GM’s New Hybrid SUVs - Bigger, Quicker, Efficient-er
Some of you may have heard that I was invited today to the official unveiling of the production models of the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon Hybrid models. I realized at some point during the day that this isn’t nearly as big a deal as being invited to drive a pre-production model (which I’ve done before, but that’s another story) of some new car. Really today was a chance for GM to wave the flag and rally the troops in support of a couple of new vehicles which will come out of the Arlington Assembly Plant, and which I’m sure will sell very well here in Texas.
Those of you who come here regularly will know that I’m not a professional journalist. I’m really not much of a professional anything; I’m just a guy, you know? I wasn’t sure what to expect from this whole situation, I just knew that I had a very nice lady e-mailing me and asking me to take some time out of my day to be treated really well by General Motors at Fair Park. How could I turn that offer down? So, I asked people to post questions to the blog for whatever “executive” they trotted out to appease the blogger (and not even an automotive blogger!) from Fort Worth. I was expecting some mid-level division something or other, or maybe a director of engineering or design or whatever.
Imagine my surprise when I got to the display area and Lisa (my host for the day) told me that if I was ready, she’d arrange for me to spend a few minutes with Ed Peper, the General Manager of the Chevrolet Division for GM. Not a General Manager at a dealership, but the General Manager of ALL OF CHEVROLET! I think I rather suavely picked my jaw up off the floor and squeaked something like “sure, I’ve got a few questions,” then proceeded to explain that I’m not a real journalist and I was really afraid that I’d make a total buffoon of myself. Lisa assured me that it’d be fine and that Ed was really easy to talk to, and you know what? It was.
The first question I asked was the only one that I’d really thought about (and I didn’t even have to think much, since it was provided by PeteG in response to my post earlier this week). ”What is GM’s timeline for following Volkswagen’s lead in changing their entire product line to Hybrids?” Ed’s response was that “By the end of this year, GM will have more hybrid models than any other manufacturer. They’re real, and they’re out there now.”
He went on to explain that GM’s philosophy is that there are multiple solutions for improved fuel economy.
Currently they have 8 vehicles which get 30+ MPG on the highway, 1.5 Million cars on the road that can run on E85 Ethanol, and have announced not only the hybrid Tahoe and Yukon models, but also the hybrid Malibu. GM is also testing a hydrogen fuel cell powered version of the Equinox, and an all-electric car announced earlier this year called the Volt.
We discussed the plusses and minuses of the various fuel types and whatnot for a while, then I asked about something that has burned me up since I first started learning about European cars. Every model of Volkswagen sold in Europe has a diesel engine available as an option, the same is true for nearly every Ford. NO US manufacturer offers diesel engines in their mid-sized or small cars in the United States. I asked Ed if GM was planning anything like that. He said that some things are on the drawing boards, but he couldn’t really talk about the plans now. He could tell me, though, that GM will be putting diesel engines into its light trucks starting in calendar year 2009. This means that you won’t have to move up to a 3/4 ton truck just to get a diesel motor.
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I got there, but at this point, almost 12 hours later, I still don’t feel like I was “handled” by any means. I feel like everyone I spoke to was there to provide information and make sure that I felt like I was getting enough info. Of course, everyone was trying to position their company and products in the best light possible, but I don’t think it went overboard, definitely not with Lisa or anyone that I spoke to.
Yes, I got to drive one of the new SUVs, and yes I will tell you about it.
Tomorrow. It’s way past my bedtime, so I’ll write up my impressions tomorrow morning.