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This just in — SUVs still suck!

What is a “hollow” hybrid? The Union of Concerned Scientists writes:

Some automakers are trying to create a “green” image by putting one or two of these technologies into their conventional vehicles and calling them hybrids. The Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid and GMC Sierra Hybrid, for example, have idle-off capability but improve fuel economy by only one or two miles per gallon. Such improvements might be lauded if they were made standard options in every Silverado and Sierra, but producing a limited quantity and marketing them as hybrids will only dilute the term’s meaning and soften demand for hybrid technologies.

When evaluating hybrids, keep in mind that the environmental performance of specific models can vary. For example, Honda Civic Hybrids sold in California rate an exemplary 9.5 out of 10 on the EPA’s smog-forming emissions scale, while others currently rate just a 2. For a customized, side-by-side comparison of hybrid models-along with useful tips from technology experts and hybrid drivers-visit the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Hybridcenter.org website.

In related news, I was pleased to see in a recent Chronicle article that sales of big-assed SUVs are trending down, while hybrids like the Prius are selling well. See: America’s passion for burly SUV fizzles: Showrooms anemic, but customers paying full price for Toyota’s hybrid.

It was just a couple months ago that I quoted:

[Anthony Pratt, an analyst with J.D. Power and Associates] says he thinks demand for hybrids will peak around 2011, at 3 percent of the market, because there’s a limit to the number of customers willing to pay more for a vehicle that will save them a few hundred dollars a year on gas.

What if it’s a few thousand a year?