GM's has been working on hybrid versions of their large SUV's, and the technology is now making the jump to pickup trucks. The automaker has announced the upcoming availability of the GMC Sierra Hybrid. The 2009 model will offer its buyers the power of a hefty six-litre engine, combined with a 25 percent reduction in fuel consumption and a 6,100 pound towing capacity. Full Article
What does "available" mean? Supposedly, the Two-Mode Tahoe would be available late 2007. But now in Feb. 2008, it has yet to make an appearance still. What gives? .
Hopefully, GM starts to break down and report the number of hybrids SOLD. Otherwise, it is all green washing.
What is this? Where is the Tahoe hybrid? Now they have already moved on to announce a Sierra hybrid, but they havent bothered to release the Tahoe hybrid yet? I am waiting for the announcement that they are cancelling the Tahoe Hybrid because they did not sell that well.
I agree. They paid a bunch for pre Super Bowl advertising but the proof of the pudding is selling a serious hybrid, not these 'mock hybrids' with the auto-stop/start nonsense. Now I think GM has a serious complexity problem with their two-mode hybrids. There are too many parts to coordinate and I suspect they don't really have the control software 'in the barn.' It is bad enough having lots of parts but trying to deal with the variable rates of wear on these parts would drive their programmers mad. Oh well, no need to waste time on their nonsense until it actually shows up on the dealer, showroom floor. Bob Wilson
The ironic thing was that it's the same company that said the Prius is too complex and the Malibu is simpler.
Well the only thing to their defense is that they're only going to promote their cars versus another manufacturer. Other than that GM has made no serious effort to be a market leader. Their motto is let others invest in the time and money and then either buy them out or defame their products while pumping our own inefficient designs until the next model has run it's course. In the meantime swipe a few of their cars off of the lot for our own R&D and then reverse engineer them and see what we can do to make something not as good but better than our own junk and sell it for more money then the last model with new and improved whiz-bam gizmos that we can mark up 400% at the parts counter. Also make sure the parts only last about 5-7 years and then dump the whole product and the parts to support it after 10 years. Ever try and buy a replacement GM/Delco radio for your vehicle? I priced them for my Buick Roadmaster and they want $1300.00 for it. Not including labor either. The parts managers even said don't bother with it. I walked out laughing too.
