Comments on: USA Today: Another MPD Chrysler Hybrid SUV Review

By: carguy

carguy — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:56:34 +0000

Regardless of the mpg increase, this vehicle is completely pointless in current market conditions. If you are a family on a budget and need towing and 7 seat capacity then you can get a less than two year old Durango for between $10-12K dollars. That is the core of the Durango problem – it is just not a very desirable vehicle regardless of which drivetrain its fitted with.

By: starfsckers_inc

starfsckers_inc — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:27:22 +0000

Aren’t they shutting that plant down next year?

By: npbheights

npbheights — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:12:20 +0000

Let the market sort it out. Free market supply and demand will sort this hybrid suv game out. Just play fair, no government handouts.

By: KixStart

KixStart — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:40:57 +0000

I have to wonder why they did this. Is it a cheap way to say, “Hey! We’re green! We have a hybrid!” Does that get a checkmark in some corporate marketing box? That would be a colossal waste of time.

Or do they think this will actually increase sales of the vehicle? Have they checked to see how well it’s working for GM? OK… it’s cheaper… but it’s not as good, anyway.

By: iNeon

iNeon — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:39:08 +0000

So, why all the flack for a step in what is, so obviously, the right direction?

Chrysler isn’t left with much of their own, and this may not count since it’s shared technology, but at least it isn’t a 28mpg compact.

Credit where it’s due, guys.

By: OldandSlow

OldandSlow — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:26:11 +0000

That Durango chassis is a bit long on tooth. The Dodge version only netted 384 sales in July – It was outsold by the discontinued Pacific, which sold 447 units in July.

By: davey49

davey49 — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:06:14 +0000

iNeon- There’s nothing wrong with it. The 98 GC was EPA rated at 14 city 19 highway so imagine if the Durango Hybrid was driven carefully like your families GC was you might get 23-24 MPG.
There’s also nothing wrong with the regular Durango. A car buyer or reviewer who doesn’t like the Durango is not likely to like the Hybrid version. The Hybrid is for people who would have bought the Durango but would also like to use less fuel.

By: iNeon

iNeon — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 18:25:59 +0000

So, a V8, full-size SUV capable of seating 7, towing a real object, and attaining 22MPG is somehow bad?

My family owned a 4 passenger(5 if you count the 6″ wide rear center seat) I6 Grand Cherokee for a while during the SUV boom– it was capable of turning out around 175 horsepower, and consistently returned 21MPG, the average via the trip computer. A 5.2 equipped Ram(with 250k miles) in the family returns 17.5MPG like clockwork.

That Grand Cherokee cost my Father $32,000. In 1998.

It’s now 2008, and the same company is offering 3 more seats, twice the power and an extra mile-per-gallon, for the price of a 5.2 Grand Cherokee adjusted to today’s dollars.

I fail to see why this is a bad car? Please help me to understand.

By: Blunozer

Blunozer — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:56:54 +0000

So who wins in a comparison between the Hybrid Aspen and the Hybrid Tahoe?

Oh, that’s right. That’s like picking a favorite between gonarrhea and syphilis.

By: Thinx

Thinx — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:59:57 +0000

IF the government put’s any money into making giant suv’s ordinary guzzlers instead of super guzzlers, we the taxpayers should revolt.

You mean the endless bankster-bailouts (Bear Stearns, JPMorgan, Fannie, Freddie, et al) isn’t enough for you? The ~~grabvernment~~ government is already pissing our tax money away, so don’t wait. Learn to love the Black Market Economy.

(Sorry for the off-topic, but do we really need to say anything at all about this hybrid dinosaur? Isn’t the fact that they actually built one an insult to the consumer’s intelligence?)

By: jerry weber

jerry weber — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 13:39:31 +0000

This is the truck I always was waiting for. I need a heavy battery pack added on to an overweight truck obstructing the cargo bay and compared to 12mpg I will now get 19 all for what $40,000. Let’s get real, even chrysler offers a minivan with more useable space and higher gas millege and better all around performance then this. Is this so that Nardelli could say, I am starting to turn out the products Americans want? The bragging rights to a hy-brid truck versus the actuality of selling hundreds of thousands in the marketplace (ala toyota). Perhaps this will be the base line for GM ford & Chrysler to go to Congress and say we are really on to something here and for say 40-50 Billion of governemental loans and tax credit we can push it accross the finish line. Remember it’s only a couple years since Suburbans, expeditions and yes hummers got business tax breaks for bringing what to the party? I think it was a 6000 lb minimum weight. IF the government put’s any money into making giant suv’s ordinary guzzlers instead of super guzzlers, we the taxpayers should revolt.