu Eco, yet offer considerably better MPG. IMHO, GM has not had much success with hybrids, but othes, not just Toyota, have or there would be no interest in building them.

[Stew]

Originally Posted by Overflow

I really hope Chevy does the Impala right this time.

Come'on. Can you get anymore plain than this?

The good thing is that the 12 with the 3.6 and 6 speed auto should be a bit of a sleeper

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by Stew

They just need to sell enough to be profitable. I see Hybrids getting more popular in the short term too and those that get the highest mpg for the best price will be the winner. If hybrids weren't important they wouldn't be building them. Honda, Nissan, even VW are going to ave new hybrids on the road this year to early next, and everyone will be priced Similarly to the Malibu Eco, yet offer considerably better MPG. IMHO, GM has not had much success with hybrids, but othes, not just Toyota, have or there would be no interest in building them.

Nobody other than Toyota has had any real market success with their hybrids. By that I mean having a stand alone model selling more than 50k units, or having a trim/powertrain option on a conventional car moving 25k. And Toyota's only real success was with the Prius, every other hybrid they've sold has had 'lukewarm' sales at best. For other automakers, few have sold more than 10k units per year, most are less than 5k.

Companies are building hybrids for a number of reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with selling hybrids, at least in the here and now. Often there is a ton of money being offered by their respective government in the form of research grants to develop hybrids, making it a much lower risk investment for the OEM. They also use them as a 'greenwashing' ploy, simply to say 'hey,we have hybrids too!'. They're also presented to draw people into showrooms as a halo car, but then folks will drive away with something more conventional. Think Volt vs Cruze, or Insight vs Civic. And lastly, by building hybrids now, they're learning things about them and how to build them better so that if and when they do become popular, they won't be left behind.

[ROBOSSRS]

Originally Posted by DaBears

The back end is exactly what makes it look like a mini van. So that would be fine. I also dont understand the "pointed" back end of it, and the tail lights are horrible.

I drove a Traverse around LA then Drove to San Francisco, we loved it. I think the rear end looks too Japanese.