Boombotz
02-07-06, 06:32 PM
General Motors Press Conferencehttp://fp.images.autos.msn.com/images/spacers/spacer.gifhttp://fp.images.autos.msn.com/images/spacers/spacer.gifDeclaring that “we’re in the hybrid game,” officials for General Motors Corp. unveiled two gasoline-electric hybrid SUVs.
The two SUVs will go on sale in the U.S. in each of the next two model years. And the giant automaker promised more hybrids “in every market segment” will come by the end of the decade, including a hybrid version of its Cadillac Escalade (http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2006&make=Cadillac&model=Escalade) by calendar 2008.
GM’s Tom Stephens, group vice president of powertrains, said consumers can expect a 20 percent improvement in fuel economy from the two initial hybrid vehicles—the 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line and the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs—over comparable gas-only models.
The Saturn Vue Green Line hybrid will be in showrooms this summer with a starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price of less than $23,000. This is some $4,000 less than the current lowest-priced hybrid SUV, the 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid (http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2006&make=Ford&model=Escape%20Hybrid).
Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak estimated fuel economy of the Saturn Vue Green Line of 27 miles a gallon in city driving and 32 mpg on the highway, which compares with 22/27 mpg in a gas-only four-cylinder two-wheel-drive Vue with automatic transmission. The hybrid Vue has front-wheel drive only.
But the Saturn Vue Green Line system operates a bit differently than the Ford Escape Hybrid, as well as hybrids from Toyota (http://autos.msn.com/browse/Toyota.aspx?).
Different Hybrid Technology While the Vue uses an electric motor and nickel-metal hydride battery pack to supplement a 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine with 170 horsepower, the Vue cannot run beyond a few seconds solely on electric power. The Ford and Toyota Hybrids can run for extended periods on electric power.
Rather, the Vue’s hybrid system is designed to supplement the gas engine, via extra launch power as a driver starts up from a stop, as well as via additional power for passing maneuvers.
The Vue does save gas by turning off the gasoline engine when the vehicle comes to a stop, say at a stoplight. The engine starts automatically when the driver lets up on the brake pedal.
GM officials have called the Vue system a simpler hybrid technology than that of competitors like Toyota. As a result, the Vue system adds about $1,500 to the price of the vehicle vis-à-vis the $3,000-plus cost for the more complicated Hybrid Synergy System of Toyota, they said.
But consumers should note that there’s no gauge or information display in the Vue to tell drivers exactly what fuel mileage they’re getting. GM engineers said the Vue electronic architecture does not support that kind of calculation. Vue hybrid owners can calculate their mileage on their own after each gasoline fill-up, they said.
Full-Size Hybrid SUVs The second hybrid SUV from GM, the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe, has a more robust hybrid system that does allow the vehicle to operate solely on electric power, when possible.
When it debuts in about a year and a half, the Tahoe Hybrid and its twin, GMC Yukon Hybrid full-size SUVs will become the largest hybrid vehicles on the market.
“Our hybrid strategy will not be confined to small cars,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president of sales, service and marketing at GM. He added that prices won’t be announced until closer to the on-sale date next year.
The Tahoe’s Vortec V8, with automatic cylinder shutdown, will be mated to an electric motor to produce a 25 percent fuel economy improvement, officials said.
After the hybrid press conference, GM invited media to an event at the Cadillac display, where the 2007 Escalade was unveiled amid a party during which Travis Barker, drummer for the band Blink 182, entertained. Barker, who stars on the MTV show Meet the Barkers is an Escalade fan. He owns three of the big SUVs and has Cadillac tattoo artwork on his body.
The two SUVs will go on sale in the U.S. in each of the next two model years. And the giant automaker promised more hybrids “in every market segment” will come by the end of the decade, including a hybrid version of its Cadillac Escalade (http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2006&make=Cadillac&model=Escalade) by calendar 2008.
GM’s Tom Stephens, group vice president of powertrains, said consumers can expect a 20 percent improvement in fuel economy from the two initial hybrid vehicles—the 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line and the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs—over comparable gas-only models.
The Saturn Vue Green Line hybrid will be in showrooms this summer with a starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price of less than $23,000. This is some $4,000 less than the current lowest-priced hybrid SUV, the 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid (http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2006&make=Ford&model=Escape%20Hybrid).
Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak estimated fuel economy of the Saturn Vue Green Line of 27 miles a gallon in city driving and 32 mpg on the highway, which compares with 22/27 mpg in a gas-only four-cylinder two-wheel-drive Vue with automatic transmission. The hybrid Vue has front-wheel drive only.
But the Saturn Vue Green Line system operates a bit differently than the Ford Escape Hybrid, as well as hybrids from Toyota (http://autos.msn.com/browse/Toyota.aspx?).
Different Hybrid Technology While the Vue uses an electric motor and nickel-metal hydride battery pack to supplement a 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine with 170 horsepower, the Vue cannot run beyond a few seconds solely on electric power. The Ford and Toyota Hybrids can run for extended periods on electric power.
Rather, the Vue’s hybrid system is designed to supplement the gas engine, via extra launch power as a driver starts up from a stop, as well as via additional power for passing maneuvers.
The Vue does save gas by turning off the gasoline engine when the vehicle comes to a stop, say at a stoplight. The engine starts automatically when the driver lets up on the brake pedal.
GM officials have called the Vue system a simpler hybrid technology than that of competitors like Toyota. As a result, the Vue system adds about $1,500 to the price of the vehicle vis-à-vis the $3,000-plus cost for the more complicated Hybrid Synergy System of Toyota, they said.
But consumers should note that there’s no gauge or information display in the Vue to tell drivers exactly what fuel mileage they’re getting. GM engineers said the Vue electronic architecture does not support that kind of calculation. Vue hybrid owners can calculate their mileage on their own after each gasoline fill-up, they said.
Full-Size Hybrid SUVs The second hybrid SUV from GM, the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe, has a more robust hybrid system that does allow the vehicle to operate solely on electric power, when possible.
When it debuts in about a year and a half, the Tahoe Hybrid and its twin, GMC Yukon Hybrid full-size SUVs will become the largest hybrid vehicles on the market.
“Our hybrid strategy will not be confined to small cars,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president of sales, service and marketing at GM. He added that prices won’t be announced until closer to the on-sale date next year.
The Tahoe’s Vortec V8, with automatic cylinder shutdown, will be mated to an electric motor to produce a 25 percent fuel economy improvement, officials said.
After the hybrid press conference, GM invited media to an event at the Cadillac display, where the 2007 Escalade was unveiled amid a party during which Travis Barker, drummer for the band Blink 182, entertained. Barker, who stars on the MTV show Meet the Barkers is an Escalade fan. He owns three of the big SUVs and has Cadillac tattoo artwork on his body.