GM accelerates its move into the hybrid realm

By G. Chambers Williams III
San Antonio Exporess-News
Published: Monday, Nov. 26, 2007 12:46 a.m. MST
E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
After watching archrival Toyota get all the glory during the past seven years for its push into gasoline-electric hybrids, General Motors Corp. now seems intent on catching up.

The world's largest automaker now has more hybrids in its lineups or on the way than Toyota does, with the latest two having been introduced at auto shows earlier this month.

These newest ones are the 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 full-size pickup, unveiled in Los Angeles, and the Cadillac Escalade full-size sport utility vehicle, shown first in Miami, then in Los Angeles.

Equipped with GM's new two-mode hybrid system, which is similar to the setup used by Toyota, these two new hybrids go on sale next year. The Escalade will arrive in the summer, and the Silverado in late fall.

They will join two other hybrid SUVs introduced at auto shows this year, the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon. The Tahoe and Yukon are built on the same architecture as the Silverado and Escalade — GM's newest full-size truck platform known as GMT900 — so extending the Tahoe/Yukon hybrid system to the pickup and Escalade was easy.

GM also has two hybrid cars and a compact SUV in its lineups for 2008, using the same two-mode technology found in the big trucks/SUVs. They are the 2008 Saturn Aura Green Line and Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid midsize sedans and the Saturn Vue Green Line, a small crossover utility vehicle.

Story continues below
The Vue Green Line ($24,170 vs. $20,825 for the base Vue) is built on the same architecture as the Chevrolet Equinox, Pontiac Torrent and Suzuki Grand Vitara. Although none of the others has a hybrid version yet, I do expect to see the Vue's system extended to at least the Chevy and Pontiac models soon. It wouldn't be difficult to add it to the Suzuki, which is built alongside the others at a plant in Canada, but that decision would be made by Suzuki, a GM partner that markets its vehicles through its own separate U.S. dealer network.

GMC's Sierra pickup, which is a close sibling of the Silverado, eventually will get the same hybrid system used in the Chevy.

The Silverado hybrid will be offered only in the crew-cab body style and will be available with two- or four-wheel drive. It's expected to have a cruising range of more than 500 miles, GM said during the Los Angeles introduction. It will be able to start out and drive up to 30 mph on electric power only; the electric motor also will add power during passing at highway speeds.

GM already had light-hybrid versions of the Silverado and Sierra on the market, using a system that boosted fuel economy by about 10 percent to 12 percent using a single electric motor in the transmission.

But the new two-mode system, with two electric motors in the transmission (one for propulsion, one for accessories and battery charging), will boost overall fuel economy of the pickups and large SUVs by 25 percent to 30 percent, GM says.

Read all 4 comments

Recent comments

Have you tried to find an escape hybrid? They are just NOT out…

JOHN | Nov. 27, 2007 at 11:48 a.m.

Great article.

I am happy GM is now making much better Hybrids…

grege | Nov. 26, 2007 at 10:45 p.m.

You mentioned that the Suzuki Grand Vitara was being built on the…

Jaygee | Nov. 26, 2007 at 9:57 p.m.