The best way to see Dupont...

Traffic

by David Alpert • August 25, 2008 2:14 pm

... is from behind the windshield of a Cadillac. At least, that's what Cadillac thinks.

Image courtesy of reader Steve. Click for larger version.

In DC's most walkable neighborhood, Cadillac was offering to donate $25 to the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association's Student Project for every attendee who took a test drive around the neighborhood in a Cadillac.

They could get a quick glimpse of some of Dupont's historic rowhouses while keeping their eyes on the road to avoid hitting pedestrians or bicyclists, or see a a few neighborhood business establishments while weaving in and out of traffic-choked lanes of Dupont Circle. And they could do it all while saving the planet in the 18- to 20-mpg Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, which does a whopping 1 MPG worse in city driving than a regular, non-hybrid Toyota RAV4 SUV.

13 comments — Share	— tags: cars, Dupont Circle

This weekend: kill with kindness and see Dupont houses (Oct 17, 2008)

Comments

Yeah but it is for a good cause.

by Rj on Aug 25, 2008 2:36 pm

This is like Smith and Wesson giving a shooting demonstration in a bird sanctuary.

by Reid on Aug 25, 2008 2:49 pm

so funny that I forgot to laugh.

by Cavan on Aug 25, 2008 3:28 pm

And let's not forget the extra chunk of space it uses if it is parallel parked.

by Dave Murphy on Aug 25, 2008 5:05 pm

and so behind the times too - the "LGBT neighborhood" has definitely moved east from Dupont. Too funny

by Andy on Aug 25, 2008 5:17 pm

Cadillac should tap into a national trend (see bus ridership stats) and start building kick-ass busses that add some lux image of having "made it" to riding the bus, the "un-cool" public transportation. Also, the Cadillac bus plant should be opened in Michigan. The Oldsmobile plant on the Grand River in Lansing is vacant...

by Bianchi on Aug 25, 2008 6:00 pm

You'd rather them go through Dupont in a limo? Because people with money don't walk. They either do it in a conspicuous consumption-mobile or hire someone to do it for them.

by monkeyrotica on Aug 26, 2008 10:27 am

"Because people with money don't walk." This seems like one of the "assumption" statements where "you know what happens when you assume ... " In fact, most people living in Dupont walk "a lot". And it costs "a lot" to own a home in Dupont ... But, I don't know if I'd consider the Escalade the kind of car that people with money would necessarily buy ... at least not the same kind of people with money who would buy in Dupont. Perhaps those people who've bought the fake manses in Prince William County ... but not the people with money.

David ... I was confused about it doing 1 mpg "worse" than the RAV4 which is in fact a very small SUV ... If this large SUV is only doing 1 mpg worse, than its really doing very well.

by Lance on Aug 26, 2008 11:13 am

@Lance - the point was this Escalade hybrid does 1 mpg "worse" than the non-hybrid RAV4.

by FourthandEye on Aug 26, 2008 11:53 am

@Lance. Any car that gets under 20mpg, hybrid or not, is a FAIL.

by Tom on Aug 26, 2008 5:09 pm

@FourthandEye - Considering the Escalade provides so much more in the way of functionality, comfort, and luxury (for those seeking/needing that), I think the 1 mpg difference is quite amazing.

@Tom - Would the 18 wheeler that brings you your food (and everything else) and maybe gets 5 mpg also be "a FAIL"? While what the Escalade has to offer may not be your cup of tea, you can't assume everyone else's needs and desires are the same as yours. Personally, it doesn't bother me if someone wants more than me in the way of personal transportation (and all that goes along with that) and is willing to pay for it. It's their business ... not mine.

by Lance on Aug 27, 2008 8:21 am

Sometimes one person's personal transportation choice does become the business of his/her neighbors. Several years ago one of my neighbors bought a Hummer and parked it on the street. It created a real hazard by blocking the view at intersections for all road users-walkers, bikers and motorists. Because it's scale was so much larger than anything else it created the same sort of problem even when it was parked in the middle of the block because the streets are narrow and to get around the behemoth you had to cross over to the lane of oncoming traffic blind. Street parking is tight and this thing literally took up 2 spots at once and more if it wasn't effeciently parallel parked. It was a nuisance and created a safety hazard. I have not seen the Hummer in the last 2 years. We live together in communities. What we do does affect other people.

by Bianchi on Aug 27, 2008 12:09 pm

Expected and typical. GM's marketing is run by ad agencies and these ad agencies don't have a clue. Their employees have never been outside of metro detroit (except for jaunts to Fort Myers FL)

by PWOrules on Aug 27, 2008 8:51 pm