Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Hybrid SUVs: Toyota, Ford to Unveil Gas-Electric SUVs
Aired January 05, 2004 - 06:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little 'Business Buzz' right now. If you feel guilty, and I know you do, about driving that gas guzzling SUV, help is on the way.
Carrie Lee reports live from the Nasdaq market site.
Good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
People who want the big car, but also fuel efficiency, will have some more options in 2004. A trio of hybrid SUVs coming out from Toyota and Ford are expected to be unveiled this week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, offering V6 or V8, like acceleration (ph), with the fuel economy of a compact car.
Now automakers are taking a risk here. The buyers could be disappointed by these new hybrids, and that's because the gas-electric SUVs aren't likely to provide the eye-popping fuel economy that's attracted buyers to small hybrid cars, for example, the Toyota Prius.
So what the automakers are doing is hoping that the consumers will compare the new hybrid SUV, not to cars like the Toyota Prius, but to the big SUVs like the Ford Expedition, which, Carol, gets just 15 miles per gallon. So the hybrid, in terms of these new SUVs, sort of somewhere in between the two, in between the Ford and the small cars. Better to have the option, though, certainly.
COSTELLO: Certainly so.
Quick look at the futures.
LEE: Looks like we could see a positive open for stocks this morning. Also in the auto space, the big names will be reporting their December sales at midday. So this is another thing to keep an eye on when it comes to autos.
And Time Warner, parent of CNN, a stock to keep an eye on, shares were down over 1 percent in Europe. "The Wall Street Journal" reporting that analysts are believing that Comcast's effort to force the registration of Time Warner's stake in the cable company could hamper the campaign to reduce Time Warner's overall debts. We'll be keeping an eye on that stock today.
Carol, back to you.
COSTELLO: All right. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq market site.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 5, 2004 - 06:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little 'Business Buzz' right now. If you feel guilty, and I know you do, about driving that gas guzzling SUV, help is on the way.
Carrie Lee reports live from the Nasdaq market site.
Good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
People who want the big car, but also fuel efficiency, will have some more options in 2004. A trio of hybrid SUVs coming out from Toyota and Ford are expected to be unveiled this week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, offering V6 or V8, like acceleration (ph), with the fuel economy of a compact car.
Now automakers are taking a risk here. The buyers could be disappointed by these new hybrids, and that's because the gas-electric SUVs aren't likely to provide the eye-popping fuel economy that's attracted buyers to small hybrid cars, for example, the Toyota Prius.
So what the automakers are doing is hoping that the consumers will compare the new hybrid SUV, not to cars like the Toyota Prius, but to the big SUVs like the Ford Expedition, which, Carol, gets just 15 miles per gallon. So the hybrid, in terms of these new SUVs, sort of somewhere in between the two, in between the Ford and the small cars. Better to have the option, though, certainly.
COSTELLO: Certainly so.
Quick look at the futures.
LEE: Looks like we could see a positive open for stocks this morning. Also in the auto space, the big names will be reporting their December sales at midday. So this is another thing to keep an eye on when it comes to autos.
And Time Warner, parent of CNN, a stock to keep an eye on, shares were down over 1 percent in Europe. "The Wall Street Journal" reporting that analysts are believing that Comcast's effort to force the registration of Time Warner's stake in the cable company could hamper the campaign to reduce Time Warner's overall debts. We'll be keeping an eye on that stock today.
Carol, back to you.
COSTELLO: All right. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq market site.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
