Does AFS Trinity's hybrid deserve the hype?
The video above is a news report about AFS Trinity Power's new hybrid from CNN. The New York Times has an article about the hybrid which will be at the Detroit Auto Show. Grist, a popular green blog, says they were interviewed for a report by CBS New that will air this weekend. Some of our readers have sent tips and commented on the hybrid as well. AFS Trinity converted a Saturn Vue hybrid and says the vehicle now gets 150 miles per gallon for just $8,700 extra. Is this a break through? I don't think so.I have posted not-so-positive things about conversion companies before. I honestly admire their work and think they are doing great things. The only problem is the automakers want to make hybrids now and I see little possibility conversion companies can compete with them by converting cars that automakers plan to convert themselves. For example, one of our readers commented about AFS in a post I wrote about GM's CEO hinting of big news on the plug-in Saturn Vue, almost exactly the same kind of car AFS Trinity is showing.You tell me readers, do you think AFS Trinity made a better hybrid than GM with "off the shelf parts"? Even if they did, GM will have many good come-backs like, we make the VUE and AFS voids your warranty, if a reporter asks them about it. I simply don't see how AFS Trinity wins here. A little advice for conversion companies: don't convert GM's hybrids. GM plans to release a hybrid every 3 months for the next 4 years. A little advice for the popular press too: read AutoblogGreen :
GM CEO: "Expect an announcement on the VUE plug-in hybrid very soon"
In his CES keynote, part of which you can watch above, General Motor's CEO Rick Wagoner hints that an announcement with the release date for GM's first plug-in hybrid is coming "very soon." GM told us the release date for Saturn Vue plug-in might be in the end of 2008 or "2009-ish" range. From what Rick says in his keynote, I get the feeling we might get news of a firm release date at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. Here is exactly what he said (watch 5:30 into the video above):We've already announced our intention to build a "plug-in" version of our Saturn VUE hybrid. Our team is hard at work to get this technology to market as soon as we can. Expect an announcement on the VUE plug-in hybrid very soon.I guess we will find out next week when the 2008 Detroit Auto Show begins. If there is news of a release date in Detroit, the best I am hoping for is an October 2008 release and maybe a few details about possible MPG ratings for the vehicle. If anyone can buy and drive off with the Saturn Vue PHEV from the Detroit Show floor, that would be okay too, I guess.
Detroit 2008: Saturn Vue 2-mode hybrid
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Saturn introduced the first General Motors production hybrid vehicle when the Saturn Vue Green Line appeared in 2006. The Vue was equipped with GM belt-alternator-starter (BAS) mild-hybrid system. The BAS system has subsequently been added to the Aura and Malibu sedans in addition to the redesigned 2008 Vue. The functionality of the BAS system is limited, providing start-stop functionality, some regenerative braking and some power boost from the motor. It cannot, however, run the vehicle solely on electricity. For the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, Saturn is introducing what will be the second of three hybrid variants of the Vue. This one uses the Two-Mode hybrid technology that was introduced in 2007 on the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon. Unlike the big GMT900 SUVs, the Vue has a transverse mounted engine and front wheel drive. That required designing a new transaxle that incorporates the same technology as the big trucks. Read on after the jump to learn more.
Saturn Astra production could shift to US
It's always been tough for automakers to build small cars profitably in the United States. The high overhead that they faced, combined with limited demand for small cars, made things tough. When GM decided to start selling the Opel Astra as a new small Saturn in the US market they started off by exporting European-built cars to the U.S. With the US dollar in free-fall against the Euro, this obviously isn't a sustainable strategy. As a result, if the Astra proves to be popular as a Saturn, GM is likely to start producing them in the U.S. especially when the next-generation model debuts and shares more hardware with the Chevy Cobalt.
GM started making Saturn Vue hybrids in Mexico today
Even Mexican President Felipe Calderon is excited about the Saturn Vue hybrid. Today, Calderon announced the start of production of the vehicle in Mexico, Automotive News reports. The plant is in Ramos Arizpe and has an annual capacity of 6,500 hybrid Vues. GM employees have been making standard Vues there since July. These SUVs will be exported north to the US and Canada. GM is still undecided on whether to offer the Vue Green Line in the country where it is produced. Read more about the 2008 Vue hybrid at the link below.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturn Vue Two-Mode
Saturn answers reader questions on GM Fastlane blog
Following the Saturn press conference at the Detroit Auto Show, Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak put a post on GM's Fastlane blog about the vehicles that were shown. In the comments section of that post readers asked lots of questions about what Saturn had shown and where the company is going. In the latest entry on the blog, Kyle Johnson, director of Saturn communications, has responded to some of the more interesting questions such as why does it take so long to build a new vehicle when they can get a concept from drawing board to stage in six months. Unfortunately the answers aren't as detailed as they might have been in some cases. That timing question should have mentioned the fact that concepts that are built so quickly are generally non-functional or barely functional. All the systems that are required on a real car are generally not present on a concept. Check out the all the questions and responses at the Fastlane blog.
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Video: Jim Dawson's 80-mile range electric Saturn
Jim Dawson gives a great tour of his 1994 Saturn SL1 converted to run on electricity for an Illinois public access cable show (you can watch the video below the fold). Jim shows us the insides of his four-door electric car, pointing out all the changes he made and then takes us for a drive. There is a fuse so Jim does not have to worry about electrocution and everything else - like brakes, air bags, etc. - is basically the same.Jim could not leave the back suspension alone though because he added a thousand pounds of batteries which gets him up to 80-mile range. Jim has put over 8,000 miles on his electric Saturn and likes paying only 2 cents a mile (30 MPG gas car with $3 a barrel a gas costs 20 cents a mile). Jim thinks more people will be interested in electric cars when gas hits $4 this Summer.
Malibu, Vue hybrid Superbowl ads might not air because of low inventory
Super Bowl XLII airs Sunday (Feb. 3) and GM is debating if it should air ads for the Chevrolet Malibu and Saturn Vue hybrids in the iconic event. "The debate we're having is we're not sure we'll have enough inventory [of the new hybrids] on February 3 to warrant running an ad for them during the Super Bowl. ... We don't want to frustrate consumers," GM spokeswoman Ryndee Carney tells InsideLine. Nissan, Audi, Hyundai and Toyota will also air ads this Super Bowl but not for hybrids. Toyota, for example, will air ads for the Sequoia SUV and new Corolla.
Big GM Crossovers not going hybrid anytime soon
After a report here on ABG yesterday that General Motors was set to introduce hybrid versions of their full-size Lambda crossovers, I decided to call up Brian Corbett GM's spokesman for hybrid programs. The Lambdas include the Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia. According to Corbett, there are no immediate plans to hybridize the Lambdas. During a conversation with GM Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November he indicated that the shape of the engine compartment of the big CUVs was too narrow for the two-mode transmission to fit. Corbett said that a second-generation version was being designed but it was still at least 3-4 years away. The current mild hybrid system also isn't suitable for the bigger vehicles although the second-generation version of that might be adapted. That, too, is still three years away. So if you like the Lambdas but want better mileage, you'll be waiting a while . As for the GMC Sierra hybrid, Chevrolet announced the identical Chevy Silverado hybrid in LA and the Sierra will no doubt be announced soon
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Detroit 2008: More photos than you can shake a stick at
The Detroit Auto Show is open to the public this week. If you're the type of person who really wants to be there, but can't find the time or money to arrive, allow me to present you with a viable alternative. Sure, we already brought you news about the green cars that were revealed or are on display at the show, but sometimes you'd like to just aimlessly wander the aisles and see what you can find, right? If that sounds good to you, here's a way to do just that at your computer. Click on the gallery thumbnails below to begin a journey through 111 images shot by Newspress at the NAIAS. As I was posting these images, I felt like I was back in Cobo Hall. You can feel like you're there, too. Enter any time.
Will Europe get a diesel Two-Mode hybrid Opel Antara? Not anytime soon!
The current-generation Saturn Vue is also sold in Europe as the Opel Antara, and in the right hand drive UK market as the Vauxhall Antara. Since it's introduction in 2007, the Euro editions have been available with an Opel 1.9 turbodiesel engine. With the public debut of the two-mode hybrid Vue last week at the Detroit Auto Show the next bit of speculation revolves around a European edition and the possibility of a diesel hybrid. According to GM spokesman Brian Corbett there are no production plans for an Opel/Vauxhall hybrid Antara or a diesel hybrid. The two-mode system is quite expensive to manufacture at this point, and a diesel two-mode would probably be prohibitively expensive for its market segment. Add in the lesser popularity of hybrids in Europe and it will probably quite a few years before a diesel hybrid Antara shows up on European roads. A mild hybrid diesel with the second-generation belt alternator starter system using a lithium battery might be a different story though, not that GM is saying anything about that.
Detroit 2008: Video of the PHEV Saturn Vue's brief on-stage appearance
Usually, the auto show game plan works like this: an automaker reveals the latest car with a flourish, everyone crowds around the stage and snaps photos and then the scrum dies down and forms at the next booth. Later, some low-level techs move whatever vehicle was just photographed like Britney Spears with her pants down onto the show floor, where it sits and waits for someone to pay it attention during the rest of the week. Unfortunately, this isn't always the way it works. When GM unveiled the plug-in hybrid VUE concept at the Detroit Auto Show (along with the new two-mode VUE hybrid), the PHEV appeared on stage, then retreated through the little door and was never seen again. When I asked someone from GM where the SUV was, he told me that it was probably back in Milford already. All this is to say that the short clip of the Vue plug-in that you can see in the video above - which shows how Saturn unveiled the new VUEs) is all you're gonna get. For now, anyway. Someday, I'm sure, we'll bring you much clearer and better video of what will probably be the first production plug-in hybrid from an OEM.Related:
Detroit 2008: Saturn Vue Two-Mode, with and without a plug
Saturn publicly showed two versions of the new Two-Mode hybrid Vue cross-over today using different battery technologies. One is the standard model that will go on sale toward the end of the this year with a nickel metal hydride battery pack. The second uses a lithium ion pack and has the ability to be plugged in for 4-5 hours giving it a ten mile electric range. Let me here correct an error I made in my original post on the regular two-mode Vue. Contrary to what I had heard earlier, the fuel economy improvement is actually 50 percent in combined driving rather in the city cycle. According to GM Powertrain VP Tom Stephens, GM is actually hoping to get even more improvement before production launch later this year. The company also wants to get the PHEV Vue to market by late next year, making it the first commercially available plug-in hybrid.
Detroit 2008: Saturn Vue Green Line plug-in hybrid
At the Detroit Auto Show today, GM is providing the first concrete details on the new Saturn Vue Green Line plug-in hybrid since the battery development contracts were announced last spring and the vehicle itself was announced in late 2006. Prototypes of the new PHEV Vue are now running with lithium ion batteries and apparently getting more than 10 miles on a full charge. A full charge of the pack takes about 4-5 hours on a normal 110V household circuit. The PHEV Vue is based on the Two-Mode hybrid Vue also launching today. If GM makes their target of having the plug-in Vue on sale for 2010, it will likely be the first commercially available plug-in hybrid in the world. The GM press release is after the jump and we should have live pics of the Vue later today.
Detroit 2008: Saturn Flextreme E-Flex Concept
Back in September 2007 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, General Motors main European brand Opel unveiled the second body style and third power-train variant of their E-Flex architecture. Since the product lines of Opel and Saturn have been converging over the past few years it makes sense to display the Flextreme at U.S. auto shows with Saturn badging. Aside from the badge changes, the Flextreme is still the same vehicle that was on the Opel stand in Germany. To refresh you memories, the Flextreme carries on the power-train concept of the original Chevy Volt as a range extended electric vehicle. Drive to the wheels is provided by a 53kW electric motor which gets electrons from a 16kWh lithium ion battery. Where the Flextreme differs from the Volt is the range extender. The Volt uses a 1.0L three cylinder, gasoline/E85 flex-fuel engine to drive the generator. The Flextreme uses a 1.3L four cylinder diesel engine. Aside from the diesel E-Flex setup, the other important aspects of the Flextreme are the two on-board Segway scooters mounted in a compartment in the back and the vehicle and the styling. The design of the Flextreme gives a strong preview of the design language of the next generation of Opel and Saturn vehicles starting with the upcoming Opel Insignia which will replace the Vectra and Aura. Check out the coverage of the Flextreme from Frankfurt for more details on the powertrain.
Following the Saturn press conference at the Detroit Auto Show, Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak put a post on GM's Fastlane blog about the vehicles that were shown. In the comments section of that post readers asked lots of questions about what Saturn had shown and where the company is going. In the latest entry on the blog, Kyle Johnson, director of Saturn communications, has responded to some of the more interesting questions such as why does it take so long to build a new vehicle when they can get a concept from drawing board to stage in six months. Unfortunately the answers aren't as detailed as they might have been in some cases. That timing question should have mentioned the fact that concepts that are built so quickly are generally non-functional or barely functional. All the systems that are required on a real car are generally not present on a concept. Check out the all the questions and responses at the Fastlane blog.
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Video: Jim Dawson's 80-mile range electric Saturn
Jim Dawson gives a great tour of his 1994 Saturn SL1 converted to run on electricity for an Illinois public access cable show (you can watch the video below the fold). Jim shows us the insides of his four-door electric car, pointing out all the changes he made and then takes us for a drive. There is a fuse so Jim does not have to worry about electrocution and everything else - like brakes, air bags, etc. - is basically the same.Jim could not leave the back suspension alone though because he added a thousand pounds of batteries which gets him up to 80-mile range. Jim has put over 8,000 miles on his electric Saturn and likes paying only 2 cents a mile (30 MPG gas car with $3 a barrel a gas costs 20 cents a mile). Jim thinks more people will be interested in electric cars when gas hits $4 this Summer.
Malibu, Vue hybrid Superbowl ads might not air because of low inventory
Super Bowl XLII airs Sunday (Feb. 3) and GM is debating if it should air ads for the Chevrolet Malibu and Saturn Vue hybrids in the iconic event. "The debate we're having is we're not sure we'll have enough inventory [of the new hybrids] on February 3 to warrant running an ad for them during the Super Bowl. ... We don't want to frustrate consumers," GM spokeswoman Ryndee Carney tells InsideLine. Nissan, Audi, Hyundai and Toyota will also air ads this Super Bowl but not for hybrids. Toyota, for example, will air ads for the Sequoia SUV and new Corolla.
Big GM Crossovers not going hybrid anytime soon
After a report here on ABG yesterday that General Motors was set to introduce hybrid versions of their full-size Lambda crossovers, I decided to call up Brian Corbett GM's spokesman for hybrid programs. The Lambdas include the Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia. According to Corbett, there are no immediate plans to hybridize the Lambdas. During a conversation with GM Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November he indicated that the shape of the engine compartment of the big CUVs was too narrow for the two-mode transmission to fit. Corbett said that a second-generation version was being designed but it was still at least 3-4 years away. The current mild hybrid system also isn't suitable for the bigger vehicles although the second-generation version of that might be adapted. That, too, is still three years away. So if you like the Lambdas but want better mileage, you'll be waiting a while . As for the GMC Sierra hybrid, Chevrolet announced the identical Chevy Silverado hybrid in LA and the Sierra will no doubt be announced soon
.
Detroit 2008: More photos than you can shake a stick at
The Detroit Auto Show is open to the public this week. If you're the type of person who really wants to be there, but can't find the time or money to arrive, allow me to present you with a viable alternative. Sure, we already brought you news about the green cars that were revealed or are on display at the show, but sometimes you'd like to just aimlessly wander the aisles and see what you can find, right? If that sounds good to you, here's a way to do just that at your computer. Click on the gallery thumbnails below to begin a journey through 111 images shot by Newspress at the NAIAS. As I was posting these images, I felt like I was back in Cobo Hall. You can feel like you're there, too. Enter any time.
Will Europe get a diesel Two-Mode hybrid Opel Antara? Not anytime soon!
The current-generation Saturn Vue is also sold in Europe as the Opel Antara, and in the right hand drive UK market as the Vauxhall Antara. Since it's introduction in 2007, the Euro editions have been available with an Opel 1.9 turbodiesel engine. With the public debut of the two-mode hybrid Vue last week at the Detroit Auto Show the next bit of speculation revolves around a European edition and the possibility of a diesel hybrid. According to GM spokesman Brian Corbett there are no production plans for an Opel/Vauxhall hybrid Antara or a diesel hybrid. The two-mode system is quite expensive to manufacture at this point, and a diesel two-mode would probably be prohibitively expensive for its market segment. Add in the lesser popularity of hybrids in Europe and it will probably quite a few years before a diesel hybrid Antara shows up on European roads. A mild hybrid diesel with the second-generation belt alternator starter system using a lithium battery might be a different story though, not that GM is saying anything about that.
Detroit 2008: Video of the PHEV Saturn Vue's brief on-stage appearance
Usually, the auto show game plan works like this: an automaker reveals the latest car with a flourish, everyone crowds around the stage and snaps photos and then the scrum dies down and forms at the next booth. Later, some low-level techs move whatever vehicle was just photographed like Britney Spears with her pants down onto the show floor, where it sits and waits for someone to pay it attention during the rest of the week. Unfortunately, this isn't always the way it works. When GM unveiled the plug-in hybrid VUE concept at the Detroit Auto Show (along with the new two-mode VUE hybrid), the PHEV appeared on stage, then retreated through the little door and was never seen again. When I asked someone from GM where the SUV was, he told me that it was probably back in Milford already. All this is to say that the short clip of the Vue plug-in that you can see in the video above - which shows how Saturn unveiled the new VUEs) is all you're gonna get. For now, anyway. Someday, I'm sure, we'll bring you much clearer and better video of what will probably be the first production plug-in hybrid from an OEM.Related:
Detroit 2008: Saturn Vue Two-Mode, with and without a plug
Saturn publicly showed two versions of the new Two-Mode hybrid Vue cross-over today using different battery technologies. One is the standard model that will go on sale toward the end of the this year with a nickel metal hydride battery pack. The second uses a lithium ion pack and has the ability to be plugged in for 4-5 hours giving it a ten mile electric range. Let me here correct an error I made in my original post on the regular two-mode Vue. Contrary to what I had heard earlier, the fuel economy improvement is actually 50 percent in combined driving rather in the city cycle. According to GM Powertrain VP Tom Stephens, GM is actually hoping to get even more improvement before production launch later this year. The company also wants to get the PHEV Vue to market by late next year, making it the first commercially available plug-in hybrid.
Detroit 2008: Saturn Vue Green Line plug-in hybrid
At the Detroit Auto Show today, GM is providing the first concrete details on the new Saturn Vue Green Line plug-in hybrid since the battery development contracts were announced last spring and the vehicle itself was announced in late 2006. Prototypes of the new PHEV Vue are now running with lithium ion batteries and apparently getting more than 10 miles on a full charge. A full charge of the pack takes about 4-5 hours on a normal 110V household circuit. The PHEV Vue is based on the Two-Mode hybrid Vue also launching today. If GM makes their target of having the plug-in Vue on sale for 2010, it will likely be the first commercially available plug-in hybrid in the world. The GM press release is after the jump and we should have live pics of the Vue later today.
Detroit 2008: Saturn Flextreme E-Flex Concept
Back in September 2007 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, General Motors main European brand Opel unveiled the second body style and third power-train variant of their E-Flex architecture. Since the product lines of Opel and Saturn have been converging over the past few years it makes sense to display the Flextreme at U.S. auto shows with Saturn badging. Aside from the badge changes, the Flextreme is still the same vehicle that was on the Opel stand in Germany. To refresh you memories, the Flextreme carries on the power-train concept of the original Chevy Volt as a range extended electric vehicle. Drive to the wheels is provided by a 53kW electric motor which gets electrons from a 16kWh lithium ion battery. Where the Flextreme differs from the Volt is the range extender. The Volt uses a 1.0L three cylinder, gasoline/E85 flex-fuel engine to drive the generator. The Flextreme uses a 1.3L four cylinder diesel engine. Aside from the diesel E-Flex setup, the other important aspects of the Flextreme are the two on-board Segway scooters mounted in a compartment in the back and the vehicle and the styling. The design of the Flextreme gives a strong preview of the design language of the next generation of Opel and Saturn vehicles starting with the upcoming Opel Insignia which will replace the Vectra and Aura. Check out the coverage of the Flextreme from Frankfurt for more details on the powertrain.
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