Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, SUVs, Trucks/Pickups
GM's small, fuel-efficient SUV
We probably won't get it in the
States, but it's still something to hope for. General Motors will launch its Chevrolet Captiva, the company's first
compact diesel-powered SUV, at the Geneva Motor Show this March. Promising 29 combined mpg, the Captiva's 2.0L
turbodiesel puts out 150 hp. The Captiva is the first of a whole line of Chevy vehicles, which will be rolled out later
in the year, featuring the diesel powerplant.
We will have the Saturn Vue Green Line, however, which offers the same combined mileage with a mild hybrid powertrain rather than a diesel.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Katz 10:25AM (1/17/2006)
Isn't this the model developed by Daewoo that Chinese chery tried to steal?
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d 10:38AM (1/17/2006)
O-X-Y-M-O-R-O-N-!
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klaatu 11:18AM (1/17/2006)
At least with the Saturn light hybrid, you don't have stinky hands when you fill up as you do with diesel, and the gasoline is 30 cents less a gallon than diesel too. For the same overall fuel mileage.
Plus you're polluting less, and you don't feel like you're driving a tractor, as with some diesels.
Hybrids also capture otherwise wasted energy in coastdowns and braking.
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GrowUp 11:22AM (1/17/2006)
How many vehicles have you designed and built? How have you handled the balance of power and effeciency in your personal designs and engineering?
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Takeo 12:13PM (1/17/2006)
Actually if they can build this thing for a reasonable price it's worth taking a look at. Small displacement diesels are perfectly matched for small SUVs.
Klaatu, if you're gonna complain about stinky fuel, let's talk about the MTBE laced horse piss that we get in Cali. I could care less what the fuel smells like as long as I get more miles per gallon than what we do now.
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Joel H. 12:13PM (1/17/2006)
That's a nice looking small SUV... once again we are asking why isn't this here in the US?>
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cowboy bob 12:33PM (1/17/2006)
Hybrid technology seems good in some respects as opposed to old Diesel technology. BUT, what about reliability, and repair costs? These things seem to be overlooked in all of this. How do you suppose the hybrid drivetrain is going to hold up? Who, and how much will it cost to fix when it needs repair? As one who over the years has had to have all three major drivetrain parts replaced in several different types of vehicles,(engine,transmission,rear differential,ect.)I fear what the costs could be. After a five year period, and 60/70 thousand miles, I can just picture repairs costing as much as the vehicle is worth to fix it. No thanks. Diesels are old technology, but simple. A long reliability history is there, and they are realitivly cheap to fix by many service people if need be. Never be the first to eat the apple off the tree baby, they might be wormy.
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Nono 1:30PM (1/17/2006)
Its just a rebadged opel SUV
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M1EK 2:58PM (1/17/2006)
Nice FUD, Cowboy Bob. The Prius is one of the most reliable cars out there.
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Bob 5:40PM (1/17/2006)
Hybrid reliable, kinda. But has anyone seen the price on a new battery? Toyota's is something like $6 grand. I'd wait til people start replacing those to say a Hybrid is worth it.
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Jsmith 7:09PM (1/17/2006)
Polluting Less? Yeah right, what about the HUGE toxic waste problem after the life of these cars is over with??? I hate tree huggers who think they are doing such a good thing for the evironment when driving a hybrid. Oh and the Prius is over rated.
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M1EK 9:42AM (1/18/2006)
Nice FUD, BOB and JSmith. No battery in a Prius has ever been replaced for reasons other than an accident - and they have several >200,000 miles examples now for study.
Do you guys ever get ashamed of the lying, or what?
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Jsmith 12:47PM (1/18/2006)
Oh so the cars will last FOREVER and those batteries will last FOREVER. You are not getting what I said numb nuts. When the day comes and it will when these cars are no longer running and it's time for the junkyard. What about the toxic waste that you will have to deal with????? Sounds like a pollution problem to me.
How about you stop avoiding the truth and putting a spin on things.
Do you ever get ashamed that your Hybrid is doing more harm then good?
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M1EK 5:24PM (1/18/2006)
JSmith (or Lithous?), every claim you make here is FUD. The batteries last a hell of a long time in real-world practice; but you and your ilk say things like that they'll have to be replaced at 6 years for thousands of dollars (despite Toyota's 8 year warranty).
I haven't made any claims here which aren't backed up by the facts (like CR's testing of diesel versus hybrid mileage in their real-world test). You have, and continue to do so.
You are, and I can't say this enough, a lying sack of crap.
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Jsmith 5:53PM (1/18/2006)
You are spinning it again. Or you a really dumb. What are you not getting?? I don't care how many years they will last. SOME DAY THESE CARS AND THEIR BATTERIES WILL NO LONGER WORK. AFTER THE LIFE SPAN OF THESE CARS AND THEIR BATTERIES IS OVER, WHAT ABOUT THE TOXIC WASTE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE BATTERIES. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING?!?!?!
If you don't get what I'm saying I feel sorry for you.
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Corey W. 2:43AM (1/19/2006)
I do not drive a hybrid, and until they put up numbers close to my 99 C5, I never will purchase one.
But from my understanding, the batteries will last 15 years, but the system is modular, with each cell costing around $20 bucks, so after they start failing you would replace individual cells as needed. JSmith, because of the real dangers the cells pose, I can only assume there will be some sort of recycling program.
Just a note, there's nothing bad I see about hybrid technology, but some of you need to get past the HYPE, the technology has a LONG WAY to go, and Toyota engineers will tell you that fact themselves.
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M1EK 9:18AM (1/19/2006)
JSmith,
I GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. You're a FUDer. You have no real case against hybrids, so you're scrambling to come up with something, anything, please god help me beat those pesky hybrids!
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Garlynn 2:29PM (1/24/2006)
This SUV is a step in the right direction... but no, it's not a hybrid, and I question whether it has an real off-road capabilities, or if it's just built higher to give girly-men the feeling of dominance by positioning them higher on the road in relation to other traffic.
I'd like to see something about this size, with REAL 4x4 capability, that met the following specs:
http://undergroundscience.blogspot.com/2006/01/my-ideal-hybrid-dieselelectric-all.html
Any ideas?
cheers,
~Garlynn
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