Chicago Auto Show: Saturn Vue Green Line faux hybrid
Click on the photo to go the high-res gallery and see the true engine in the faux hybrid Vue
Saturn officially unveiled the 2008 Vue Green Line today here in Chicago, even though it did make an appearance in Los Angeles last November. While we were taking some photos of the apparently hybrid Vue, a staffer opened the hood, inadvertently revealing that this was truly a hybrid in name only. While the mild hybrid system in the Vue uses a four-cylinder engine, the display vehicle was actually equipped with the 3.6L V-6 from the Red Line and Vue XR.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ian 9:11AM (2/08/2007)
I thought the 2008 Hybrid used a V6?
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che culattone 9:15AM (2/08/2007)
this is not newsworthy at all. it's just a showmodel...
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TVs Hasselhoff 9:28AM (2/08/2007)
At least the Vue is green in color. They got that right.
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rrr 9:33AM (2/08/2007)
Hmmm, interesting, but what is even more interesting is that Prius cameout in 1997. So it takes GM about 10 years to come up with new technology that competition offers.
GM is not dying because it has or doesn't have hybrids. They are dying because they are TECHONOGICALY behind others. Example, they had to exit minivan market because they simply could not keep up with Caravan Siessa Odysey and Kia's van. Ford is the same.
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che culattone 9:35AM (2/08/2007)
"GM is not dying because it has or doesn't have hybrids. They are dying because they are TECHONOGICALY behind others. "
perhaps the dumbest quote i've seen in a long time.
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Bill 1:43PM (2/08/2007)
Hey a lot of show cars don't even have engines.
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LloydChiro 12:17PM (2/08/2007)
rrr,
GM already has hyprid models on the market. It's not like this is their first.
Plus, GM was the company that brought the electric car to the market in the late 90's. A technological showcase. Remember?
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wake1 10:26AM (2/08/2007)
Toyota is being sued because the y stole that technology from a florida company , I believe . Yet some how that goes unmentioned by all the america haters.
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Drew 10:28AM (2/08/2007)
Think fast!
Which of these manufacturers came out with a fully electric vehicle first?
1.Honda
2.Toyota
3.GM
RRR seems to think that 2007 is the first year for a hybrid from GM. The model in the article is the second generation Saturn Vue Hybrid. Additionally, the Vue will be available in 4-cylinder hybrid or V6 hybrid models, so the article is hardly conclusive.
GM is no longer dying, they are back in growth mode. Ford is the one to watch out for. They're like Studebaker in 1963 at this point.
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Lithous 10:25AM (2/08/2007)
"Hmmm, interesting, but what is even more interesting is that Prius cameout in 1997. So it takes GM about 10 years to come up with new technology that competition offers."
Do you realize that only TWO mainstream car companies have delivered their own hybrid system to market at this time? Are they the only two that aren't going to die?
But after 10 years the Highlander can (in still months away) go a whole mile on electric only. Yeah, Toyota is the end all of hybrid technology. No one could even begin to leap frog them since there is no way a hybrid could have any more technology than the Highlander and its 1 mile run.
"GM is not dying because it has or doesn't have hybrids. They are dying because they are TECHONOGICALY behind others. Example, they had to exit minivan market because they simply could not keep up with Caravan Siessa Odysey and Kia's van. Ford is the same."
Delusional. Seek help. The example of technology you give are minivans. Are you OK? What do minivans possess that no other car does (except they are so wimpy that I don't blame GM for not wanting to build them)? OnStar. Magnetic suspension. Two mode hybrid. Heads up display now on more than just Corvette. Displacement On Demand. E85 flex fuel engines. Cadilacs had nigh vision available. Hywire/Sequal and speaking of that, Toyota obviously thought GM HAS TECHNOLOGY in the realm of fuel cells or they wouldn't have agreed to joint research in that area.
I truly hope you aren't an American because if not you are unpatriotic. Remember that import fanboys, if American import basher == xenophobe then American domestic basher == unpatriotic (or if you aren't American and bash U.S. cars then you must be xenophobic like Paul).
Are you trying to not tell the truth about this lack of technology or are you just not comprehending the truth?
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Matt 10:39AM (2/08/2007)
Too funny, GM did the same thing when it introduced the Tahoe Hybrid at another auto show. The truck was badged as a hybrid, but one look under the hood showed it wasn't.
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DC 10:46AM (2/08/2007)
#4 is a troll. Please AutoBlog, don't feed the trolls. (deleting all their posts would be better...)
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starlightmica 10:57AM (2/08/2007)
This is GM's 2nd fake car show hybrid, here's the story behind the fake Tahoe Hybrid last year:
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=497
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ruggels 11:04AM (2/08/2007)
" Too funny, GM did the same thing when it introduced the Tahoe Hybrid at another auto show. The truck was badged as a hybrid, but one look under the hood showed it wasn't."
Umm and the Volt. I concur on the Too Funny part, having just canceled an order for a current gen highlander hybrid for the 08 model, i was greatly entertained to see that GM couldn't even bring a pre-production hybrid... nope.. just badging.
Man maybe Audi will start putting RS4 trim packages on their A4s shown at Auto shows, BMW will put M3 badges and exhaust on the 335i, etc. I"m sure most of us would be a little perturbed and bewildered were this to happen with anyone else. I'm constantly amused at the slack GM receives just because they're our largest automaker. Let's be kind when they deserve it (bringing the astra over, et-al) and tongue in cheek sarcastic when the pull bs maneuvers like this.
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DC 11:06AM (2/08/2007)
Could sombody clarify what exactly should look so different about the Tahoe hybrid under the hood? It uses the same ol' V8 engine. The 2-mode system is built into the transmission and the battery pack is under the floor.
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Tim UF 11:15AM (2/08/2007)
How does a thread about GM putting a badge on a show car that may not be what it says it is turn into a "toyota and honda crap on gm and ford" thread?
anyway, if GM put the greenline badge on it and it isnt mechanically a hybrid, then autoblog just pwned GM!
if i were GM i would have hybrid plastered all over the engine bay, even if the system is in the tranny as DC stated above.
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Lithous 11:22AM (2/08/2007)
starlightmica or should I have writting starlemming, the DW seems pretty much full of holes and worse...
"I tell you that Buickman identifies the main culprits as the Rothschilds, a favorite villain for folks suspecting the secret implementation of a non-democratic "New World Order", your mind may turn away from the details of his allegations. As would mine– if it weren't for that damn engine cover."
Wow, Farrago (correct spelling before his ancestors wised up to drop the 'r' btw) doesn't want to believe in KAOS theory, well, until an engine cover makes him see the light. What a joke. Not much of a leap there.
"On the face of it, Buickman's allegation of corporate suicide don't square with counterfeit hybridism;"
Wow, GM is really pushing the boundaries here. Not only do they claim they have a hybrid (and apparently it isn't true) but they also got Mercedes and BMW on board to LIE also (i.e. they claim to be co-developing this "fake" hybrid).
"Furtive Jewish bargain hunting bankers or no, Buickman's right: there are a lot of dubious goings-on over at RenCen involving the disposal of GM's assets."
Hmm, does that translate to sneaky, stingy Jew? Why does it matter (to him and to us - as he thinks it does to mention it) whether someone doing any business deal is Jewish or not?
"And then Buickman says that the UAW and GM have agreed to stage a union strike later this year to destroy the company, so that the nefarious forces responsible can live happily ever after."
That was January 2006 that that was written. Hmm. Which strike was it now looking back?
"explain GM's endless F-ups by choosing between gross incompetence and Enron-style shenanigans."
They are the LiesAboutCars so why would we not expect anything less than "Enron-style". I mean, just enough to put in readers heads that GM is doing Enron like things yet not accusing them of doing illegal things which is what "Enron" implies in such context.
Stay over on his site like he does. He used to come over here once in a while but if he can't have 100% control of the posts he can't handle it. Basically: I have decided that since GM makes some Chinese parts that no one can ever call Toyota foreign and we can't debate that sort of thing on my site. That kind of fuzzy logic.
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Lithous 11:25AM (2/08/2007)
"Could sombody clarify what exactly should look so different about the Tahoe hybrid under the hood? It uses the same ol' V8 engine. The 2-mode system is built into the transmission and the battery pack is under the floor."
You don't understand DC, everyone has to do it like Toyota so it *looks* like a hybrid with an oversized motor in the bay. That is what being green is for most people anyway. If you can't show the neighbors then it ain't worth it.
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PuffyC 11:27AM (2/08/2007)
A) Who cares. They just want everyone to know what it's going to look like. Agree that this is not newsworthy.
B) This turned into a "toyota and honda crap on gm and ford" thread because they all do. There are way too many school aged foreign fanboys at home all day that have nothing better to do than spam boards about how awesome the Japanese are and how sucky the Americans are.
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Lithous 11:35AM (2/08/2007)
"if i were GM i would have hybrid plastered all over the engine bay, even if the system is in the tranny as DC stated above."
Go read Farrago's post about supplied by starlemming. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=497 read the first paragraph, "ask the moto-bouncer to pop the hood. See if the thing's got a hybrid engine. (Ignore the engine cover"
You know, that is pretty funny that they have they name that they do and because a vehicle doesn't look like a traditional hybrid under hood (even though it is published that the vehicle uses the transmission and a large battery as the only hybrid parts) that they start spewing stuff is incredible. They never go to the truth about horsepower exaggerations or sludge allegations or Honda transmission problems.
No one calls them out for that stuff though.
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