I think that this suffers from the same problem as the GM Hybrids: Once you get people thinking about fuel economy, most of them are going to find an even more fuel efficient car to choose.

Nicely played, sir, nicely played.

CUVs are the Archaeopteryx or the vehicle world - merely a bathroom break on the road to a more evolved future. Like the little feathered dinosaur they're smaller, lighter and more agile than the giants they replaced, but their heavy bodies and vestigial features bear little resemblance to the eventual successors.

Confirmation that it's a sticker/wrap from the owner (in the forum):

How do you care for flat black paint? You can't wax it can you?

Obviously those of you who are complaining about Carolla's outfit aren't true fans of Top Gear, if you were, you would be acutely aware of Mr. Clarkson's fondness for denim.

Hopefully as with Renault-Nissan, Peugot-Citroen will bring a certain, what the French call "I don't know what" to the little Japanese mega corp's Auto unit.

@jaydez: I think that's entirely possible.

Cats also don't have a habit of killing Condors, Hawks and Eagles, like wind turbines. That would be one bad-ass motherfucking cat. That said, it's a small price to pay for clean(ish) power.

Solves your energy problems and your pigeon problems in one disturbingly satisfying step.

If they put the full-spec EVO motor in it and gave it a proper 6-speed I'd be interested. As it is it will certainly give the WRX hatch a good spanking.

(In Comic Book Guy Voice): Pluto is not actually a planet. It is a Kupier Belt Object or at best a "Dwarf" Planet. Please correct your comment to reflect the proper terminology.

The Red line/Green line corporate branding schemes is one of those things that sounds good in a marketing meeting but just doesn't translate well to consumers. If people call them hybrids, use the term hybrid. Who cares if it doesn't let you have some neat little graphic that shows red-line cars on one side and…

@boosted-lego-wagon: I laughed so hard I hit my elbow on the table and got a Bruce.

For some reason Pamela Anderson in a Viper just works in a cartoonishly juvenile sort of way.

@Mad_Science: If you read my comments you'll see I actually said that Hybrid SUVs were a good idea. My point is that these are niche vehicles, and we shouldn't be surprised that the sales are tanking.

@Mad_Science: Yeah, but if the Prius (or the Jetta Diesel Sportwagen) can do what you need it to do, then you can go from 15mpg to 45mpg, which is even better. The fact is that most people who buy SUVs bought them out of desire, or fashion, or both, not out of any rational utility considerations. For the people that…

A hybrid SUV actually does makes sense if you really need an SUV. The problem is that most people who were buying SUVs didn't. They wanted an SUV, and some of them would actually use it's capabilities on incredibly rare occasions, but when gas hits $4/gallon what people need and what people "need" become much more…

Sweet.

In 20 years, when we're all driving electrics and bitching about the Indian-import-tuner crowd (henceforth known as "Basmati Ricers"), this is the car we're going to look back at as the anachronistic, bat-shit-crazy example of the excess of the '00s. It rolls into one vehicle the stratospheric horsepower of the '60s…