In today's Wall Street Journal, Joseph White proposes Three Vehicles Detroit Should Build. Y1) a seven-passenger vehicle that gets 30mpg highway, 2) a midsize sedan that gets 40mpg highway that doesn't cost much more than a Malibu or Camry, and 3) a pickup truck large enough to do real work and comes close to 30mpg highway. Worthy goals, indeed. But, Mr. White, may we suggest looking at what the competition already has on the market: 1) no current US market seven passenger gas-powered vehicle gets close to 30mpg highway. [Note: such vehicles exist overseas – assuming you don't look like the humans in WALL-E] 2) The Toyota Prius is the only midsize car that gets 40+ mpg on the highway, never mind that the Cobalt XFE can't hit that number on the side of a barn despite its stick, and 3) if someone builds it (a compact diesel pickup), will they come? What of high diesel prices and competition? And what if ALL of The Big 2.8 builds these self-same vehicles? Anyway, the D2.8 have enough to worry about just trying to survive the next year, much less leapfrogging the competition in the fuel economy department.  Of course, there's always the option of installing much smaller engines and asking customers to put up with 0 – 60 times up to 20 seconds, just like in the 1970's. 

Thankfully, we haven't heard much about restoring Richard Nixon's national 55mph speed limit. Meanwhile… The Washington Post provides a first-person report by Honda Insight driver and proselytising hypermiler Glenn Conrad of Columbia, Maryland. Conrad states that he was not kicking ass but definitely saving gas just after midnight on an open road on the way to Baltimore – Washington International Airport. He says he was keeping his speed between 50 and 65mph (depending on the grade) in the far right lane. One of Maryland's Finest proceeded to pull Conrad over. Ten miles later (just kidding), the cop handed Conrad a warning for traveling below the legal minimum speed (50 mph). The officer stated that he often caught drunk drivers driving slowly, but didn't "offer" Conrad a breathalyzer. Conrad is plenty P.O.ed. "It seems that to be a good American, I have to drive faster. I need to use more gas. Go figure." Conrad just wishes the cop had given him a proper ticket, so he could argue his case in court. Next time. So beware hypermilers: no good deed goes unpunished.

Washington Post columnist Warren Brown shares his thoughts on last week's Escalade Hybrid (EH) press conference. Not suprisingly, Warren's aware that now my not be THE best time to be launching a $79k SUV– even if is less thirsty than its less expensive gas-only variant. Still, in the end, Warren joins GM in their luxury barge as it drifts down denial. "Big tricked-out SUVs… retain considerable market pull, even in a market where monthly fuel bills are beginning to rival monthly amounts due on vehicle finance notes. There appears to be a cadre of hard-core fans, influenced by needs real and imagined and guided by a passion for motorized might and luxury, who are keeping the big rides on the road and in the showrooms." Warren is happy to parrot GM's sales projections for the EH (say it like you mean it). "With 60,000 Escalade sales last year, Cadillac was the undisputed leader of the luxury SUV market. But even with its new Platinum and hybrid models, Cadillac will be lucky to sell 40,000 this year, GM officials conceded. But 40,000 is still good business." This from the same company that overestimated '08 U.S. new vehicle sales by some two million units– so far. And just in case you'd think that Warren would call GM on this turkey, no. "The 'hybrid' tag comes with a hefty price premium — $5,000 to $8,000 more, depending on the model. Will hard-core SUV buyers go for that? Maybe they will." For sure, they won't. 

Two Duke University Business School researchers studied the difficulty in perceiving gas saved when comparing vehicles rated by miles per gallon (mpg), versus gallons per 100 miles (gpm). The eggheads argue that the latter more closely reflects real world savings. The article [sub] and accompanying notes illustrate the problem: a nonlinear relationship between mpg and gpm. An example… At 10k miles per year, moving from, say, a Chevrolet Tahoe at 15mpg (6.7gpm) to a Chevy Traverse (that's a Buick Enclave for dummies) getting 20mpg (5.0gpm) nets a savings of 166 gallons. [ED: providing you  could get someone to buy the Tahoe.] Moving from a Corolla at 30mpg (3.3gpm) to a Prius at 45mpg (2.2gpm) nets a less impressive savings of 111 gallons. When given the mpg numbers, tested individuals thought that the latter saved more gas than the former. (Our B&B knew this intuitively all along, of course.) Europe at al are already on liters/kilometers, so why not make the switch?

We've already documented the sad plight of truckers struggling to cope with rising diesel prices. Now Newsweek reports that profit-squeezed truckers have cut back on their, uh, entertainment expenses. "According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, diesel on the West Coast now costs $4.87 per gallon. That means truckers could easily spend $1,000 to fill up their tanks, leaving them with little extra cash and less likely to take a detour. For bordello owners, relocating to more central locations is impossible. Under Nevada law, brothels can only operate in counties with fewer than 400,000 residents." For example, The Moonlite Bunny Ranch (a third less Bunny than our regular Ranch?) is a 72-mile round trip from Reno, and none of it via the Interstate. Not to mince words: it's a long haul for a booty call. The Nevada Brothel Owners' Association reports that revenues are down by 45 percent. John McCain's gas tax holiday can't come soon enough. So to speak.

How's that for a mouthful? Driving and brittle diabetes are a dangerous combination, and affected individuals can't necessarily feel their sugars bottoming out, a condition called hypoglycemic unawareness. Recently available technology now allows for wireless transmission of near real-time sugar readings to glucometers and devices such as Blackberries. At the American Diabetes Association meeting this week, medical device manufacturer Medtronic unveiled a mashup of glucometer and Lincoln MKZ. It's not clear whether or not FoMoCo was part of the venture, but at least it wasn't a crashmobile such as the Hertzvette.

Problem: the Toyota Camry is being outsold almost 2-to-1 by Dodge's Avenger among black customers. "Here's this nameplate that's ubiquitous," said Monica Warden, account director for Burrell, Toyota's agency of record or African-American advertising. "But for an African-American woman, it's not even in her consideration set. Our preliminary testing found they think of it as suburban, not urban; as solid but boring. And for this woman, she doesn't see herself as boring." To raise sales of its best-selling dullard, Toyota hired the company responsible for the intriguing (at least to us fanboys) The Dark Knight (movie) viral ad campaign. The result this site: If Looks Could Kill. It features a subtle sales pitch, serial web movies and who knows what else. The Dark Knight campaign had fanboys running around the San Diego Convention Center in Joker facepaint; we'll see what curious activities will arise from ILCK.com.

Also in today's Washington Post: an profile of Chevrolet Cavalier fans. Yes, fans of a car that would have made TTAC's Ten Worst (had the award existed then). The article starts with the sad fate of the last production Cav (MIA) and quotes from Edmunds such as "the worst [drive] we've experienced in recent memory", "homely," "[engine vibration] like a caffeine addict going through withdrawal," and "seats are uncomfortable for any length of time."  WaPo then heads to the flat trailing end of the automotive bell curve with fan testimonials, pimped rides, and the disturbing fact that the Cav is #2 (after Camaro) on CarDomain's directory of vehicles with >9000 entries.  The print edition managed to devote just about a whole page to this article, and it shows: serious padding about the apartment complex where a Cav tuner and his family live, the dozens of mods and hundreds of related pictures on his iPod. Click here, if you dare.

Observers of Consumer Reports' "security through obscurity" 100-point grading system got a peek under the kimono with the arrival of the July 2008 issue. The Hyundai Elantra SE got a class-leading 82 rating, up from the Elantra GLS's 70. How so, without a full model changeover, one asks? Simple, says CR: well-tuned ESC and wider tires = better handling & braking. The re-do represents chump change– compared to going back to the drawing board. The small effort got the Hyundai some free publicity by becoming CR's Top Pick. Other recipients of tuning & suspension finesse: the Toyota Prius Touring (up 14 points to 82 from the base model). The Chevy Malibu LTZ V6 got a rethink, rising 13 points, beating-out the Saturn Aura XR andearning itself a place as a middling contender into a near-class leader. The upgrade's not enough to help the bottom-barrel Chevy Aveo/Pontiac G3 and Toyota Yaris, all stuck at 36. But for most other carmakers, there appears to be a not-so-difficult way to goose those ratings. Now, automakers, get to it, before CR changes their secret formula!

Yeah, I know: car hacks always say that shit. But seriously, this one could hop the Pacific. It's Honda's Fit-based Freed, a Lilliputian van for the Japanese market named for the word yelled by occupants upon exit. Just kidding. The mini-minivan shares the Fit's 1.5-liter engine, which attempts (however fitfully) to move a maximum of eight passengers. Thanks to creative gas tank placement (shades of Toyota Previa), the Freed boasts a low loading floor and– get this– standard dual power sliding doors. Way-hey! The $16k Freed competes against the way cooler Nissan Cube3 and the Toyota Sienta. With gas prices eliminating SUVs as the stateside schleppers' wheels of choice, it's only a matter of time before one of these micro people carriers (or is that carriers of micro-people?) make it across the Pacific. But which one? And when will that vanning thing start anyway?

Cars.com's Kicking Tires blog reports a low supply of the badge-engineered Toyota Land Cruiser Lexus LX570. The big rig's specs are impressive enough to bring tears to any fan of a full-figured SUVs: 5.7-liter DOHC V8 good for 383hp and 403 ft.-lbs. of twist, 8500 lbs. towing capacity, and a manufacturer claimed 0 – 60 time of 7.4 seconds (presuming the only ass you're hauling is your own). The LX570 starts at $74,700 and ascends from there, from the Technology Pack ($4200) to rear DVD ($1990) to cargo net ($64). The not-so-PC-SUV guzzles gas at a wallet-emptying EPA rating of 12/18 city/highway. Given the temper of the times (i.e. gas prices), it may come as no surprise that the upmarket LX570s is outselling its downmarket Land Cruiser cousin by 50 percent. We're talking small numbers, though. "Lexus doesn't build 60,000 a year; rather, less than 10,000,” Global Insight analyst Aaron Bragman reveals. “If the high-volume Chevrolet Tahoe was down to a four-days supply with gas at $4 a gallon, it would be a different story. It's not that demand is high… supply is kept low so that the LX 570 is at a four-days supply of unsold inventory rather than at 100 days and has to be discounted." 

Several years back, before ethanol as a motor fuel additive became all the rage, Sweden started a program to produce biogas. They envisioned a methane-based fuel made from sewage (with the aid of some bacteria) powering cars, trucks and buses. According to ever-hopeful engineers, with the right process, the average Swede craps out enough yearly to power an average car for an average of 75 miles. Unfortunately for FordonsGas, Dong Energy and other curiously named companies, the biogas biz has encountered the usual, uh, teething problems with new technology. Not to mention a distinct lack of biogas pumps and vehicles that can run on the stuff. (Biogas buses are out there, somewhere, while Volvo stopped making biogas powered vehicles a couple of years ago.) The International Herald Tribune reports that biogas boosters remain undaunted, hopeful of the process' long-term adoption. "When you're in the bathroom in the morning and you can see something good come of that, it's easy to be taken in by the idea – it's like a utopia," quoth a consultant. If you say so…

Honda has long played second fiddle to Toyota in the hybrid powertrain department, especially from a public relations standpoint, but also in terms of technology, sales volume, and fuel economy. At least they've redoubled their efforts: Automotive News [sub]  reports a push to increase sales tenfold to 500k per year with four different models: the current Civic Hybrid, an upcoming dedicated sub-$20k model, a sporty hybrid previewed last fall as the CR-Z, and now an upcoming Fit hybrid in a few years' time. Although that's only half the annual sales that Toyota is projecting early in the next decade, all will be affordable and fuel efficient, unlike the short-lived V6 Accord Hybrid.

MSNBC reports on dismal sales of the overhyped Dual Mode Yukotahoe Hybrid, currently running hundreds of units per month. Given its $50k+ price tag and complete lack of wiggle room on price (especially compared to its non-hybrid counterparts), this comes as little surprise in the extremely price-sensitive US market. Unfortunately GM and their hybrid transmission factory, projected sales were 10-15k units this year. That's not quite as bad as TTAC's whipping boy (the Cadillac BLS), but underutilized capacity is a Very Bad Thing in this economic climate. What does this mean for the upcoming Saturn Vue Dual Mode Hybrid? It's estimated $30k price tag just might be the sweet spot. Or not. GM's losing ground in the hybrid SUV race on a daily basis. In the Yukotahoe Hybrid's price range, Toyota's already sold 5,553 Lexus RX 400h's this year. And in the Vue's venue, they've sold 8,889 Highland Hybrids. Even Ford is leaving them in the dust, with 7,132 Escape and Mariner Hybrids out the door since January 1.  

Not content to make money the old fashioned way, a team of MIT grads has been hard at work for the past couple of years working on a two passenger flying car drivable airplane. Terrafugia's Transition recently took a drubbing on Slashdot for even attempting to reconcile the oftentimes contradictory goals of aviation vs. automotive engineering. The CEO was kind enough to respond to his detractors here, stressing ad nauseum that future Darwin Awards will be strictly limited to licensed pilots. Eons ago (in TTAC time), Jonny Lieberman pointed out the limitations of carbon fiber in car construction. And we could go on forever about the bicycle tire-sized contact patches, side-wind gusts from an oncoming train of curious SUV drivers, lack of suspension travel, and the challenge of manually parallel parking the damn thing (oh, and downforce? what's that?!). At least the Terrafugia Transition sounds a lot better than the Flying Pinto which killed its inventors during its maiden flight. Good luck, guys, I'm looking forward to the resulting Hollywood treatment.