and put it on fast track.
They apparently think that it is the key technology to
their survival.
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http://www.caranddriver.com/dailyautoinsider/13079/gm-turning-green.htmlGeneral Motors has assigned hundreds of engineers and allotted millions of dollars in an effort to become the greenest company in the auto industry, The Wall Street Journal reported.
"We have to have people think we are part of the solution, not part of the problem," the WSJ quoted Lawrence Burns, GM's vice president for research and development and global planning, as saying.
Among the projects GM is fast-tracking:
the Chevrolet Volt, a compact car with a huge T-shaped battery pack in the middle with a small gasoline engine in the front, not to drive the wheels but to serve as a generator to recharge the battery. GM estimates the vehicle could go 150 miles on a gallon of gas.
GM's hydrogen fuel-cell technology is scheduled to be transferred from the lab to an engineering group that prepares new powertrains for commercial launch, a sign of increased determination to put hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road, the WSJ said.
Two hybrid SUVs are due late this year with a system that GM believes has advantages over Toyota's hybrid technology.
Although GM has kicked off a drive to hire 400 technical experts to work on fuel-saving technology and other innovations, the company declined to disclose its spending on its green programs. People inside and outside the company said it appears to be devoting significant resources to the effort, the story noted.