gmc
AutoblogGreen for 11.14.08
Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green
The three cars in the image above are all battery powered, and are all incredibly hard to get. First off, on the right we have a DIY 1970 VW Bradley GT electric car (this one’s the easiest to buy, because it’s on eBay). Second, with the big SOLD tag, is the $100,000 electric Super Car from Sam’s Club. Third, as you might already recognize, is the Brabus Tesla Roadster. Yumz.
- Obama to be transported in GMC Topkick “Cadillac”
- Sam’s Club finds buyer for $100,000 electric Super Car package
- BYD: Gas for developing countries, EVs for developed countries
- Brabus tunes the Tesla Roadster - yes, you can get neon with that
- eBay Find of the Day: 1970 VW Bradley GT electric car
- Once you can charge up your ride anywhere, what happens?
- Hardball duo completely fumble American green car discussion
- Petroleum-free liquid crystals the next big thing in lubricants?
- Why we care: Dirty air in California kills more people than car crashes do
- LA Preview: Volkswagen unveiling Touareg TDI Trophy Truck
- Minnesota congressman wants to see E15 nationwide
- Rumors of a hybrid Le Mans racer from Toyota pop back up
- Fisker and Valmet finalize Finnish production deal
- Pro-hydrogen blog collects Toyota and Honda executives criticizing plug-in cars
- Toyota iQ wins Japanese Car of the Year
AutoblogGreen for 11.14.08 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: honda, toyota, gm, gmc
Related posts
Obama to be transported in GMC Topkick "Cadillac"
Filed under: Cadillac, GM, GMC, Legislation and Policy, USA
There’s no doubt that the President of the United States needs a safe vehicle to be transported in. Various assassination attempts prove that case rather easily. President-in-waiting Barack Obama will be getting a brand-new armored “car” that will look like a Cadillac, but will really be based on the positively gigantic medium-duty GMC Topkick chassis. Nobody is quite sure what kind of armament the First Car will be equipped with, but let’s just assume that there is plenty, including up to five inches of glass and ceramic ballistics materials. That should make this one heavy vehicle. In fact, a couple of heavy vehicles, as General Motors is likely building multiples so that decoys can be used. With all that weight to move around, we’d expect GM to use a version of its diesel engine (running perhaps on biodiesel? No?) and Allison transmission from its line of heavy-duty trucks. Alternatively, Obama could make a green splash by using GM’s 2-Mode hybrid system. Just a thought.
[Source: The Boston Globe]
Obama to be transported in GMC Topkick “Cadillac” originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: gmc, gm
Related posts
GM’s hybrid sales momentum crunched?
Down from 1,000 per month
“The momentum that General Motors was starting to get with its hybrid sales hit a major speed bump last month,” reports Autobloggreen this morning.
In September the Chevy Tahoe hybrid and the GMC Yukon hybrid combined, achieved sales of just over 1,000 units. In October, despite the edition of the Cadillac Escalade hybrid, total sales of all three of these hybrid vehicles dropped to 795 units.
I don’t know that I’d call 1,000 units per month momentum, but I think it’s obvious that large SUVs - whether hybrid or not - have no future.
Tags: gmc, gm, chevrolet
Related posts
Hybrid tech won’t save the full size SUV as new Tahoe/Yukon cancelled
Filed under: Hybrid, MPG, Chevrolet, GM, GMC
It looks like the theory behind the creation of full-size hybrid SUVs may not hold water, at least from a marketing perspective. Certainly adding a hybrid drivetrain to a big truck will save more gas for a given number of miles driven than doing the same to a smaller more efficient car. At the same time these vehicles will still use more fuel than a smaller vehicle even at the higher mileage levels they achieve. The pitch from automakers like GM and Chrysler was that some people still need the capabilities that are offered by these vehicles such as the people towing boats on a regular basis.
However, the reality is that a combination of factors ranging from high fuel prices (at least they were high through most of the summer of 2008), increasingly restrictive credit and leasing terms and collapsing real estate values have made buyers re-evaluate their real needs in a vehicle. For those that are still able to afford new vehicles, “needs” increasingly means a smaller, more-efficient vehicle rather than a hybrid SUV. GM and Chrysler have seen the writing on the wall and the Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen received their execution orders last week. We heard earlier this year that GM had put the development of the next generation full-size trucks on hold for at least a year. Now Inside Line is reporting that, as far back as last May, the SUVs may have been killed entirely. It’s unclear what this means for the current vehicles, but if sales don’t start to at least stabilize soon, they may face the same fate as the Chryslers and die before reaching the end of their planned life cycle in 2011. Whether they live on or die sooner, they will likely be effectively replaced by the Lambda crossovers, the Acadia, Outlook, Traverse and Enclave.
[Source: Inside Line]
Hybrid tech won’t save the full size SUV as new Tahoe/Yukon cancelled originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: gmc, chevrolet, gm, ford
Related posts
Tahoe, Yukon and Escalade hybrids to be phased out?
Only for PR?
Large SUVs, such as the Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade, are facing their last days. Because of costs, Bob Lutz stated this weekend that these vehicles will not be replaced in 2011, as originally planned, including the hybrid versions.
Thus, all current GM dual mode hybrid vehicles are already being phased out. Soon, however, GM will launch a dual mode version of the Saturn Vue hybrid, which is a much smaller SUV. And, there are also plans for a GM dual mode pickup truck, but skeptics are already dismissing the vehicle.
“It is a publicity stunt,” states Ford truck marketing manager. “It is no different than what you are seeing with their large SUVs. They are not selling any Tahoe and Yukon hybrids. It’s about something to advertise.”
Tags: gmc, gm, ford, lutz
Related posts
Durango, Aspen hybrids officially rated at 20 city and 22 highway
Filed under: Hybrid, MPG, Chrysler, Dodge, USA
We know all about the technology that makes the hybrid versions of Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango SUVs work. It’s quite similar to the 2-Mode system that General Motors uses in its GMC Yukon and Chevy Tahoe hybrids and was jointly developed by these two corporations along with BMW. Our own Sam Abuelsamid has driven the Chrysler hybrid ‘utes and managed a respectable 22.1 miles per gallon, beating Chrysler’s early predictions of 19 mpg city and 20 mpg highway. At that time, the hybrids had not yet had their official EPA mileage ratings bestowed upon them, but that situation has since been rectified, with the 2009 models achieving 20 city and 22 highway. That figure measures up rather well with its most direct competitors, the aforementioned full-size SUVs from GM, which match the Dodge and Chrysler units in the city but trail on the highway by two miles per gallon. This figure gives Chrysler, with its 400-horsepower hybrid, the best fuel mileage in its category. Chrysler’s also quick to point out that its full-sizers are priced nearly $8,000 less than the units from GM and qualify for a $2,200 tax credit.
Gallery: ABG First Drive: Chrysler Aspen/Dodge Durango hybrids
[Source: Chrysler]
Continue reading Durango, Aspen hybrids officially rated at 20 city and 22 highway
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: gmc, gm, bmw
Related posts
Mercedes to add C and E class hybrids by 2011 in U.S.; 12,000 smart EVs in four years
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Mercedes Benz, SMART, Paris Motor Show
Next year’s arrival of the S400 BlueHybrid appears to be just the first stage of a massive move to hybridazition of the brand’s lineup. The ML450 is scheduled to get a Two-Mode hybrid late next year, pending resolution of issues with battery supplier Cobasys. A new generation of the high-volume mid-sized E-class arrives sometime in 2009 and Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche reportedly told media in Paris last week that it, too, will get the hybrid treatment. The smaller C-Class that debuted in 2007 gets a refresh in 2011 that is also expected to add an electric motor into the drivetrain package. The C and E are both likely to use the smaller, less expensive mild hybrid system that goes into the S rather than the larger Two-Mode. Finally, Zetsche had good news for EV fans when he said the company expects to be producing 12-15,000 electric Smarts per year starting in 2012.
Gallery: Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid
[Source: eGMCarTech]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: gmc, mercedes, gm
Related posts
GM moves nearly 2,000 hybrids in September
Filed under: Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Saturn
In yet another dismal sales month here in the U.S., General Motors actually did better than many companies with only a 15.8 percent drop in September compared to last year. There were even some bright spots in the numbers with the Malibu being up 192 percent and the Vibe jumping 91.1 percent. GM’s hybrid models are also continuing to gain ground with 1,957 units moved during the month. The combined total of Tahoe and Yukon Two-Mode Hybrids topped 1,000 for the first time and the Malibu and Vue mild hybrids held steady at 382 and 443 respectively. The new Escalade hybrid still hasn’t climbed into triple digits and the Saturn Aura still doesn’t seem to be more than an afterthought with 31 sales. All together, GM has sold 9,053 hybrids through nine months. That doesn’t go far toward offsetting the 50 percent drop in sales of the normal Tahoe and Yukon, but it’s a start.
Related:
- In the AutoblogGreen Garage: 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid Limited FWD
- In the AutoblogGreen Garage: 2008 Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid
- In the AutoblogGreen Garage: 2008 Chevy Tahoe Two-Mode Hybrid
- In the AutoblogGreen Garage: 2008 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ and Hybrid
[Source: General Motors]
Continue reading GM moves nearly 2,000 hybrids in September
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: ford, chevrolet, gm, gmc
Related posts
Did you know McCain owns three GEM EVs?
Filed under: GEM, Green Daily, NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle), USA
Maybe this is why John McCain is so gung-ho for better automotive batteries. According to a fluffy piece of reporting by Newsweek, the McCain family owns three GEM electric vehicles. Newsweek wanted to find out how many cars each of the two major party presidential candidates owns, and found out that McCain has 13 and Obama just one. As we know, that one vehicle is the 2008 Ford Escape hybrid he traded for his Hemi last year.
Aside from the NEVs, the McCains also have the Prius his daughter drives (whoops) and a 2004 Cadillac STC, a 2005 Volkswagen convertible, a Lexus, a 2001 Honda sedan, a 2007 half-ton Ford pickup truck, two Jeeps, a 2000 Lincoln, and a 2001 GMC SUV. Note how Newsweek explains to America what the GEMs are: “bubble-shaped cars popular in retirement communities.” So true.
Gallery: AFVI 2008: GEM’s new cargo options
[Source: Newsweek]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: honda, ford, lexus, gmc, gm
Related posts
The GMC Denali XT Hybrid Pickup: Form or function?
The right direction for hybrid trucks?
I was walking through the Mariott Renaissance Center this morning, which shares space with GM’s headquarters, and I saw the GMC Denali hybrid below. It’s a pretty striking vehicle for a segment - hybrid pickup tricks - that is terribly under served.
Nonetheless, the fact that the Denali hybrid is built on a unibody frame to provide more of a car-like ride, makes me wonder, is this the right direction for hybrid pickup trucks? I imagine construction workers, farmers, etc. being the primary customers of hybrid pickup trucks. Unfortunately, the Denali hybrid gives me the impression of a vehicle for people whom like to drive trucks, but don’t really need their functionality.
While the Denali is an exciting new design direction, is it a case of form over function.
Tags: gmc, gm
Related posts
Categories
