LA 2007: Lutz and Peper show off Chevy's high efficiency fleet
Promising the best possible fuel economy for whichever type of vehicle its customers choose, GM's Bob Lutz and Ed Peper trotted a full lineup of green vehicles from their arsenal. The Aveo5, Impala E85, Malibu Hybrid, Tahoe Hybrid, Silverado Hybrid, Volt, Equinox Fuel Cell, Beat and Groove were used to show off that Chevy will be the brand carrying the greenish flame most prominently into the future for GM. Lutz talked about having a whole range of options available to meet future trends, from hybrids, to flex-fuel burners, to fuel cells, to electrics like start/stop technology and good old-fashioned economy cars that get great fuel economy.
Gallery: 2008 Chevy Aveo5
The Aveo5, Groove and Beat fall into that last category. When talking about the Beat, Lutz admitted that although it was chosen by online ballot from among two other small car concepts, it's been the one the automaker's really wanted to build all along. "You wouldn't believe how many GM employees we had voting late into the night to make sure that happened," he joked. He added that because the Groove had also gotten a fairly large number of votes, it too could see production some day.
Lutz added that 10 of the 100 Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell (EFC) vehicles being built and put into the hands of real human beings in GM's Project Driveway program are headed to Disneyland. As part of a new partnership, Disney will use 10 of the EFCs for executive shuttles around the Disneyland complex to test and evaluate the vehicles over the next year. Talking about the hybrid Silverado trucks and Tahoe SUVs, Bob mentioned that not only are they the first application of hybrid technology in full-size haulers, but the Silverado actually offers mileage comparable to some base 4-cylinder Toyota cars. Zing!
Lutz isn't sure which way the enviro winds will blow, but he wanted to stress that Chevy will follow the breeze wherever it leads. We're not sure how cars like the Corvette and Camaro fit into this equation, but in all fairness, those cars could well follow these same guidelines and offer best in class efficiency like the rest.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Frank in L.A. 2:19PM (11/15/2007)
Fugly, just fugly. GM sux
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Adam 2:21PM (11/15/2007)
Brilliant critique there. ::rolls eyes::
Frank in L.A. 2:41PM (11/15/2007)
Wow, people can;t take a critique cuz then they roll there eyes. Adam your man not a women, Buck UP
Pokey 2:34PM (11/15/2007)
Give the guy a break. He probably heard someone say fugly for the first time today, and couldn't wait to use it in a sentence, or at least something resembling a sentence. Maybe next he'll learn how to spell "sucks" properly.
Dinger 2:38PM (11/15/2007)
And not only is it brilliant but by using the "x" in place of the correct "ck" Frank shows that he is not only witty and erudite but efficient as well in saving himself the lone keystroke. And in the face of such a complete and well thought out argument I myself must concur that GM does in fact.... sux.
Willem B 9:02AM (11/16/2007)
This just proves that GM haters are idiots for not knowing how grammar works:
Quote:
And not only is it brilliant but by using the "x" in place of the correct "ck" Frank shows that he is not only witty and erudite but efficient as well in saving himself the lone keystroke. And in the face of such a complete and well thought out argument I myself must concur that GM does in fact.... sux.
the original Sux, refers to GM, GM being a single entity, the 'x' replaces 'cks'. Therefore, what you are saying is "..GM does in fact.... sucks". That doesn't make sense.
iQuack 2:31PM (11/15/2007)
I guess it's good, fad marketing to trot out the new and expected hybrids, but on balance, they're too expensive and don't help the Earth at all--hybrids are little more than pablum for the Greenies.
When Honda imports a 50 state, clean diesel, the hybrid hype will face a REAL challenge that makes more sense.
At the moment, the smartest and best value for environmentally responsible car buyers is a good, 4 cylinder car such as the Honda Accord/Civic, or Toyota Camry/Accord, or similar.
Hybrids still cost too much relative to their benefits.
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iQuack 2:37PM (11/15/2007)
I meant Camry/Corolla above. I must have "Accord" in
mind because I own one and a friend just bought an '08 sedan which is a winner IMO.
iamhoff 2:47PM (11/15/2007)
I was thinking the same thing (about the diesel). I hope Maximum Bob isn't going to sideslip the idea of a clean diesel option for at least the light duty trucks and SUVs. Plus, with the Opel presence there should be adequate engineering opportunity for GM to explore passenger car diesel technology. But I agree, Quack, that the Honda clean diesel Accord is going to be the game changer. The Volkswagen TDI history has been great, but VWs were always too quirky to really gain a foothold in the mainstream of the market. If Honda can pull it off, I think that will be the catalyst.
Big Socket 3:03PM (11/15/2007)
Why do you assume people only buy hybrids to save planet earth? Maybe they buy them because they're tired of sending money to questionable middle eastern governments? Or maybe they simply want to support the technology and the effort by the car companies?
Don't dismiss GM's efforts just because they're not headquartered in Japan.
AlexP 4:37PM (11/15/2007)
You do realize that your biggest oil supplier is Canada (followed by Mexico), right?
psarhjinian 5:17PM (11/15/2007)
Psst-don't let them know that they got most of their oil from Canada, it'd either:
-Make them wonder what the f- they're doing in Iraq
-Result in a "liberation force" being sent to Alberta.
why not the LS2/LS7? 9:19PM (11/15/2007)
Given that Mercedes can't even get their BlueTech to pass 50-state car emissions right now, and VW just delayed the Jetta TDI for the same reason, I think asking GM to show off Diesel cars for the US market right now is getting a bit ahead of the curve.
Sherri Moses 2:46PM (11/15/2007)
This is interesting. Though I'm happy that the thinking is beginning about this topic by GM, I remember that tomorrow, Freedom From Oil will convert a Prius hybrid to a plug-in hybrid, just to prove that it CAN be done in a day!!! Wow! It begs the question: What UP? (Plug-ins could reduce American gas consumpsion by 85% Now, that's what I'm talking about! To follow that blog http://understory.ran.org/2007/11/14/ran-at-the-la-auto-show/
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k.w.a 3:10PM (11/15/2007)
man that aveo is ugly. everything else is nice
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AlexP 9:47PM (11/15/2007)
Taste is subjective.
the marais 3:31PM (11/15/2007)
Someone mentioned that the new Aveo is going to sport an Opel-designed Ecotec engine, rather than a Korean one, that will be much, much more fuel efficient than the previous Aveos. Does anyone know anything about that?
I have said it a million times. The Aveo has absolutely nothing on the Opel Corsa, which really is one of the best global small cars out there. The Corsa also comes with gas, diesel, and even a 1.6L turbo option (OPC). It is ridiculous that GM did not farm the Corsa to Korea or Mexico to build for the N/A market. I bet that the next-gen Aveo and Corsa should either merge or be built on the same chassis.
2010 should be an exciting time for GM -- when the next Vectra (Aura / Malibu), Astra, and Corsa (and Volt?) are due out. Maybe we will see diesels and hybrids of all of those models at that time.
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AlexP 4:38PM (11/15/2007)
It's going to happen, but not yet. The Aveo is a canvas.
PJ 5:02PM (11/15/2007)
I'm glad to see that GM is, at least, acknowledging that the "green" angle is important to their success.
Trotting out the Aveo and Impala E85 as "green" vehicles doesn't give me confidence in how seriously they're taking the trend, though. The Aveo gets the worst EPA figures of any subcompact, and the benefits of E85 are, ah, "debatable" (besides the fact that, IIRC, California has exactly *one* E85 station).
The "zing" also falls a bit flat considering that Toyota's four-cylinder vehicles are consistently more efficient than Chevy's (i.e. 22/30 MPG Cobalt).
I'm excited about the Malibu Hybrid, and the Tahoe Hybrid shows lots of promise too. My question is who's going to buy the latter. Image is a major factor in any vehicle purchase, and I wonder how many folks are willing to shell out $50K for the Hybrid Tahoe knowing they'll still get flipped off by hippies because it's a ginormous SUV.
Honda made the same mistakes with its hybrids, making them visually too similar to the gas-only models. People who buy hybrids want bystanders to *know* they chose a hybrid (since, given the demographics, most of them could have bought something much fancier), hence the success of the ugly-but-distinctive Prius.
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AlexP 7:26PM (11/15/2007)
Two comments:
1. EPA figures aren't representative of reality, at all.
2. Toyota's engine aren't as efficient as you think, it's just that the Cobalt is more powerful than the 1.8L in the Corolla. The Ecotec's fine, the VVTs are outdated. Just check the Vibe/Matrix (newest generation), or even the new xB.