The hybrid system consists of a battery pack, inverter, and an oversized alternator. I have difficulty in believing the system is as effective as advertised.
LoL, like I said a wannabe Hybrid....!..
04' # 5, W/leather & JBL omitted. "Prius, Just ask the person that drives one" 04' Tundra, 18mpg city & 22mpg hwy. 04' Prius, 60mpg city & 53mpg hwy.
Kenstyle NHW20 AERO Kit
hey c'mon folks they trying their best to keep the price down! i mean cheap is cheap but at least you got some of the features like:
auto stop (will disable if AC load is too much but there is an eco button to limit consumption)
regenerative braking ( for a puny battery )
early fuel cutoff during coasting ( ala coasting with no fuel pumped into the engine so that regen can take over hopefully you can cancel that with a slight press on the pedal)
boost so that engine RPMs can be higher easier ( from my understanding the electric motor DOES NOT put power through the wheels but rather gives the gasoline engine a TORQUE boost so that it doesn't need to be reved high by gasoline... but rather by electric! )
hey at least highway mileage improved, so you know that spoiler and low risistant tires did something! and maybe thanks to the flashing "ECO" button (haha they said the VUE was too old to add some fancy fuel economy display) so that flashing was the easiest and CHEAPEST SOLUTION. but hey for regular guys like everywhere i'm sure they can appreciate just a flashing green than a screen full of rubbish! (in their eyes) when they know they are saving fuel.
although personally i do find the price attractive... and I"m sure i can beat those EPA figures without trying I personally would give up an extra.... 20 mpg (compared for a 06 civic hybrid for same price almost) for a suv lol...i mean c'mon its roomy and nice!
and personally with my driving style if my civic allowed me to force auto stop at will i wouldn't even need a hybrid and i would be getting some crazy numbers! but no that isn't the case, at least with this VUE with fuel cutoff during decell sounds like something I need. (i love to coast) but if regen kicks in and there's still a lot of engine friction then bah
GM you better not #$)@&$)(@# this one up!
i got around 20 km a liter when i drove a civic 5 spd using advanced hypermiler techniques
and now I drive a salvage nwh20 prius that gets almost to 25 km/l with 195,000 km to date.
According to GMs Executive Director of Hybrid Powertrains, Larry Nitz, the Green Line system for the VUE will be a "mild hybrid" system. The system has been described as, "a very high value hybrid, as close as a hybrid to be to a bolt on system," which will help keep prices reasonable. On top of the standard gasoline-powered motor, the "mild hybrid" [b]system will use a high-power 42-volt all-in-one starter-alternator-motor for electrical assist. It is the heart of the system, and could also be used to restart the motor, should Saturn decide to give it an auto-stop feature. In total, the VUE Green Line is expected to deliver a fuel savings of around 10 percent, when compared to four-cylinder FWD equipped models. While theres no word on which gasoline powertrains will be used, it is expected that the electrical components will be mated to the 143-hp 2.2-liter Ecotec inline-four with the choice of a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic. The now-defunct CVT gearbox will stay out of the picture.
Though a 10 percent decrease in fuel consumption does not appear to be that great an improvement, it fulfills the objectives of the "mild hybrid" claim. GMs system is said to deliver 80 to 90 percent of the hybrid benefit at 10 to 20 percent of the cost. ....
I've worked fairly closely with Larry Nitz on this project. When Larry says 10%, he's talking about the hybrid powertrain hardware contribution only. There are other vehicle modifications to make the integration of the hybrid hardware palatable. With some of the thinking that's gone into the vehicle modifications, the VUE Green Line OVER ACHIEVES early estimates of fuel economy. It's testing right around 20% improvement.
Peace,
Martin
I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues
I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues
I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues
One way to look at this system is that the 20% increase sounds impressive at first glance, but could reflect two things:
a) a nice, efficient hybrid system, or
b) a low or moderately efficient hybrid system coupled to a previously very inefficient engine/vehicle.
Since the Green Vue has a lower fuel economy than the FEH, I would say b) is the case. In engineering terms, it sounds like a shoehorned, cheap system, and GM is trying to sell it by touting the 20% gain. That gain is certainly useful, there is no doubt about that, but it still means the non-hybrid version of the car is positively stone-age in terms of design and efficiency, and the hybrid system is a cheap, stopgap solution.
Just my 2c.
You are correct that the conditions you've described above could be twisted into pumped up claims. That is not the case here, however. I can tell you though, that there was a VERY recent road trip with non-GM employee drivers driving the same routes of mixed city, highway, and rural routes. The vehicles on the trip were VUE Green Lines, Ford Escape Hybrids, and Toyota Highlander Hybrids. Everyone spent equal time in each vehicle and drove those vehicles on the exact same routes. When all the results were tabulated, the VUE finished right in the middle of the pack on fuel economy. Slightly better than one brand, slightly behind the other brand.
Peace,
Martin
I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues
I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues
I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues
I hope you are right Martin. From what I saw at the auto show I wasn't impressed. I wonder if Eric (aka. EricBecky) could get one of those to test for hybridcars.about.com. I was more impressed with the 2 mode set up. I can't wait to see that thing in action.
hey martin what's the emssion status of the VUE? if it achieves something like ULEV then i'll be impressed!
anything more and your killing us all =[
i got around 20 km a liter when i drove a civic 5 spd using advanced hypermiler techniques
and now I drive a salvage nwh20 prius that gets almost to 25 km/l with 195,000 km to date.
Looks like GM is finally realizing the potential of hybrid technology, and that it might actually make financial sense afterall.
Certainly the green Vue promises to be better than the standard Vue. It is no Ford Escape, but then it will apparently deliver better fuel economy than the HH or the Rx400h!
There is no doubt that GM's public statements on hybrid technology border on the schizophrenic, but keep two things in mind when measuring GM's intent wrt hybrids.
Most basic vehicle programs are approx. 3 years from management approval to vehicle on road. That would mean that commitment to put a hybrid in a VUE was made at the latest in 2003. That would also imply that someone had an idea of what the system would be and that it could fit and function in a VUE. Now you'd have to back up another year or two to factor in the concept development time for the hybrid powertrain hardware.
In the middle of the hybrid development, the transmission to be used in the basic design was changed. That drove a significant delay in the development and launch timing.
Bottom line, the idea of the VUE Green Line was more than an after thought or a reaction to other hybrids in the market.
Peace,
Martin
I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues
I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues
I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues
I hope you are right Martin. From what I saw at the auto show I wasn't impressed. I wonder if Eric (aka. EricBecky) could get one of those to test for hybridcars.about.com. I was more impressed with the 2 mode set up. I can't wait to see that thing in action.
I hear ya. But seriously.....At the end of the day, if the end product is competitive on real world f/e with FEH & HH at significantly less cost, does it really matter what the hardware looks like or which side of the engine / transmission pairing it's mounted on?
Now, 2-Mode is a completely different animal. It will also have a completely different pricing structure. Green Line is a value proposition. As Larry Nitz said, a lot of the benefit for not a whole lot of additional dollars.
Peace,
Martin
I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues
I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues
I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues
Re: VUE 2007 FIRST drives
I personally would give up an extra.... 20 mpg (compared for a 06 civic hybrid for same price almost) for a suv lol...i mean c'mon its roomy and nice!
