gavriil

We were expecting this...now it's official.

-------------------------------------------------

GM adds displacement on demand to hybrids

By Richard Truett
Automotive News / November 05, 2003

DETROIT — General Motors has overhauled its plans for hybrid vehicles.

GM will announce Thursday that it will install a full hybrid powertrain in its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks and its full-sized Tahoe and Yukon SUVs by the 2007 model year.

Cadillac also may get a version of the hybrid powertrain.

Those same vehicles also will be built with GM’s displacement on demand technology, which shuts down unneeded cylinders once the vehicle reaches highway speeds.

GM officials expect the new hybrid system combined with the cylinder shut-off technology to yield fuel economy gains of about 30 percent. This means that a V-8- powered hybrid GM full-sized pickup or SUV could get more than 20 mpg in the city and about 25 mpg on the highway.

The trucks and SUVs will be powered by a 5.3-liter V-8 engine, and an automatic transmission mated to an electric motor. It will be classified as a strong hybrid.

A strong hybrid, like the Toyota Prius, uses the electric motor to drive the vehicle at slow speeds.

GM’s first hybrid vehicle, the Chevrolet Silverado pickup, due to start production in about six weeks, is a mild hybrid that uses the electric motor to boost acceleration and to generate electricity to power household accessories from two outlets in the bed.

GM will phase out that truck when the new one is introduced in the 2007 model year, a GM source said.

The truck is expected to appeal to contractors and campers who could use the vehicle as a portable generator. It is expected to deliver between 10 percent and 15 percent better fuel economy than a standard V-8-powered Chevrolet Silverado. Prices have not been announced.

During the debut of GM’s diesel-electric hybrid bus powertrain in Seattle recently, GM’s Vice President of Powertrain Tom Stephens hinted that GM could easily install a hybrid powertrain in any of its large trucks and SUVs.

The new hybrid powertrain is based on a scaled-down version of that used in the bus, the GM source said.

GM’s announcement comes at a time when Big 3 automakers are facing increased pressure for lagging Japanese automakers in hybrid vehicles. Honda introduced its first hybrid vehicle in the United States nearly four years ago. Toyota entered the market with the first-generation Prius in 2000 and has just launched an all-new model to rave reviews.

Ford Motor Co. plans to start production of its mid-sized hybrid Escape HEV in July and then follow with a gasoline-electric version of the upcoming Futura sedan. Phil Martens, Ford group vice president of North American product creation, said recently said that Japanese affiliate Mazda also might use Ford’s hybrid powertrain in the Tribute SUV, a clone of the Escape.

DaimlerChrysler is about a year from launching a diesel-electric version of the Ram pickup. The company has not announced plans to install a hybrid powertrain in any other vehicles.