eric

These vehicles do not pass T2B5 and therefore cannot be sold in the US.

Try again

Definitely good news and bad.

When mileage is improved it is good news. When car makers launch another iteration of nearly hopeless models it is bad news.

This seems too little too late.

But Chrysler can't sell what they can't yet make, so they produce something, hope they can sell enough, and pray later models or events will pull them out.

Every major car maker gets in the same bind from time to time. Ford and GM have the same problems but are much stronger.

I'm guessing, not hoping, this time Chrysler will die.

Vehicles of this size are needed to tow boats of the water up a ramp, boats from 20-30ft long. To tow large trailers and RVs etc.

Joseph, those *particular* vehicles might not be certified to meet US safety and emission standards, but that is not to say that they *couldn't* be so certified (or modified). And that is not to say a vehicle of the same concept could not be produced for the North American market - they already are; just not with "big 3" badges on them.

It has already been stated that if a person needs to move 5 - 7 people, there are already more efficient choices on the North American market. A friend of mine is in the market for a Mazda 5 mini-minivan, mostly because he's fed up with the V6-powered Chrysler-built gas-hog heap of junk (that's how he himself describes it) that he's driving now.

Certainly there will always be some people who need the towing capacity *and* people moving capacity of a SUV - it's just that that market is probably no more than 1/10 of the people who have been buying them up to now.

what's hilarious these two mode hybrid does not even achieve SULEV emissions ... they only achieve LEV2 .... PATHETIC!

i hope toyota decides to lower the price of their highlander hybrid so i can get one too!

lol as mjuch as i love high mileage cars (like my prius) i still like suv ;)

Not only this vehicle is useless on today's market but also if they don't have secured their battery supply they won't be able to deliver, just as ford and GM.

Quoth Joseph:

This is GOOD NEWS, 25% overall gain on one of the worst offenders.

Eliminating the 16-MPG guzzler and building a 48 MPG hybrid or small car instead yields a 67% reduction.

The average light vehicle covers half its mileage in the first 6 years, so a 20% cut in fuel consumption in the new fleet cuts demand by about 3.3%/year and 67% would cut it by about 11%/year.  Domestic oil production is falling by about 2%/year, but imports are about 70% of consumption.  The USA is faced with declining world oil exports and hungry competitors for what's left; a large amount of US imports used to come from Mexico, but Mexico may be an importer within 5 years.  Do you think we can settle for 3.3%?

Quoth Herm:

Vehicles of this size are needed to tow boats of the water up a ramp, boats from 20-30ft long.

They're probably putting the hemi in this because they've got a ton of hemi's they need to get rid of, either by contract or ready supply, and there's no other way to sell them. Once they get past it, if gas prices are still high, they can put a nice V6 in there and call it a day.

They'll probably sell very few, but it's a step in the right direction. Now I wish they'd stop making the non-hybrid versions altogether, boost electric motor output, and downsize the gas engine to 3.5 liter V6 territory with similar horsepower to the non-hybrid hemi.

Engineer-Poet:

Power boating is ALREADY in a rapid decline. Used and new...few average income families want to pay $150 to tool about on the lake for 1/2 a day when they were doing it for $50...not to mention fuel to tow the thing out there.

The RV and boating industry accounts for more than 5 billion in yearly wages. If those industies just went away the dive toward a 1930's type depression would be almost certain.

"eric

These vehicles do not pass T2B5 and therefore cannot be sold in the US.

Try again"

Joseph, T2B5 is an EMISSIONS standard, not a weight, volume or power one. Can you explain why bigger would be cleaner ? Yes, we do also have clean gasoline engines in Europe.

Joseph - 5 billion dollars is less than 0.1% of the economy. Historical growth is 2% so we are looking at losing less than 1 month of growth - hardly a significant problem. When 5 billion extra dollars flows to other countries every 2 weeks from higher oil prices - that might be a little bit more significant. (just guessing on the 2 weeks - it might be more like 2 days).

What is 200 lbs between frineds?
Being hit by a passat hurts especially when you are in a vehicle almost 1000 lbs lighter.

1990 Jeep cherokee 4 cylinder rwd 2892
1990 Jeep cherokee limited 6 cylinder 4wd 3076 lbs

2001 jeep cherokee 6 cylinder rwd 3190 lbs
2001 jeep cherokee limited 6 cyl 4wd 3355 lbs

The toyota hybrid specifically states that it was not designed to be used off road. Do the GM and Chrysler vehicles have this problem?

Joseph,

I didn't say that industry went away. I said "rapid decline". It is easy enough to verify this statement - I just happen to know because some of my company's major customers happen to be involved in that industry. When their sales take a nose dive and they tell us they are closing stores - our sales also take a big hit in that division.

The 5 billion was not the number for the industry, which is in the area of 35 billion. 5 billion is the amount of wages, which is approx 175K families. Do you understand the ramifications of 175K losing thier job? The unemployment rate would be 7+ , the state of Pennsylvania be bankrupt from losing over 1,000 companies. All those people would stop buying durable goods, the loss would make the housing market look like a picnic

We can probably use at least 175k people building wind turbines (skilled glass lay-up people might transfer their skills from boat construction to turbine blades).

175,000 jobs is not a big deal. On a good month (in expanding times) we create 200,000 new jobs.

Even 35 billion is a drop in the bucket.

Recreational boating and RV and going to decline (as they should) and in the grand scheme of things - it is a minor blip on the US 6 trillion dollar economy.

Joseph - are you in that industry or your family. Personal and local pain always seems catastrophic and it is in isolated patches. But don't expect that a small industry contracting 50% makes a significant dent in the US economy. My in-laws like on a recreational lake - I suspect their relative housing value may decline - that is life. I look forward to picking up a boat really cheap to leave there....

175,000 jobs is not a big deal. On a good month (in expanding times) we create 200,000 new jobs.

Even 35 billion is a drop in the bucket.

Recreational boating and RV and going to decline (as they should) and in the grand scheme of things - it is a minor blip on the US 6 trillion dollar economy.

Joseph - are you in that industry or your family. Personal and local pain always seems catastrophic and it is in isolated patches. But don't expect that a small industry contracting 50% makes a significant dent in the US economy. My in-laws live on a recreational lake - I suspect their relative housing value may decline - that is life. I look forward to picking up a boat really cheap to leave there....

300tt

No, I am not in that industry and I don't think I have any relatives that are. I have had a daily driver that gets 45mpg since 1997. I have been running reclaimed fryer oil in my TDI since 2000. I am the treasurer of the Arizona Alternative Fuels Alliance. And.... I am a boat owner, one of my most favorite things to do is water-ski. The fact that you don't like it and therefore you wish it would just go away makes me think your self rightous and indignant. Instead of berating my activity, why don't you find a way to make it cleaner.

"Years ago my family of five somehow suffered along in a thing called a station wagon."

Same here, and we would have traded it in for a hybrid SUV in a heartbeat.

This thing gets about twice the city mileage as our old station wagon, and it's safer and more comfortable.

"Hemi" is a marketing term that refers to hemispherical combustion chambers. Almost all current production engines could be called that (if it wasn't trademarked), including the Prius.

It would be great if this technology was also offered in a cheaper/lighter vehicle, however it is still very expensive, so it makes sense to introduce it in a luxury platform. Hopefully we will see the same tech in more affordable cars within a few years.

FYI, one of the reasons Chrysler is pushing Hemis is that they are assembled by cheap labor in Mexico.

Hey if they got the money to buy and drive it then let them! I live in the country! while I dont have one now we have to drive for our work! hauling hay, horse trailers tractors etc! and for recreation! hunting equipment, boats, oh and yeah we like big old jacked up big block trucks on huge tires simply to go mudding and waste gas! If I had the money i would have a 79 ford on 44 inch boggers? it would get about 2-3 miles per gallon and I would drive it everyday if I wa srich! so yall need quit hatin on the people driving pigs just worry about your own personal budget!

"Full sized hybryd suv." The whole idea is assinine. It's a waste of more much needed commodities such as copper and fuel. It's a justification for the wealthy to do what they do best - waste everybodies resources.

When my cousins were growing up in Italy, they were in a family of 8. Their family vehicle? A Volkswagon Beetle. They all grew up unscathed and became very proficient in their professions. Hybrid suv? Chrysler, give your heads a shake!

Joseph - name calling will get you nowhere. I think the recreation using of fuel is a bit wasteful. The decline of cheap oil will mean starvation for millions of people. Boating is fun as is jet skiing but really they are wasteful. And being wasteful is contributing to death of fellow humans.

I was just replying to your concern over the jobs lost from the boating industry which in the grand scheme of things (IMO) is minimal.

Try a sailboat....

300tt

We do not need to stifle activities that make life enjoyable. We simply need to make things better. Restricting or shutting down whole industries is just not smart. Nearly everything is wastful to a point. The trick and our challenge is to find a way to reduce the wastfulness. This vehicle reduces waste compared to it's previous version by a fair amount, that's a good thing.