DETROIT, MICHIGAN
Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News
With eco-friendly Los Angeles as a backdrop,
General Motors Corp. on Wednesday made its most aggressive push
yet into the market for hybrid vehicles.
Following an environmentally-themed speech from GM Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner, who said the automaker
would begin work on a plug-in version of the Saturn VUE Green
Line hybrid, the automaker unveiled three new hybrid models
for the 2008 model year at the L.A. Auto Show media preview.
The hybrid versions of the Saturn Aura sedan and GMC Yukon
sport utility vehicle bring to eight the number of vehicles
in GM's hybrid fleet. GM also unveiled its redesigned 2008
Saturn Vue Green Line SUV hybrid, which Wagoner said will
be the launch platform for GM's two-mode hybrid system.
A two-mode system is equipped with a pair of electric motors,
one to add power at low speeds, the other at high speeds.
A plug-in version of the Vue two-mode hybrid would be able
to be plugged into a standard electrical outlet to recharge,
a capability no automaker has been able to bring to the commercial
market because the battery technology does not yet exist,
Wagoner said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.
He said the two-mode hybrid Vue would improve fuel economy
up to 45 percent over today's base Vue, and a plug-in version
would perform even better.
"I can't give you a date certain for our plug-in hybrid
today," Wagoner said in his prepared remarks, "but
I can tell you that this is a top priority program for GM, given
the huge potential it offers for fuel-economy improvement."
In his speech, Wagoner laid out a plan in which the automaker
will use a variety of advanced technologies and fuels to make
vehicles more dependent on electricity and less on petroleum.
"It is highly unlikely that oil alone is going to supply
all of the world's rapidly growing automotive energy requirements," Wagoner
said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks. "For
the global auto industry, this means we must -- as a business
necessity -- develop alternative sources of propulsion."
In the short term, GM is rolling out several new hybrid
models for 2008. Hybrid models almost always sell more quickly
than their traditional counterparts, said Tom Libby an analyst
with J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network,
which tracks auto sales.
That means GM likely will see a sales boost when the new
models hit showrooms.
Sales of hybrids are expected to grow to 535,000 vehicles
in 2011, up from about 200,000 in 2005, according to a J.D.
Power study.
But even with the new offerings, GM still has much catching
up to do. Sales of Toyota Motor Corp.'s top selling hybrid
cars - the Prius and Camry - outsold the entire Saturn car
division in North America in the first 10 months of 2006.
Toyota has a reputation for being environmentally-friendly
and innovative that GM hasn't yet cultivated, Libby said.
Even in the United States, GM trailed Ford Motor Co., which
was the first Detroit automaker to debut hybrids for the
masses with its gas-electric Escape SUV.
GM also used the L.A. Auto Show to plug its "Project Driveway" imitative
to unleash 100 fuel-cell powered Chevrolet Equinox SUVs, including
about 50 in L.A., as part of a thee-city test drive in which
celebrities, policymakers and regular people will tool around
in the vehicles to drum up attention and give feedback.
GM is hardly alone this week in L.A. when it comes to
unveiling earth-friendly options. The auto show has long
been known as a platform for new green technologies.
Ford will show off its new 2008 Escape Hybrid. DaimlerChrysler
AG, Volkswagen AG and its Audi unit announced on Tuesday
an agreement to jointly use a clean diesel technology developed
by Mercedes-Benz as they seek to comply with stricter U.S.
BMW, meanwhile, showed off its Hydrogen 7, the world's first
hydrogen-powered performance sedan.
Hybrid transformation
GM's entry into the hybrid market came in 2003 when it installed
the engines on some city busses. Much of the company's hybrid
attention has since focused on gas-guzzling large sport utility
vehicles and trucks.
That changed this fall, when GM came out with the Saturn
Vue Green Line, a hybrid compact SUV that gets 32 mils per
gallon on the highway.
The next push will come next year with the Aura.
"From our perspective, this is a total reinvention of the
automobile," GM spokeswoman Renée McClelland said. "We've
had a lot of advancements, but basically we're still using the
same technology of 100 years ago - and internal combustion engine
that runs on petroleum. We're looking to completely change the
DNA."
The Aura Green Line is expected to be 25 percent more
fuel efficient than the non-hybrid Aura XE. GM says base
price will likely be just under $23,000 and will be available
at Saturn retailers this spring 2007.
The first hybrid Vue went on sale in September. G.M. sold
659 of the vehicles in September and October. The 2008 model,
along with the redesigned traditional Vue, are being billed
as compact five-door crossover vehicles with European influenced
design.
The Vue will be Saturn's fourth new Saturn model since the
beginning of 2006. The non-hybrid version will come with
several powertrain options, including a four-cylinder engine
and two V-6 choices mated to six-speed automatic transmissions.
A five-speed manual transmission will be available later
in the year.
The 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid will put to use the two-mode hybrid
propulsion system -- which runs in one mode for city driving
and another for highway driving - that GM first debuted
in city busses several years ago.
The two-mode hybrids, which Wagoner touted during his speech,
can run for extended time on battery power and then switch
to a gasoline or diesel engine that powers the car when the
battery is low.
GM may sell some hybrids, but those vehicles don't make much
of a dent in producing the kinds of sales GM is looking
for, said David Healy, an auto analyst with Burnham Securities.
"These are probably not make or break vehicles for GM," he
said. "Those are still the trucks and SUVs."
As far as technological advances, Healy said
he considers GM's improvements on reducing rollovers
with better stability systems far more significant
that the hybrid technology.
Goal: 12 GM hybrids
After L.A., GM will turn its attention now to new models
and making improvements on existing vehicles.
GM plans to eventually have 12 hybrids on the
market that vary in price and fuel efficiency.
One key goal: making the transition from gas to electric
less noticeable to drivers.
"We want to make it completely transparent," said
Tim Grewe, a GM chief engineer who works with hybrids. . "Our
long-term plan on hybrids is to make sure
we meet customer satisfaction."
The recent focus on environment aims to
take some heat off automakers for their
gas thirsty tucks and SUV's. Some industry
watchers, however, were not impressed.
One group planned a protest today to criticize the vehicles
being showcased this week as lip service rather than
a genuine effort on the part of automakers.
"While automakers spend millions of dollars advertising
their environmental commitments," Mike Hudema, Independence
for Oil Director with Global Exchange said in a statement. "They
continue to sell America's most oil-addicted
vehicles."
sterlep@detnews.com
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