GM takes two-way road on hybrids

Once the hybrid hype has worn off, General Motors is betting that buyers will still want one that gets the job done at a sensible cost.

Time to pay-off
Time to pay-off
In one sense, neither of GM's hybrids is much different from other hybrid vehicles on the market.

With either of these vehicles, you'll need four to six years to save as much in fuel expenses as the system costs. That's about the same as for other popular hybrid vehicles like the Camry Hybrid, Civic Hybrid or Ford Escape Hybrid.

Here's the breakdown:

After taking a $1,300 tax credit, the Malibu Hybrid will cost about $500 more than a non-hybrid Malibu LT. But you'll save about $134 a year in fuel. That's a relatively quick pay-off

For the Tahoe, everything is bigger including the time to pay-off. The hybrid cost premium is roughly $5,000, but it will save you about $700 a year in gas.

Tahoe hybrid buyers will get the most benefit if they drive a lot on surface roads and not so much on highways, where the fuel economy benefit is much smaller.

But the most important thing about these vehicles is that neither one sacrifices driving pleasure or functionality. The Tahoe can still tow and haul, and the Malibu can still fit a family's weekend luggage in the trunk. That might be enough to make these vehicles work for those who otherwise wouldn't consider a hybrid.

Last updated February 18 2008: 9:29 AM ET

Two ways

Big vehicle

Big trim

Big savings

Light vehicle

Light touch

Light savings

Mid-sized pay-off
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.