20 new ECO-friendly vehicles by 2010
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20 new ECO-friendly vehicles by 2010
More eco-friendly pickups, SUVs planned
By MARK GLOVER
Sacramento Bee
Light-truck buyers with an eye on the environment and improved fuel economy have pretty much been out of luck - until now.
Environmentally friendly transportation has been limited to three smallish passenger cars - the two-seat Honda Insight, the compact Honda Civic Hybrid and the midsize Toyota Prius.
That's about to change, and the menu of green vehicles will include more than 20 nameplates by 2010. Most of the new offerings are hybrids in which a comparatively small gasoline engine is combined with an electric motor.
"Over the next few years, there will be many new vehicles with technology that will not only help the environment, but give [buyers] the kind of performance they have come to expect in their [gasoline-powered] vehicles," said Dave Barthmuss, a General Motors spokesman and energy specialist in GM's Thousand Oaks, Calif., office.
GM will be at the forefront of hybrid-powered auto proliferation this fall, when it will offer 2005 hybrid versions of its popular Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. Both are considered "mild" hybrids, because while they use a 42-volt starter/generator to produce electricity that powers various mechanical functions, the vehicles are propelled almost exclusively by their gas engines.
GM is predicting a fuel economy gain of 10 percent to 15 percent in the trucks - or a gain of perhaps 1 to 2 miles per gallon over a 2004 Chevy Silverado 1500 Crew Cab with a 5.3-liter, gas-fueled V-8.
GM's approach is to methodically develop greener vehicles.
By 2006, the company plans to have a belt-alternator starter system in its Chevrolet Malibu passenger car and Saturn VUE sport utility vehicle. The system generates electricity stored in a 36-volt battery. GM said it would match it with a four-cylinder engine and a continuously variable transmission (a smoother belt-like gearbox with hundreds of gear ratios) to raise fuel economy by 12 percent to 15 percent over powertrains in current Malibus and VUEs.
For 2007, GM is working on what it calls the Advanced Hybrid System II for full-size SUVs. The system will pair with GM's Displacement on Demand technology, in which four cylinders of a V-8 engine automatically deactivate when they are not needed to power the vehicle. Fewer operating cylinders translate to not only fuel savings but reduced emissions, according to GM.
The Article
http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjo...ofriendly.html
By MARK GLOVER
Sacramento Bee
Light-truck buyers with an eye on the environment and improved fuel economy have pretty much been out of luck - until now.
Environmentally friendly transportation has been limited to three smallish passenger cars - the two-seat Honda Insight, the compact Honda Civic Hybrid and the midsize Toyota Prius.
That's about to change, and the menu of green vehicles will include more than 20 nameplates by 2010. Most of the new offerings are hybrids in which a comparatively small gasoline engine is combined with an electric motor.
"Over the next few years, there will be many new vehicles with technology that will not only help the environment, but give [buyers] the kind of performance they have come to expect in their [gasoline-powered] vehicles," said Dave Barthmuss, a General Motors spokesman and energy specialist in GM's Thousand Oaks, Calif., office.
GM will be at the forefront of hybrid-powered auto proliferation this fall, when it will offer 2005 hybrid versions of its popular Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. Both are considered "mild" hybrids, because while they use a 42-volt starter/generator to produce electricity that powers various mechanical functions, the vehicles are propelled almost exclusively by their gas engines.
GM is predicting a fuel economy gain of 10 percent to 15 percent in the trucks - or a gain of perhaps 1 to 2 miles per gallon over a 2004 Chevy Silverado 1500 Crew Cab with a 5.3-liter, gas-fueled V-8.
GM's approach is to methodically develop greener vehicles.
By 2006, the company plans to have a belt-alternator starter system in its Chevrolet Malibu passenger car and Saturn VUE sport utility vehicle. The system generates electricity stored in a 36-volt battery. GM said it would match it with a four-cylinder engine and a continuously variable transmission (a smoother belt-like gearbox with hundreds of gear ratios) to raise fuel economy by 12 percent to 15 percent over powertrains in current Malibus and VUEs.
For 2007, GM is working on what it calls the Advanced Hybrid System II for full-size SUVs. The system will pair with GM's Displacement on Demand technology, in which four cylinders of a V-8 engine automatically deactivate when they are not needed to power the vehicle. Fewer operating cylinders translate to not only fuel savings but reduced emissions, according to GM.
The Article
http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjo...ofriendly.html
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From: Edmonton, AB, Canada
GM's been working on Displacement on Demand FOREVER, and Chrysler still beats them to market with it on a newer engine. This year you can only get DOD on the 5.3L Vortec and only in Envoy/Trailblazer Extended versions. :? GM must like getting beat to the punch sometimes.
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