Check out this GM hybrid car

http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/adv_tech/100_news/astra_011005.html

It's based on the Opel Astra, it's a diesel/electric hybrid. 0-62 mph in under 8 seconds, 58+ mpg. FWD, 5 passengers. It's a concept, not yet for sale.

How much do you wish to wager such a car will never make it to the US? GM afterall is going to start out its hybrid lineup with a hybrid Tahoe SUV next year...

So they can research new ways to produce more fuel-efficient cars.

Toyota & Honda are building hybrid systems that are more dramatic re-workings of the drivetrain, which offer better mileage improvements and a big added cost.

GM's system is simpler, offers less of a mileage boost, and is cheaper. It's a tradeoff. I suspect that GM's system could be scaled up to produce more of a mileage boost (bigger batteries, etc) but then they lose their cost advantage.

All this is hypothetical of course, since GM is ridicuously behind on introducing these vehicles.

the reason I write that is that many hybrid drivers are
complaining that the 'city claimed mileage number' is bogus.

IMO, hybrid-stuff should be put in vehicles that drive
in stop-go conditions, like taxis, with drivers trained
to take advantage of the hybrid design...
{edit, adding, in countries with high fuel costs,
why they target the US, I don't know}

other than that, forget it

Oh, how I hate diesel pick up trucks. They are so loud and obnoxious.

Few even notice they are diesels.

I've been in/driven those VW diesels, they are still louder than most cars and they are rough driving.

had in 46 years of driving.

Perceptions vary apparently.

Just curious. I've been in and driven one that was awful, but then again, that could be do to poor maintenance.

Dearest Husband chimes in to mention that the diesels we've rented in Europe were quiet, too, and all-around wonderful cars. I think they're Vauxhalls, possibly made by Ford?

and thank you both for sharing this with me. I'll have to look into these vehicles a little further. I so want a hybrid.

Our houseguest from New Orleans has returned there for the weekend to try to salvage a few more things from her Lakeview house.

BTW, if you haven't seen the new Galatoire's cookbook yet, you're in for a treat!

It's beautiful and drool-worthy, and it all looks eminently do-able.

I'm going to give it to friends and family for Christmas.

I have a 2002 S-10, 4 cylinder pick-up right now, but I'll never buy another GM product after the shit they've pulled.

They get 25 MPG!! (plus or minus). That's not good mileage. Might as well get a vehicle with traditional mechanicals.

If you want good mileage, you have a clear choice, Prius or Civic Hybrids. The USA just doesn't see this.

there's a good market for SUV hybrids given the love affair the US seems to have with SUVs. I might even warm up to an SUV hybrid if the MPG was good.

Never mind!

Nothing personal, Midnight Armadillo - I'm just tired of amazing technology that's always just around the corner with Detroit and on every corner with Japanese companies.

:toast:

It's a concept. You'd think GM would be screaming "100k of these will be for sale by spring!" and they'd rush it out the door to try to get a leg up on a hybrid market for Europe.

Naw. Instead they'll wait 5 years til Honda & Toyota haven eaten their lunch over there too. Same with Ford and their Mercury diesel/electric hybrid concept SUV from 2004. It got 30 mpg or so, put down 500 ft/lbs of torque, reached PZEV emissions, and you'd think they'd be falling all over themselves to build one. Do a search on it, every posting on every BBS that discusses it says "I'd buy one!".

Remember, GE pays its CEO roughly the equivalent of 1,000 minimum wage workers. In 1950, the CEO of GM was the highest paid CEO in the world at (inflation adjusted) $4.4 million. (sources:http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_15/b3778012.htm ) In 2003, Richard Wagner Jr. earned over $12 million (which, admittedly, is fairly cheap compared to other CEOs earning over $100 million.)

The reason for these outrageous CEO salaries? They are said to be so brilliant that they are worth more than 1,000 "common" people. But the truth is, the decisions made by GM are seen to be really quite stupid and short-sighted - namely, ignore hybrids and put all your eggs into one massive, gas-guzzling basket. I went to a Chevrolet lot recently, and it was a sea of giant, ugly, boxy trucklike vehicles. I suspect CEO and other exec salaries are so out of balance because the new class of wealthy executives effectively set each other's salaries, and it has become a small self-admiration society. We could cut Executive salaries by 2/3rds or more, to get back to the relative wage distribution of the past, and there would be zero impact on quality of management.

Hybrid diesel to boot! Looks are hardly a good judge of the functionallity or quality of a vehicle. Most GM vehicles are charecterless and boring.

If GM isn't willing to put this vehicle to the market, then fuck'em.

Electric motors are useful in that they can often ramp up to as high as 5 times their rated power for short periods of time. Becuase of that you don't need the big heavy engines to accelerate, you only need them to recharge the battery. The motor has as much 'oomph' as you need. I remember seeing a story on someone who build an all electric car that went 0-60 mp in 4.5 seconds and 0-200 in about 10.

http://www.allpar.com/model/intrepid-esx3.html

"The ESX3 costs only about $7,500 more than a comparable gasoline-powered car, down from a $15,000 premium with the ESX2, and $60,000 with the ESX.

The ESX3's mild hybrid electric (or "mybrid") powertrain combines a clean diesel engine, electric motor, and lithium-ion battery to achieve 72 miles per gallon (3.3 liters/100 km). That is two miles per gallon better than the fuel efficiency of its predecessor, the ESX2 in 1998, and close to PNGV's goal of up to 80 mpg (2.9 liters/100 km)."

"The lightweight body uses injection-molded thermoplastic technology that cuts weight and cost. The ESX3 weighs 2,250 pounds (1020 kg) while meeting all federal safety standards. The vehicle is more than 80 percent recyclable."

Now the real kick in the teeth. This vehicle was build as a concept car in 2000, 5 DAMN YEARS AGO!!! I am now convinced that Big Oil and the Big Three automakers have intentionally withheld fuel-efficient technology in order to screw us out of money. Thus, I have no problem that they're losing out to the Japanese.

It's amazing, isn't it - one would think that DaimlerChrysler would be working on a released version of this ASAP ...

GM had a diesel-electric hybrid concept car in the US - "Precept".

The selling point of a compression-injection engine (diesel, bio-diesel) is that it will run on anything, so that when we really hit Peak Oil...