GMC News
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GM has started production of its two new bi-fuel options in the pickup truck market. The 2013 Chevrolet Silverado HD and 2013 GMC Sierra 2500 HD bi-fuel models are able to run on either regular gasoline, or compressed natural gas (CNG). A 6.0-liter V-8 as found under the hood of each truck isn't your typical green engine, but allows each truck a range of 650 miles when both gas and CNG tanks are full. CNG is also cheaper for buyers, and offers lower carbon dioxide emissions than when running on gasoline. It also produces much lower carbon monoxide emissions, and lower oxides of...
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GM Announces Bi-Fuel Pickup Truck PricingIf you want a green truck at the moment, your options are limited. By their nature, trucks require large engines, and large engines use a lot of fuel. Until electric and range-extended trucks become a realistic proposition, your best option is either hybrid, or alternative fuels--such as GM's...
Antony Ingram -
GMC Touts Product-Placed, Low-Selling Sierra Hybrid Pickup
While some people buy them for image and others for show, there are still drivers out there for whom a pickup is the only vehicle that serves their varied needs. Sure, they aren't the greenest of vehicles but if you're a business owner with a family, or need that extra towing capacity, you're...
Antony Ingram -
Could Higher Gas Prices Help Obese Americans Lose Weight?
With gas prices above $4 a gallon (at least this week), we've entered a familiar cycle. Man-on-the-street interviews feature wailing and moaning about how politicians "should do something" about gas prices. Drivers start to combine their trips, and make sure to use their most fuel-efficient...
John Voelcker -
GM Greens Its Auto ACs With Greenhouse-Gas-Friendly Coolant
Among the many substances emitted by autos back in the "good old days" were the refrigerant gases that would leak from older auto air conditioners. Freon, also known as R-12, was replaced starting in the early 1990s with R-134a, which did less damage to the ozone layer. Now concern has expanded to...
John Voelcker -
Two-Mode Hybrid System: GM's Larry Nitz on Lessons Learned
The Two-Mode Hybrid system for large sport utilities and trucks hasn't exactly set the world on fire. In 2006, General Motors, Daimler and Chrysler (then a single company) announced a partnership, soon joined by BMW, to develop the Two-Mode Hybrid system for large rear-wheel drive vehicles. But...
John Voelcker -
Our reader Celeste wrote to ask us about available hybrid SUVs and crossovers, and we thought our answer might be useful for the site. At the moment, there are three main hybrid SUVs sold in the U.S. Each of them also has variations sold under other brands. All are likely to be durable, as their powertrains must be warrantied in some states for 10 years and 150,000 miles. Their mileage will vary depending on your "duty cycle." Hybrids are at their most fuel efficient in lower-speed and stop-and-go traffic, when their ability to switch off the engine on stops and run short distances solely on...
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GM To Invest $890 Million In Making Its V-8 Engines Save Gas
Going green on the road may involve smaller engines, electric cars, and clean diesels, but it also requires making all engines far more fuel efficient. To that end, General Motors will announce this morning that it will invest almost one billion dollars in five separate plants to build a new, far...
John Voelcker -
GM Plug-In Hybrid Program Underway, Vehicle Still Unconfirmed
Recent spy shots posted by our sister site Motor Authority show that despite delays, General Motors is continuing to develop the plug-in version of its Two-Mode Hybrid system. While the system is being tested in a discontinued Saturn Vue crossover, it now seems likely to appear in a version of...
John Voelcker -
Green Car Sales: Winners and Losers of 2009
It's beginning to look as if the worst is over for U.S. auto sales. The year that just closed was, in the immortal words of Queen Elizabeth II, an annus horribilis, with only 10.4 million vehicles sold, down 21 percent on 2008 and the lowest total since 1982. But some light seems to be appearing on...
John Voelcker -
Four-Way Two-Mode Hybrid Project Ends, Lab Closes; Now What?
The Two-Mode Hybrid project was hailed as a model of technical cooperation when it was announced five years ago. But now the partners are going their separate ways, and the complex hybrid system may end up solely as a General Motors technology. GM said in late 2004 it would partner with Daimler and...
John Voelcker -
Well, Why NOT a (750-Horsepower) Chevrolet Corvette Hybrid?
The 2010 Chevrolet Corvette goes like stink. Its 430-horsepower, 6.2-liter V8 is the epitome of all-American performance. And that's just the base car. The supercar contender ZR1 model heads straight into the stratosphere. The Vette is an icon, and GM messes with it at its peril. So a throwaway...
John Voelcker -
Today seems to be Ford day; this morning's e-mail included a news release on the early sales success of the 2010 Ford Transit Connect small delivery van, just while we're in the middle of writing up our four days of travel in a 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid. We first drove the 2010 Transit Connect in late May, visiting three small businesses in the heart of Manhattan that could show off the van's flexibility and usefulness in the urban areas where it's expected to sell best. Indeed, says Ford, the first shipment of Transit Connects has been selling from dealer lots in an average of eight days. The...
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Is Bling the Best (Or Only) Way For GM To Sell Its Biggest Hybrids?
With the 2009 GMC Yukon Denali Hybrid adding bling to big hybrid SUVs, a strategy may be emerging for GM
John Voelcker -
Two-Mode Troubles, or How GM Just Can't Catch a Break
They're selling slow, they lose a lot of value, and amidst the general gloom, GM's Two-Mode Hybrids are not the ray of hope they hoped for
John Voelcker -
How Many Kilowatts Do You Want With Those Fries? Nissan Plans Fast Food EV Charging Stations
Nissan is planing the North American release of a 100 mile range 5-seat electric car in 2012. These cars should have the capacity of collecting 80 miles of driving range in 30 minutes of charge time. To capitalize on that, apparently the automaker has plans to deploy a network of public charging...
Lyle Dennis -
Sonoma County Gears Up for Nissan EVs
In November of last year, the Renault-Nissan Alliance announced a partnership with Sonoma County to promote the adoption of electric vehicles and encourage the development of charging infrastructure. According to a report in the North Bay Business Journal today, Sonoma County means business. The...
Robert Scardino -
Nissan Partners with Energie Ouest Suisse
Nissan has signed another memo of understanding committing to zero emissions mobility. Today's partner is the Swiss electric utility company Energie Ouest Suisse. The two parties will collaborate to develop a battery charging network throughout Switzerland. The Renault-Nissan Alliance will also...
Robert Scardino
