Chevy Tahoe 2 Mode Hybrid SUV Snags “Green Car of the Year”

As strange as it sounds, the Green Car of the Year Award has gone to a monster SUV, the Chevy Tahoe 2 Mode Hybrid. The sport utility vehicle was given the title last Thursday at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

While Chevy Tahoe wouldn’t necessarily be the first auto that comes to my mind for a “green” award, GM’s hybrid system, developed jointly with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler, has apparently gained the accolade by offering U.S. consumers what they want: a full-size SUV with better fuel efficiency.

California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger told Environmental News Network “They’ve proven that they can make beautiful cars, strong cars, keep the size, keep the safety, and all those kinds of things, and at the same time be more fuel efficient.”

I find it all very interesting. A lot of the news around the “Green Car of the Year”, which is presented by Green Car Journal, points to rising gas prices as the need for a more fuel-efficient SUV. That and the fact that a third of cars sold in the US are SUVs. The new hybrid Chevy Tahoe 2 Mode Hybrid SUV gets 20 mpg, not exactly a ground breaking number.

So, is it bad news that the Green Car of the Year goes to a full-size truck that is overused and underemployed? I have mixed feelings. Making a popular vehicle 25 percent more fuel efficient within a decent price range is a good idea. That is not really the problem.

The problem is that while this vehicle is innovative, the award, in my opinion, just reinforces the idea that we need to use this much gas. I know that these vehicles can serve a purpose and that we all can’t drive a Prius. I live in the real world and have worked in industries where people needed to haul trailers or supplies.

However, I have seen plenty of these vehicles (not the hybrid, the conventional ones) recently and NONE were hauling anything (aside from groceries), towing anything or carrying more than 2 people. So, while I applaud the technology and recognize it is an advance over the previous Tahoe, I think this award is just going to make using these cars below their capacity seem justified. And people will still complain about paying $3-4 per gallon even though that’s what they’ve been quietly paying in states like Hawaii for sometime.

Or, try this fuel consumption reduction incentive on for size: where I live in Germany we pay over $8 per gallon of gas - 73.8% of that is Ökosteuer - ‘ecotax’ or taxation with real environmental considerations included. Here’s how ‘ecotax’ stacks up in different countries:

I drive a VW Golf, mostly on Sundays. That’s because gasoline is expensive and has costs that ripple well beyond the pump, which I am charged for as the user of the resource.

I’m interested to know what you think about the Tahoe winning the “Green Car of the Year” - do you think this vehicle is a good choice? Do you think it’s green?

*You can see AutoblogGreen’s detailed report on the two-mode hybrid Chevy Tahoe here.