In the past few weeks, General Motors has announced that both the Saturn and Pontiac car lines will be discontinued. As a fan of Pontiac’s classic muscle cars, this was a bit of a sad moment for me (and for Tina at our sister site, Cars for Girls), but I understand the reason behind General Motors’ decision.

However, there is a shining moment for green motoring fans in the announcement of the Saturn closure – GM plans to keep the hybrid powertrain that was being developed for a plug-in version of the Saturn Vue Hybrid.

“[GM Vice Chairman of Global Product Development Tom] Stephens told Automotive News that the drivetrain that was destined for plug-in version of the Saturn Vue hybrid will be delivered to fleets in early 2011 and could also be offered to consumers.” (Source: Automotive News)

It is good to know that GM is focusing on hybrid technologies as part of its own plans for emerging from the financial crisis they face today.

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The theme for the SAE 2009 World Congress is Racing to Green Mobility; the conference will be held from April 20-23, 2009 at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan. FEV, Inc will be one of the many exhibitors at the event, however they will be showing an H3 Range-Extended Electric Vehicle in their booth.

“The Hummer H3 ReEV is the first range-extended electric vehicle based on a full-sized SUV. The Raser scalable plug-in series hybrid design provides 40+ mile all-electric range and 100+ mpg fuel economy. FEV performed the full vehicle integration including electrical and mechanical design. Additionally, FEV developed all software for the hybrid control unit and in-vehicle graphical display.” (Source: PR Newswire)

One of FEV’s goals in choosing the H3 is to show that electric vehicle technology doesn’t have to be limited to smaller vehicles and can be used in a variety of platforms. For more information on the event, visit the SAE 2009 World Congress website.

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Filed Under: Auto Shows, gm

Every time General Motors releases new details on its financial woes, people like me that are interested in the Chevy Volt wonder if this will be the day that GM scraps the Volt’s production plans. In December, General Motors announced that it would be delaying the construction of the Flint, Michigan plant where the Volt’s engine would be built.

Fast forward a few months and GM has released new information about the Volt engine facility – this time, the company has announced that it is completely cancelling the construction of the engine facility.

Automotive News is reporting that now, the first engines for the Chevy Volt will be imported from Europe.

“By December 2010, GM’s Flint South engine plant is expected to begin building Volt and Cruze engines. The Cruze is due in showrooms in early 2010, and the Volt is scheduled to follow in November.”

The existing plant will need to be upgraded in order to produce the Volt engine; the project is expected to cost $250 million.

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It is a well-known fact that General Motors is facing one of its most difficult financial crises since the company’s inception. Some figures show that the company will run out of cash by the end of the year if the federal government does not step in with a bail out.

The facility is being built in Flint, Michigan and will make engines for the much-anticipated Chevy Volt as well as the Chevy Cruze. In order to save what money the company has left, GM has made the decision to suspend construction of the facility but reassures the public that this decision will not delay the release of the Chevy Volt in the last half of 2010.

In an article that appears on the Automotive News website, GM Spokeswoman Sharon Basel was speaking on the suspended construction product.

“She said there is enough leeway in the construction schedule for it to build the engines on time after the temporary hold. She did not say when the work would resume.

She said the Flint factory is being built with a common template used around the world. The plant can be assembled in less than a year, she said.”

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Although General Motors is definitely in crisis mode, the company is excited about its hybrid lineup including the 2009 Saturn Aura Hybrid. The vehicle is equipped with an Ecotec 2.4L I-4 four-speed automatic engine that generates 164 horsepower and 159 lb-ft of torque.

“While maintaining the vehicle’s sporty feel, the GM Hybrid system seamlessly reduces fuel consumption by: shutting off the engine when the vehicle is stopped, to minimize idling, enabling early fuel shut-off during vehicle deceleration, converting vehicle kinetic energy to electrical energy through regenerative braking to charge the advanced nickel metal hydride battery and by performing intelligent battery charging when it is most efficient.” (Source: GM Media Online)

The Saturn Aura Hybrid has an official EPA fuel efficiency rating of 26 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway. For the sake of comparison, the non-hybrid four cylinder Saturn Aura has a 33 mpg highway rating, a 22 mpg city rating and a combined fuel economy of 26 mpg.

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There has been a lot of discussion, as well as speculation, about the merger/acquisition talks between General Motors and Chrysler owner Cerberus. General Motors sales have fallen dramatically since the beginning of the year with the company posting a 15.6% loss in September and a 45.1% decrease in October (when compared to the same months in 2007).

Obviously, General Motors is not in a position to be discussing an acquisition but to talk about buying Chrysler; that just did not make much sense to me. In September, Chrysler’s sales were down 32.8% and the company posted a 34.9% decrease in sales for October. Add these large drops in overall sales to the fact that Chrysler is closing plants and stopping the production of the Chrysler Aspen Hybrid/Dodge Durango Hybrid and from the outside, the deal just does not look ideal for General Motors.

What bugged me was that the auto manufacturers were looking for government help to make the acquisition a reality. I understand that the Detroit 3 are an important part of America’s auto history and that the impact of one going under could be felt far and wide but the auto industry isn’t the only segment of the United States economy that needs some serious attention.

The CEO of General Motors, Rick Wagner, held a conference call with journalists today and stated that the talks were off.

“We have recently explored the possibility of such an acquisition based on the analysis that it would strengthen our industry position in the long term,” Wagoner said. “We’ve concluded at this particular time that we are better off to put 100 percent of our efforts on the liquidity side. We’ve set aside such (acquisition) actions as a near term priority.” (Source: Automotive News)

A Chrysler representative acknowledged the statement but the only response to GM’s announcement was that Chrysler LLC would continue its journey towards becoming a profitable company once again.

Again, from the outside, this decision by General Motors was pretty much an obvious decision. On paper, the deal looked bad. Neither company was in a period of growth and both were discussing serious cutbacks (read Chevy Volt Safe from GM Cutbacks). While the acquisition of an underperforming company by a company that is profitable would be a risk worth taking, the act of considering the acquisition of a company when your sales tanked by over 45% is simply irresponsible.

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Filed Under: Chrysler, gm

A few weeks ago, news of merger talks between General Motors and Chrysler begun to make its way around industry publications. There have been bits and pieces of the discussions since then but today brings some updates. In an early morning story by Automotive News, the publication is reporting that “General Motors is postponing nearly all of its spending on product development in 2009 and 2010 — a cost-cutting move that could delay the introduction of key vehicles such as the Chevrolet Cruze.”

When merger talks were first mentioned, I was curious about the fate of the Chevy Volt. The vehicle is expected to be available as a model year 2011 vehicle alongside the Chevy Cruze. The Automotive News article goes on to say that the Chevy Volt as well as the new Chevy Camaro are not going to be included in these cutbacks – whew!

Fast forward to this afternoon and Reuters has released updated information on the GM/Chrysler deal; evidently, there were several key points that were holding up the GM buyout of Chrysler from Cerberus but those both parties have reached agreements on these few issues.

“General Motors Corp and Cerberus Capital Management have resolved the major issues in a proposed GM-Chrysler merger, but the final form of any deal would depend on the financing and government support available, sources familiar with the talks said on Wednesday.” (Source: Reuters)

Stay tuned to The Green Motorist for more information on the GM and Chrysler buyout/merger plan.

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The Chevy Volt has received a lot of media attention in the past few days.  Reuters UK published an article on July 7 with the title “GM readies Volt unveiling to shift from crisis” stating that a showroom ready version of the car will be revealed in September.  According to Lyle at GM-Volt.com, “the plan to unveil the production Volt at GM’s Centennial Celebration in September I suspect has been there all along.”  Perhaps it is a case of media hype but regardless of the reason behind the Reuters UK article, I am definitely excited about the Volt edging closer to production. 

For those unfamiliar with the Chevy Volt, I’d like to introduce you to the vehicle.

Three Reasons to Love the Chevy Volt

1. The styling.  I am a car lover and I have always admired the beauty of certain cars.  The Volt presents with exciting styling and will turn heads.  I know the purpose of the Volt isn’t to turn heads (well at least not the main purpose) but if this car passes you on the road, you’re going to turn your head.
2. The E-Flex Propulsion System.  This is not your mom’s eco-friendly car running on gas and electric, the Volt is an electric vehicle being powered by the E-Flex Propulsion System.  The official Chevy Volt website explains that the “E-Flex Propulsion System will be different than any previous electric vehicle because it will use a lithium-ion battery with a variety of range-extending onboard power sources, including gas and, in some vehicles, E85 ethanol(1) to recharge the battery while driving.”  Fantastic engineering!
3. The recharging system.  You can recharge the Volt at your home, business or anywhere else with a standard 110-volt electrical outlet.  Gone are the days of looking for a charging station for the GM EV1.  The EV1 was GM’s first foray into electric vehicles back in the 1990s. 

As the Volt goes from concept to production, there will be many more reasons to fall in love with the vehicle.  As it stands now, I think that the Volt is one of the most unique concepts on the table.  Kudos to GM on your forward-thinking design and approach to green motoring.

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Filed Under: chevy, electric cars, electric vehicles, ev, gm

GM has been busy with several NEW eco fuel technologies, one such being the hydrogen powered Chevy Equinox.

The Chevy Equinox is a limited production vehicle which will be powered by hydrogen, batteries, and a fuel cell pack. If it sounds complicated, don’t worry, because it is. Essentially with the technologies in place, this SUV will produce zero emissions and no co2 greenhouse gases.

The fuel cell car has also recently won the prestigious “Green Car Vision Award” for its innovative and ambitious fuel conservation and efficiency vision and efforts. Beating out other heavyweights, including the hydrogen powered BMW Hydrogen 7.

After weighing the achievements and importance of these vehicles, jurors felt that one vehicle stood out as a natural leader in this pack: Chevrolet’s Equinox Fuel Cell. This advanced vehicle brings to the highway an efficient powerplant that offers zero emissions, no CO2 greenhouse gases, and highly efficient conversion of its fuel to motive power. It also benefits from 40 years of research and development, building upon the engineering of other high-profile prototypes that have come before it and achieving near seamless operation with its space-age powerplant and electro-mechanical systems. It feels familiar to drive, even as its powerplant works in ways that that are unfamiliar to most drivers.

This familiar feel is important. The Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell is part of an extensive demonstration program that will find 100 such vehicles being driven by consumers and fleets for three months at a time in California, New York City, and Washington DC. Their experience behind the wheel will advance the cause of hydrogen vehicles considerably.

The Equinox will be test driven by consumers on the road to further test its viability and marketability. There is no date set for mass production, or when one will come to a dealer near you. But rest assured Chevy is hard at work making this a near reality.

Wanna test drive one? take one for a test drive

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Filed Under: Autos, Chevy Equinox, Zero Emissions, chevy, fuel cell, gm, hydrogen