GM to sell plug-in hybrid crossover SUV

[SpartanDem]

Source: Detroit Free Press

TRAVERSE CITY — General Motors Co. this morning announced plans to introduce an all-new plug-in hybrid Buick crossover sport-utility vehicle in 2011.

The Detroit automaker also has scheduled an event Aug. 13 to officially announce its investment in the automaker’s new Brownstown Township battery pack assembly facility at 20001 Brownstown Center Dr., Trenton.


The facility will produce the lithium ion battery packs for the Chevrolet Volt and other future extended range electric vehicles.


The yet-to-be named Buick SUV will launch in late 2010 with a direct-injected gasoline engine and then be followed in 2011 with a plug-in hybrid model, the company said.


“Buick will get our first plug-in hybrid, which will put the brand front and center in the advanced technology game,” Tom Stephens, GM’s vice chairman of global product development, said during a speech at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City


Read more: http://freep.com/article/20090806/BUSINESS01/90806024/GM-to-sell-plug-in-hybrid-crossover-SUV

[PassingFair]

1. Enough with the farking SUV'S!!!!!

This is why Ford will kick their ass!

[JCMach1]

5. Ummm ... wrong... Once we have full-blown SUV's and Sports Cars that are all electric

the gas paradigm will be pretty much finished...

Many people would love a 4wheel drive, all electric with good range. Put a solar panel on your cabin and who needs the freakin' grid.

[PassingFair]

6. We will see how many electric SUV's the macho men will buy.

They WANT gas hogs.

The SUV mentality SUNK GM.

Guess it will continue to sink them.

[WriteDown]

7. Really?

I guess Toyota is next to go with the Sequoia, FJ, Landcruiser, 4Runner, Highlander, etc. :eye:

[harmonicon]

21. toyota were diversified

They made those cars to compete with the likes of GM - trying to beat them at their own game. GM did not reciprocate by trying to beat Toyota at making small, dependable, fuel efficient cars.

[WriteDown]

22. Look up GM's lineup sport...

Plenty of competition. Many just will never by a GM car due to lack of flair or because they're not status symbols.

[JCMach1]

12. Wait until they realize electric's power and speed!

nuff said... It's one of the cool secrets about electrics...

[blue_onyx]

24. People don't want gas hogs

I bet you couldn't find one SUV owner who loves the fact that their vehicle uses a lot of gas. The over-dependence on the SUV was part of GM problems. They need to have a strong portfolio of all kinds of vehicles, traditional vehicles, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, cars, SUVs, trucks. The fact that they are still building and developing SUVs is not a problem. People love SUVs and I think this vehicle will be a big hit.

[Kokonoe]

33. Oh, thats right

The problem with SUV's is the gas. Its not because its called SUV.

[JDPriestly]

28. I've ridden in a hydrogen fueled SUV -- GM. It was a great ride.

Handles the uphills in L.A. like they are nothing, and the uphills in L.A. are really steep. (We don't have snow and the uphills aren't well graded.) Amazing car it was.

We'll see how good the electric cars are.

[thereismore]

29. Seriously, LA is in a basin. Where are the uphills? The pass to San Fernando valley? nt

[JDPriestly]

34. I live in a hilly area in East L.A.

We have very steep hills. Walking precincts is a bear. We live on the top of a small hill and there are some pretty big hills near us. The west side of L.A. is relatively flat, but our area is quite hilly. Don't forget we are surrounded by mountains on several sides.

Also, the Hollywood Hills are famous. That's where the Hollywood sign is located.

[vadawg]

35. yeah dude but what about us who live in mountains and on dirt roads

will the electric suv work for me, i like gas as i can carry lots of spare gas and it takes no time to refuel. would be interested to see how the electric suv does off road..

[Psephos]

36. It's a hybrid - it can run on gas or electricity, whichever is available

pays to read the article sometimes

[vadawg]

39. actually mate i was referring to the hydrogen suv the dude rode in LA

sometimes it pays to read the conversation

[Psephos]

40. "will the electric suv work for me, i like gas as i can carry lots of spare gas"

Sounded like you were referring to the electric there.

But - after re-reading it, my post sounded like a put-down, which I didn't intend. No offense. ;)

[vadawg]

43. no problem its been a long day for me so far, so i may have cocked up my phrasing...

[JDPriestly]

52. If you have an electric care, presumably you just plug it in overnight into

your regular electric outlet in your garage or on the side of your house and you have electricity.

The hydrogen fueled cares have to be filled up at stations that are, at this time, few and far between. But eventually, it is possible that the hydrogen could be created from water through solar energy. I think that is the hope. I am not technologically savvy enough to know whether that is at all feasible.

[Stella_Artois]

50. It would need to be a big roof

A solar panel on the roof of an average car would be big enough to run the stereo.

[alarimer]

54. How many mountain tops are removed to get the coal to run electric cars?

Electric cars are no more green than anything else.

[Ian David]

8. The people on the Board of Directors for Ford are also on the board of steel companies.

Ford and GM have not been in the car-making business for at least 10 years now.

They're in the investment and speculation business.

They leverage their employee pension funds to invest in steel and oil stocks, and sit on the boards of companies in those industries.

That way, as long as they sell big, gas-guzzling cars, the Directors personally get richer.

[WriteDown]

10. Must be why they designed the Chevy Volt...

To get richer off oil. Or maybe they invested in coal this time. :eyes:

[Ian David]

45. They made The Chevy Volt because We The People demanded it.

And I have yet to see The Chevy Vaporware Volt on the street yet.

[WriteDown]

46. And people demanded SUV's....

right? That would certainly explain why Toyota has so many in their lineup. You may want to lookup the board at Ford. Only one member has ties to coal. Interesting who it is too.

[blue_onyx]

47. Yep...

just as I haven't seen any Toyota plug-in hybrids on the street either.


BTW, the Volt will be out at the end of 2010.

[Psephos]

37. GM is "leveraging its employee pension fund to invest in steel and oil"? lol

The UAW owns the pension fund...or haven't you heard?

[Ian David]

44. Good point. n/t

[Psephos]

48. You know...

...I could of left the "lol" off of my post. Sounded a little different than intended. ;)

[TommyO]

17. Ford doesn't build hybrid SUVs?

The simple fact is that a Prius, Insight, or Volt isn't right for everybody.

[dysfunctional press]

27. you've never heard of the ford escape hybrid suv?

or the ford edge?

people LIKE suv's.

that's why they build them.

[PassingFair]

41. I know, that's why they bought them DESPITE the fact that

they guzzled gas.

Makes them feel like big shots.

I understand.

[dysfunctional press]

42. "Makes them feel like big shots."

no- they're just more comfortable and safer to drive and ride in.

[AndyTiedye]

38. Ford Has Been Selling a Hybrid SUV Since 2004

[and-justice-for-all]

49. "Enough with the farking SUV'S!!!!!" I fully agree...however Ford's

new Taurus is a waste of resources and time. Did you see that shitty gas mileage it gets?? pathetic.

[TommyO]

56. 28mpg, while not stellar, is not horrible for a car as large as the Taurus.

[jakefrep]

2. It's good to see this technology in vehicles people can actually use.

I've got no problem with any automaker attempting to maximize fuel efficiency in a broad range of vehicles. Not everybody can fit into a Prius.

[vadawg]

3. yup and some of us need ground clearance, carrying capacity

offroad capability and general other SUViness and Pickupiness...

[WriteDown]

4. This is awesome, but I really need a plug-in

pickup truck. Cars and SUV's just won't haul 4x8 sheets of plywood.

[comtec]

9. what arong with bringing the Ka over?

and dropping a hybrid engine in that>?
better yet use the Mazda 3cyl engine that was used in the old Geo Metro (Suzuku Swift) that fucking thing got well OVER 55 MPG! I actually got65 MPG when I was driving Freeway before california went to MTBE.

The city was like 45 MPG.

oh well... common sense need not apply at any american company it seems =[

[WriteDown]

11. I had a Metro briefly...

Used as much oil as gas.

[comtec]

14. so.. none?

that 8 gallon tank lasted for 2 weeks - 350+ miles
Mind you i never put 8 in. I don't think i ever ran it that dry, 50 cents went amazingly far in 98.
as for oil... only did oil changes out of habit. but I swear to god, every car i've owned, after 3000 miles and before 6000 miles my fuel efficiency went UP!

[WriteDown]

19. I remember driving from Chapel Hill to Asheville...

and using 3 quarts of oil. This is why you almost never see metros on the road anymore where they were once commonplace. I also remember that at 70mph the engine was wound so tight that it sounded in pain.

As an aside. There is nothing worse and more frustrating than trying to work on a suzuki engine. They are always turned in a weird direction or have some crazy proprietary parts .

[comtec]

53. how old was it?

I still see a fair number of swifts on the road here. But the government has a permanent clunkers deal going. anything older than 1990 gets a refund. They want to keep the cars on the road here fresh and new.

They do the same thing in Japan. My dad used to buy Japanese engines because at like 50k miles, the government said they were no longer clean enough, and had to be replaced.

They get shipped to the US and other countries. Relatively cheap and "new" by American standards.

The new Suzuki swift is pretty nice, but I wish they had a 3 Cyl model still that ran forever on a tea-cup of gas.

Anyway I guess my Metro was a Wednesday model, because as I understand, it's still going strong.

[WriteDown]

55. Almost brand new....

It was 99 and the car was a 98. I liked the car, I just wish mine was more durable. I haven't seen any on those old gm/suzuki models on the road in a while. I take that back. I did see a Tracker the other day on the highway and I made a comment about it to my girlfriend.

[JCMach1]

13. 3 cylinder Turbo Diesel would be nice too!

[amandabeech]

15. The Ka may arrive once gas prices hit $4.00 and stay there.

Until then, sub-sub-compacts won't be that popular here, as you well know.

That said, I agree that a hybrid, mid-size crossover with AWD could get by with something smaller than the 3.6 liter V-6.

[kirby]

16. Good news/Bad News...

Hopefully it is more than just PR. Isn't the Buick line normally the more expensive brand which could mean this is priced pretty expensive?

There are many many people who want an SUV size vehicle for hauling their family around that this is good news. The Toyota Highlander Hybrid (which uses the Prius hybrid system and is not a plugin) is one vehicle that addresses that market.

[rd_kent]

18. Thats great, because "Buick" is a brand no one associates with gas guzzling land yachts.

[harmonicon]

23. exactly

Complete FAIL on the part of GM. Buick should have been killed off long ago, and now they're STILL beating that dead horse. All the while, they're ditching saturn, and selling their European divisions - the only good things they had.

[rd_kent]

25. Saturn would seem to make more sense.

A newer brand associated with new technology and fuel savings. Too bad the "old" GM brands are so ingrained into the racing scene, thats why they wont kill them off.

[harmonicon]

31. really? there are buick nascars and things?

I haven't watched auto racing in years, but I don't remember there being buicks when I was a kid - just Chevy.... maybe Pontiac?

[blue_onyx]

26. I disagree

Keeping Buick was one of GMs best decisions. Buick is a global brand and is popular in China which is where much of the worlds economic growth will occur. The new Buick vehicles are great and I think will be successful.

I liked Saturn but it was a redundant brand (as was Pontiac too). It was competition for Chevy. GM isn't completely selling their European brands. GM still plans to hold onto part ownership of Opel (the vehicles that became Saturns here). They are planning to bring Opels here as Buicks (which they are already doing in China).

[harmonicon]

32. re-branding could be done just for the Chinese market then...

especially if that's what they're already doing. Saturn was only redundant because they made it redundant. The mission plan for Saturn was that it would be completely separate from other GM ventures - no sharing of platforms and drive trains, etc. Of course they went of the rails with that after a few years, all in the name of saving money, and see where that left them. I really think that having various brands of the same car is a foolish move, where as keeping brands completely separate, as they originally did with Saturn, is wise.

[blue_onyx]

20. This is great

I've always thought Buick had a lot of potential and now that it's getting the proper attention from GM, it could have a lot of success. I believe GM originally planned on the Saturn Vue being the first SUV plug-in hybrid. They're probably just shifting that to Buick now that Saturn will be sold. People love SUVs and this vehicle will be a big hit.

[Veilex]

30. They are behind the power curve...

Buick will get our first plug-in hybrid, which will put the brand front and center in the advanced technology game, Tom Stephens, GM’s vice chairman of global product development, said during a speech at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City

Nissan is going to produce an all electric vehicle: The Nissan Leaf
http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/?dcp=ppn.39666654.&dcc=0.216878497

I wish car companies would stop taking what doesn't even amount to a baby step and put some actual effort into R&D... with a little emphasis on development.
The US has enormous industrial potential... its long past time we used it.

[IndianaGreen]

51. GM kept Buick and got rid of Pontiac

and this is why GM will never make it. Too many stupid decisions!

[JeanGrey]

57. Has anyone studied how much electricity this is going to

cost charging one of these beauties up?