Filed under: Hybrid, Truck, Chevrolet, GM, Reviews

For every engineering stroke of genius out there, there are a million duds - projects that someone slaved over in good faith, only to realize that someone else had already come to market with a superior and/or more viable alternative. Both the electronic and automotive industries are awash with tales of second-place finishes in two-man races. Blu-ray vs. HD DVD, VHS vs. Betamax and Oldsmobile vs. Edsel are all stories of outright champions and also-rans. It's rarer, however, to see a company build and sell an ugly duckling right alongside the varsity all-stars of the family, which is exactly what General Motors has done with its 2010 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid.

It's clear that GM desperately wants to mix the seemingly unblendable worlds of full-size pickup trucks and hybrids with its electrified Silverado, and to some degree, they've succeeded. Yes, our tester has a bed, four-wheel drive and a meaty V8 up front. And yes, it packs an electric motor and a mammoth battery pack. But the finished product feels like the road-going equivalent of a spork - a utensil to be used as a last resort. The only problem is, there are far better alternatives, many of which are available from The General's stable.



Photos by Zach Bowman / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Review: 2010 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid is all swing, all miss

Review: 2010 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid is all swing, all miss originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Aftermarket, Hybrid, SUV, Technology, Chevrolet, GM

We're used to seeing Geiger Cars tackle wild horsepower-riddled projects, but the tuner's latest effort involves none other than the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid. No, the company hasn't managed to bleed 1,000 horsepower from the dual-mode hybrid. Instead, the crew at Geiger has managed to talk the big 6.0-liter V8 under the hood into swilling down liquid petroleum gas in a move to substantially cut the big SUV's fuel costs.

Straight from General Motors, the Tahoe Hybrid is good for around 21 mpg, so we would expect to see some sort of improvement on that front with Geiger's take on the truck. Unfortunately, the company doesn't provide any solid LPG fuel-economy numbers.

Geiger did tell the world exactly how much the conversion will cost, though. If you'd rather turn your SUV green than look toward a more efficient way to get your family around town, the conversion will cost you a little over $5,000 at current conversion rates. Geiger will also allow you to buy the whole SUV from their shop for a paltry $78,000. Would we lay down our hard-earned cash for the swap? Given the fact that there isn't exactly an LPG fueling station on every corner, we'd have to pass. Hit the jump for the press release.



[Source: Geiger]

Continue reading GeigerCars turns tuning efforts to... Chevy Tahoe Hybrid?

GeigerCars turns tuning efforts to... Chevy Tahoe Hybrid? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 07 May 2010 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Micky Bly
GM Executive Director, Global Electrical Systems, Hybrids, EVs and Batteries

Today, we provided an update on our progress with the Chevy Volt during the last six months, including results from our cold weather testing in Kapuskasing, Ontario; high altitude testing in Colorado; battery pack assembly at Brownstown; and another extended development drive.

Listen to podcast of today’s media call on Volt developments here.

We also looked ahead at the next six months, which will feature hot-weather development testing in Yuma, Ariz. and an $8 million expansion of our Global Battery Systems Lab at the GM Technical Center in Warren, Mich.

This addition will nearly double the size of what is already the largest and most capable automotive battery lab in the U.S. – growing from 33,000 sq. ft to 63,000 sq. ft. – and will help us expedite the development of electrically-driven vehicles for consumers.

Think about that for a quick second; less than one year after opening the Global Battery Systems Lab, we’re renovating areas inside the Alternative Energy Center facility previously used for engine testing to increase the capability and capacity of the lab for battery safety, thermal and charger development testing.

GM made the decision to be a leader in advanced battery technology in 2007, when the Volt concept car debuted.

Since that time, we’ve invested $700 million in Volt-related facilities in Michigan, increased our battery engineering staff, partnered with the University of Michigan to create a specialized battery engineering curriculum, grown a robust line-up of battery cell suppliers (LG Chem, A123Systems, Hitachi Ltd, and Compact Power Inc), and collaborated with a host of government and other industry groups.

With GM leading the way, these investments and partnerships in electric vehicle development are creating new jobs and strengthening Michigan’s and America’s long-term competitiveness.

The lab expansion should be done by the end of the summer and will add capabilities in six areas – Safety and Abuse Tolerance (crush, penetration, water immersion, overcharge, discharge and short circuit tests), Buildup and Teardown, Manufacturing Engineering (to improve processes such as laser welding and stacking), Charger Development and Integration, Thermal Development and Battery Storage.

And we’re integrating our global network of labs, which extends to Honeoye Falls, NY, Mainz Kastel, Germany and Shanghai, to facilitate seamless data exchange and work sharing around the clock.  When you really think about it, it’s quite amazing – our battery teams are able to collaborate as if they are in the same room, not separated by oceans and continents.

We’ve also received some recognition for the lab itself – world-class accreditation by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) and Construction Association of Michigan magazine’s Green Project of the Year award.

Just last week, Treehugger awarded the Best Transportation Advance to Battery and Electric Car Factories as part of their Best of Green 2010, and it’s no surprise they showed a picture of our Brownstown Battery Assembly Plant because we are leading this effort domestically.

In the past few months alone, we’ve built more than 50 battery packs at Brownstown, and shipped them to Milford and Warren for testing and to the Detroit-Hamtramck plant to build pre-production models of the Volt.  We passed more than 850,000 miles of customer-use lab testing and 30 of our pack channels at the Global Battery Systems Lab are now fully dedicated to Voltec electric propulsion system testing.

Our decision to invest heavily in advanced battery development was the right decision three years ago and still is now.  Plus, it’s already paying off for all of us and there’s still more to come, so stay tuned.

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Government/Legal, Cadillac, Military

You can't always get what you want. President Barack Obama said today that he originally wanted his presidential limo to boast a hybrid drivetrain. So what keeps the ruler of the free world from getting what he asks for? In this case, it was the Secret Service. Obama's body guards said that a hybrid engine couldn't produce the kind of power necessary to scoot the massive Cadillac down the road in an emergency situation. That's saying something, considering the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid boasts a V8 with enough power to have a 7,700-pound towing capacity. Part of us thinks it might also be a security concern to have a vehicle that may be more susceptible to electronic interference from nefarious sources, but that's just a guess.

No one's exactly sure what the Commander-in-Chief's car has under the hood, but it's a good bet that it has eight cylinders and enough torque to move a mountain of armor plating. We hear it's a diesel and we're guessing it probably nets fuel economy on par with most RVs.

Obama's pining for a hybrid limo came to light during a speech about the government's recent purchase of 5,000 of hybrid cars and trucks for federal use. No word on whether or not the executive branch got the General Motors employee discount.



[Source: ABC News]

Report: President Obama denied hybrid limo by Secret Service originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrid, Government/Legal, Chevrolet, GM, Electric

In an effort to make the government's fleet of vehicles more green, the Obama administration has reportedly announced plans to add more hybrids this year followed by plug-in hybrids next year. The plan should double the number of hybrids in the government's fleet, a step towards achieving its goal of reducing fleet petroleum use by 30 percent by 2020.

The new plan involves purchasing 100 plug-in vehicles by the end of next year, and the front-runner is the Chevrolet Volt. According to Ward's Auto, the White House has announced that the government will purchase the first 100 Chevy Volts to roll off the assembly line later this year. The government is also considering adding the plug-in hybrid electric Dodge Ram to its fleet, though how many units it's considering has not been released.

Whether or not the Volt and PHEV Ram are being considered because the government just happens to be part owner of their parent companies remains to be seen, but we haven't heard mention of the excellent Ford Fusion Hybrid.

UPDATE: GM has officially responded to the government suggesting that the first 100 Volts will end up in government fleets by stating,

We are pleased to see that the Federal government is interested in the greening of their vehicle fleet. Media speculation has led to reports that the GSA and DOE will be buying the first 100 Chevrolet Volt's because we will meet this criteria. At this time we have no further details regarding these purchases.

[Source: Ward's Auto]

Report: U.S. government to purchase first 100 Chevy Volts and thousands of hybrids *UPDATE originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Pete Savagian
Hybrid Powertrain Systems Engineering Director

Today we announced a $246 million investment and to me it’s more than just another big dollar figure from an automotive company. It’s an investment in people, jobs, knowledge and our future.

The $246 million investment will fund GM’s expansion of in-house electric vehicle development capabilities and make us the first major U.S. automaker to design and manufacture electric motors, which is a core technology for hybrids and electric vehicles.

This investment also allows us to add more jobs and continue expanding electric motor research and development, design and validation capabilities already under way at facilities in Michigan, Indiana and California. As part of a U.S. Department of Energy $105 million grant awarded in August 2009, our White Marsh, Maryland transmission plant alone will create about 200 new jobs.

It’s an investment in our company’s future. This gives us the opportunity to take our expertise in several technologies, like transmissions and controls, and add electric motor technology for an efficient electric drive system. We can’t achieve this by simply purchasing the parts from a supplier; we need to really understand them. The best way to understand and know we have the best is by controlling the design, the manufacturability, the material selection, and the production processes. Now our relationship with suppliers will be more collaborative and allow for faster innovation than ever before.

What does this mean to our customers? These electric motors are engines for hybrid and electric vehicles. They provide power to the wheels. By designing and manufacturing electric motors in-house, we can more efficiently use energy from batteries as they evolve, potentially reducing cost and weight – two significant challenges facing batteries today. The new electric motors will be smaller, more powerful and more energy efficient. Their smaller size will allow us to use them in a variety of vehicles. The first GM electric motors will debut in 2013 in our rear-wheel-drive full-hybrid vehicles.

Did you know that electric motor innovation supported the first wave of automotive growth a century ago with the electric starter? It eliminated the need for a hand crank and revolutionized automotive travel for the customer. We think the electrification of today’s automobiles will be just as revolutionary and just as beneficial to our customers. Makes you wonder where this innovation could take us – keep watching and see.

Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Hybrid, Sedan, Cadillac, GM, Luxury

Let's just call this one the Cadillac XTS Platinum "Concept." For reals y'all, this is one of, if not the most production ready "concepts" we've ever seen. For its part, Cadillac stuck to the "It's just a concept" mantra. Though they might as well have all been nodding, elbowing and winking. If When the new XTS sees production it, will replace both the STS and the DTS.

For you tech geeks out there, this new Caddy is fairly intriguing. The all-wheel-drive powertrain is motivated by a plug-in two-mode hybrid consisting of the brand's 3.6-liter direct-injected V6 coupled to an electric motor. Cadillac was tight-lipped on the power rating, hemming and hawing before saying "around 350 horsepower."

That may not sound like buckets of oomph, but when compared to the Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid - the XTS's probable direct competitor - makes 295 hp. The XTS theoretically makes 295 pound-feet of torque, too. For those of you not geeked on the hybrid bandwagon, Cadillac's general manager Bryan Nesbitt posed an interesting hypothetical question, "Is the largest displacement engine the only symbol of luxury?"

As for the XTS itself, it looks like a big Cadillac., which if you stop and think about is is a good thing. Cadillacs should be big, and this sucker is large - within a couple of inches of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, according to both Caddy and our highly unscientific eyeball-based measuring system. We also thought the XTS was significantly better looking in person than in the preview pictures that broke last night. Supposedly there are lots of design cues borrowed from Cadillac's legendary Sixteen Concept, but aside from the grille we're not seeing it.

The XTS has its own mojo going on, especially when it comes to the interior. Here's where the Platinum part comes in. Nesbitt explained that Cadillac intends the XTS Platinum to be a "personal headquarters." We're not going to buy into the CEO and wannabe CEO pandering, but lordy is the interior fabulous. Featuring intricate laser-perforated stitching on the leather and synthetic-suede bits with sharp looking burled wood covering everything else, we have to say that with the exception of the Bentley Mulsanne, the XTS Platinum Concept has the best interior at the show. Call it the Cadillac of interiors. Video of the live reveal is available after the jump.



Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Detroit 2010: Cadillac XTS Platinum concept is anything but [w/VIDEO]

Detroit 2010: Cadillac XTS Platinum concept is anything but [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Buick

Last night, General Motors publicly unveiled the 2011 Buick Regal that goes on sale in North America in the first half of next year. The Regal will be Buick's new mid-sized sedan entry and is essentially just a re-grilled version of the Opel Insignia that went on sale in Europe last year. The North American Regal will be built at the Oshawa Ontario assembly plant in Canada beginning in calendar 2011 and will only be offered with a choice of direct-injected four-cylinder engines. However, the Regal is actually slated to go on sale in calendar 2010, and some are suggesting that the sedan will be sourced from Germany for 12 to 15 months.

The base engine will be the 2.4-liter normally aspirated unit that debuted earlier this year in the Chevrolet Equinox, among other models. With a six-speed automatic transmission, the Regal should hit 30+ mpg on the highway. The optional unit will be a 220-hp version of the 2.0-liter turbo, but that powertrain likely won't come on-line right away.

Earlier this year, documents were leaked that listed the Oshawa plant as building a new mid-size hybrid sedan in 2011. It looks like the Regal will be that car with GM's new second generation mild hybrid system that was announced in 2008. The new system uses a more powerful motor/generator and a lithium ion battery. According to Ward's Auto World, the Regal could also get GM's plug-in two mode hybrid system, but that likely won't appear before late 2011 at the earliest.



[Sources: Ward's Auto World - sub req'd | GM-Volt.com]

Buick Regal likely to be launch platform for next GM hybrid system originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Handsome high-miler: Mitsubishi designs a plug-in hybrid crossover concept good for 117 mpg.

While there will be fewer cars at this year’s Tokyo auto show thanks to a mass pullout of non-Japanese carmakers from the biennial expo, the high number of automobiles containing multiple power sources means that total motor count may indeed remain the same. One car helping put the “motor” in the Tokyo Motor Show is the Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV, a handsome if disappointingly conventional-looking (for Tokyo, anyway) plug-in hybrid crossover. It contains one electric motor for the front wheels, another for the back, and a 114-hp four-cylinder gasoline engine that can serve either as a generator at low speeds or a source of supplemental propulsion at higher speeds.

In tech speak, that makes the PX-MiEV a hybrid that can operate in both series and parallel. It also can be front- or four-wheel drive depending on conditions. Plug-in charging of its batteries can be done using 100-volt, 200-volt, or high-power quick-charging power supplies. And if the PX-MiEV should find itself plugged in inside the family garage during the day, its battery system can be programmed to shunt power back to the home to keep from drawing power off the neighborhood grid during peak hours.

Keep Reading: Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV – Auto Shows

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A stroll down the length of the Delta concourse at LAX presents travelers with no fewer than five banner ads featuring Fisker’s sexy Karma. An image of the slinky four-door hybrid is accompanied by a claim that the car will achieve 100 mpg, which to some people seems downright dubious and to others sounds like Holy Grail material. Well, as it turns out, it may be a bit optimistic after all, at least officially.

At this year’s Frankfurt auto show, Fisker revealed that, according to the formula applied by the Society of Automotive Engineers, the Karma would achieve the fuel-economy equivalent of 3.5 liters/100 km, which in English translates into 67.2 mpg, only two-thirds of Fisker’s claim. D’oh!

Fisker, however, is quick to point out the obvious: if you charge the thing every night and drive in Stealth mode all the time and fully recharge it before the battery runs out, you may never use gasoline at all, so theoretically, the 100-mpg claim remains more than achievable. Thus, the Irvine, California-based company still stands behind the 100-mpg figure: “We wanted to communicate a number based on something solid and tangible. The 67.2 [figure] is based on current SAE formulas combining city and highway mileage, which are expected to strongly influence final EPA calculations still under development. Stand-alone city figures are much higher. 100 mpg is an achievable annual average that Karma drivers should expect to see so we will continue with that data point,” said Russel Datz, Fisker’s director of public relations.

We sort of expected that even amid the advances in battery technology we’ve seen of late, once push came to shove—and estimated weight for the production Karma ballooned to some 5000 pounds—100 mpg would be rather difficult to achieve in practice once the Karma finally hits the market, which is now scheduled for Summer 2010. (Yes, that’s more than six months later than predicted and only a couple of months earlier than that other plug-in deal, the Chevy Volt.) Still, even at two-thirds its intended efficiency, it remains on track to be the quickest, most emotional, and sexiest hybrid ever. And we can’t wait to get our hands on one to see just how fast we can drain the batteries and the tank—in the name of science, of course.

Related posts:

1. Running On Empty: Is the 2011 Chevrolet Volt Hype or Hope? – Car News
2. 2010 Fisker Karma: Fisker Testing and Taking Orders
3. Henrik Fisker: The Man Behind the 2010 Fisker Karma – Feature