General Motors has questionable judgment, and even worse timing.

by Chris Muldoon

Despite everything that’s going on in our country right now, I’m really, really trying to be optimistic. But the folks at Cadillac aren’t helping me out at all. Just take a look at their commercial introducing the 2009 Escalade Hybrid.

In case you’re too lazy to watch the video, I’ll give you a quick recap. A suave gentleman is cruising along, talking to himself because he’s that awesome. “Why are hybrids always small cars?” he smirkingly asks. He rambles on a bit longer, there are a few gratuitous shots of the car’s luxurious features, then the punch line – Cadillac hybridized the Escalade.

Let’s back up for a second, buddy. Why are hybrids always small? Oh, I don’t know, maybe because that’s the (expletive deleted) point. That’s like asking, “Why do all diets make you eat those yucky healthy foods?” Perhaps you think I’m overreacting, that maybe the geniuses at GM had an engineering epiphany that’s going to revolutionize the entire industry.

Not so much.

The Escalade Hybrid gets 20 miles per gallon. My ’02 Suzuki SUV gets better than that, though I will admit, it doesn’t have a sweet touch screen navigation system. I guess that means I need an upgrade. So how much is this thing going to cost me? Starting at $71,685, you say? In that case, I’ll take two. I mean, it’s not like the economy is doing down the tubes or anything.