Saturn VUE A Reality - Page 2 - GreenHybrid

philmcneal · #11 (**permalink**) 01-10-2006, 09:59 AM

nice one martin, good to hear on industry insider info. Glad to see loyal supporters like yourself

martinjlm · #12 (**permalink**) 01-10-2006, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonavy

And let's not forget the Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade...a dinosaur, but GMs making a go at giving her decent #s (25 hwy). Ford ain't even considering the larger SUVs.

My guess is they will have to if they expect to come anywhere near the 250K / year hybrids that Bill Ford is committing to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonavy

We hope they are headed for near-extinction, but it will be a long death and they will never completely die- so they might as well be made better.

Ahhhh! We agree!

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonavy

I do like and understand GMs approach- fix up the biggest resource suckers (and largest profit margins) first. If only they had done it 5 years ago. Sigh.

Believe it or not, GM was looking at hybrids before Toyota. It's a natural progression from EV-1. Even taught Toyota a bit of how to play the game. Probably our first mistake. Issue was, we did not develop a product that made economic sense (jury's still out on that one). Additionally, the 2-Mode system used in the Tahoe was not the first product developed as a next follow to the FAS in the Silverado / Sierra. But it turned out to be such a significant improvement it was worth the delays to get it right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonavy

I forgot and can't find the thread now to re-learn- what is the platform mix philosophy between BAS and dual-mode/AFM? Passenger duty/cargo?

I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. j/k

I've always wanted to use that line.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonavy

Or is dual-mode the long term method while BAS is stopgap?

Nope. GM Hybrid (or BAS) is a value proposition. An "affordable" hybrid that gives modest improvement for not a whole lot of money. 2-Mode Hybrid is no holds barred, best of both worlds fuel economy and performance, but at a higher price than Hybrid.

Peace,

Martin

xcel · #13 (**permalink**) 01-10-2006, 10:38 AM

lars-ss · #14 (**permalink**) 01-11-2006, 02:57 PM

Here's a really good detailed page about the hybrid system the Vue will be using:

http://auto.moldova.org/stiri/eng/8030/