One of the auto industry's more interesting experiments is getting a thumbs down from buyers of big, costly cars and SUVs.
Automakers are mostly pulling back from offering gas-saving hybrids in their otherwise most gas-thirsty vehicles. So few were being purchased that automakers are rethinking whether it's worth engineering and offering them.
The latest pullback comes from General Motors, which has dropped the hybrid versions for the new generation of its Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs.
Too few customers were interested in the Escalade version, even though the hybrid delivered 21 miles per gallon in a mix of city and highway driving, says David Schiavone, Escalade's marketing manager. That was up from a 16 combined rating for the non-hybrid, a 31% boost.
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