GM Going Green As Fast As It Can

Editor-in-Chief

GM is serious about moving away from gasoline. On Wednesday I went over to the West Seattle Auto Shop with Dave Barthmuss, GM’s Group Manager for the Western Region, Environment & Energy Communications. Dave gave the advanced auto shop students a short talk on some of the alternative fuel technology coming down the pike at GM, then turned them loose on a brand new Yukon Hybrid. This two-mode hybrid gets 21mpg around town, which isn’t too bad considering its weight (Dave claimed that it matches the Camry four banger in city driving–I was a bit skeptical about this so I looked it up and he’s right). And apparently GMC dealers are having no trouble selling them, even with the hefty $50k+ price tag.

Still, this isn’t exactly a "green" vehicle. But Dave says it’s just a small step compared to what’s in store. Dave owned a EV1 and loved it (though as you might guess, he’s not a big fan of the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?"). And he’s very excited about the up-coming Volt and Saturn VUE plug-in hybrid, both slated for a late 2010 release. He admits these vehicles aren’t going to be cheap at the get-go, but GM is really hoping that tax incentives and credits will be in place to help motivate the early adopter crowd.

In two weeks Dave will return to our fair city with Bob Lutz, and I’ll have a chance to get the latest and greatest on the Volt and other alternative fuel initiatives from the man himself. So is GM just doing this cause they’re a bunch of tree huggers? No. Dave told the kids that, "CAFE standards don’t matter cause the market is going this way." Still, according to Dave, GM is very focused on "removing the vehicle from the environment debate." Why? Cause it’s good business.

Permalink:

Posted at 3:51 pm in GM, GMC, Green, Hybrids, Yukon

Comments

GTwildfire
Jun 7, 2008 at 2:37 am

Whatever GM does, it will be as complicated of a solution as possible. Same goes for Ford and Chrysler, as well as most if not all other auto makers.
-
This means that they will avoid making true EVs for as long as they can and even if they finally do, it will be in a way that’s as complex as possible.
-
Electric vehicles are by nature much more simple than what we drive today, and I doubt Detroit wants to have any part in that.

Eric
Jun 6, 2008 at 7:56 pm

But as an auto manufacturer GM is really smart by adding the 2-mode to thier best selling SUV’s, lets face it most folks arent concerned about vehicle size or what thier car says about them, to america its just an SUV! So since its the best selling SUV, then what a concept to offer a YUKON, TAHOE, or ESCALADE that gets 21MPG in the city! If not pemanent then atleast a step in the right direction for now! But they could stand to work on the PRICE $$$$$GEEZ$$$$$$

Kyle S.
Jun 6, 2008 at 7:14 pm

Wow, I think that’s so amazing that GM decided to go this route. While I still believe that SUVs are one of the main eyesores of the road, and are major gas guzzlers, this shows that the public is very receptive to the idea of hybrid vehicles, as demonstrated with the Toyota Prius. I am looking forward to the day when we dont have to wholly rely on fossil fuels to power our cars, and all electric/hydrogen/fuel cell energy sources will be utilized and implemented in future makes and models of vehicles. Hopefully people will give biofuels a chance as well. I think something like bioheat could be a great alternative to oil/oil heating/etc.

Did you know that if everyone switched to bioheat we could conserve 400 millions gallons of regular oil. That’s a huge amount! I wish everyone could see the light. I would love it if you would check out the site on bioheat to read more background info on it. The other thing I love about it is that it’s completely clean burning, and is comprised of a b5 blend of vegetable and plant oils such as avocados, hemp, corn, etc. Check out the link! http://oilheatamerica.com/index.mv?screen=bioheat PS I work with Nora to bring this info to you!