GM Plans Hybrid Malibu For '07

GM Plans Hybrid Malibu For '07

General Motors finally is going to get with the program and offer its first gas/electric car in the 2007 model year. GM will introduce a midsize Chevrolet Malibu sedan that uses batteries to assist the gas engine when passing or merging and shuts off its 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder gas engine when idling to conserve fuel and clean the air. It will compete in the hybrid car segment with the Toyota Prius and Honda Accord/Civic hybrids, as well as the midsize Ford Fusion hybrid coming out for '07.

GM will have a sampling of full-size trucks and sport-utility vehicles before '07 that primarily shut off the engine at idle to conserve fuel. And for '05 it will offer midsize SUVs with displacement-on-demand that shuts off four of the engine's eight cylinders when not needed. But GM is mum on its plans to offer other hybrid cars to help it catch up to the Japanese, which by '07 will have a seven-year lead in hybrid technology. “We have a strategy in line for our cars that's not far off, but we'll probably say more in Detroit,†said Jim Queen, GM vice president of North American engineering, referring to the auto show in January. “Though we're late to the party, we'll be better than Toyota when it comes to performance and value, even though we won't subsidize our hybrids like Toyota does,†Queen said in an interview. “It's interesting to watch Prius. Some areas of the country are starved for the car, and in others the car doesn't resonate. So the true demand for hybrids isn't clear, but we'll be ready with hybrids in a number of vehicles,†he said, though refusing to elaborate any further. Last week Toyota said it will double annual Prius shipments to the United States to 100,000 in '05, hinting more demand than GM is willing to admit. Domestic automakers insist the Japanese should be charging hundreds more for their hybrids but are eating costs to gain a market advantage.


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