Some trivia.....

I went today to my local Chevrolet dealership on personal business.
After I parked, I noticed that the vehicle next to me was a 2007 Chevy Silverado Hybrid.
It had a green double arrow on a chrome background with HYBRID displayed boldly.

However:On the window sticker, I could see that there was not very much useful information. Only the hybrid option package listed as a $1500 value, slightly higher than the OnStar option, and the city/ hiway mileage at 19/21 if I recall correctly. Not much else.

I asked the salesman if this was the BAS system, but he gave me this puzzled look. And Chevy's website is also lacking information, other than this is a limited availability vehicle, and that it gives a 2 MPG improved mileage over a conventional Silverado.

Comments?

The U.S. has reached a point “where the priorities of Congress could become so distorted by politics” that it would turn its back on the next great global industry, clean power — Rhone Resch

http://www.chevrolet.com/pop/silvera.../hybrid_en.jsp

It looks like a "real" hybrid since acording to the link it does assist and regen with a "14,000" watt motor......

14,000 watts is something like 20 HP....

The U.S. has reached a point “where the priorities of Congress could become so distorted by politics” that it would turn its back on the next great global industry, clean power — Rhone Resch

Well... With a 2 MPG improvement, the FE gain is a bit anemic. But having four 120v outlets is pretty cool. I wonder what the voltage rating is on the battery array?

Found this:

Here:

http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/...1_alt_hyb.html

So it looks like GM's FAS is very similar to Honda's IMA except that GM's FAS runs at much lower voltage.

If it was only an autostop system I would not call it a hybrid but since it stores energy during regen for later use as assist it is a real hybrid.

Details are remarkably hard to find......

Did you happen to notice the price.Was it a 1500 -1/2 ton or a 1500 HD (sorta a 5/8 ton) ?
19/21 is pretty impressive. Usually I do a bit better on the hy than the EPA hy and about 80% of city in the city. If it gets an honest 15-16 mpg city, it is the only V-8 that does.Thanks.Charlie

Cool link.

Of course, my obsession with upgrading immediately kicks in. Like: if you increased the number of batteries in the array would it a.) Increase the FE, or b.) Increase the number of gadgets you could run concurrently? I'm guessing "b".

I wonder why GM used PbA instead of NiMH?

I wonder why it only has "limited" availability. If *I* needed a pickup truck, and a hybrid pickup truck was available, I'd buy one!

I'm sure it is all about $$$.

The 42 volt electrical system was an industry-wide initiative proposed some years back in the as a beefed up alternative to the ubiquitous 14 volt system. (The 12 volt in standby becomes 14 during charging, so a more accurate name is 12-14 volt)

The reasoning was that the 14 volt system had reached its peak power handling capacity, and with the ever-growing amount of electronic products and electrically actuated devices, a higher voltage was required. And yes, the flywheel mounted integrated starter generator (ISG) was proposed, along with electrically assisted steering.

However, if I recall correctly, the emphazis here was the addition of features and creature comforts. Fuel economy in those days was not a big concern, with gas prices hovering slightly above $1 /gallon.

But the industry lost interest because of the cost adders.

Apparently, the system has been resurrected, rebadged, and proposed as a fuel-economy improvement.

Anyways, this is what I recall from an electronic engineer's point of view, but my memory is no longer what it used to be. Maybe Martin could add some details.

The U.S. has reached a point “where the priorities of Congress could become so distorted by politics” that it would turn its back on the next great global industry, clean power — Rhone Resch

The Silverado's hybrid system is designed to provide AC power at job sites. The FAS is nice, but does little to impove FE.