It looks like the combination of $4/gallon gas and CAFE rules may have finally administered the coup de grace to GM's plans for new rear wheel drive replacements for its big sedans. GM had been planning to replace the Chevrolet Impala and Buick Lucerne with models based on the same Zeta rear wheel drive platform as the Pontiac G8 around 2010. However, it now appears that the front wheel drive Impala will remain in production at GM's Oshawa Ontario plant until at least 2012. The new contract between GM and the Canadian Autoworkers union specifies that the popular Impala will live on. Most likely it will now get a visual refresh around 2010 and probably some powertrain upgrades to improve efficiency. The fate of the Buick remains uncertain. The Hamtramck assembly plant that currently produces the Lucerne and Cadillac DTS is scheduled to shift over to building a Delta platform MPV and some car called the Volt in 2010. Based on the current draft of CAFE rules, it seems GM could have likely met the requirements with a Zeta platform vehicle with smaller, more efficient engines and perhaps a hybrid powertrain. The seemingly inexorable shift to even more efficient vehicles driven by higher gas prices is likely to continue outstripping regulatory requirements for the foreseeable future and all the automakers are having to adjust quickly.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

For 2009, General Motors is adding four more vehicles to the existing eleven that are capable of running on E85 but more than likely never will. The latest entry is Buick's big sedan, the Lucerne. Currently the Lucerne is available with Buick's old 3.8L V-6 that isn't long for this world and the 4.6L NorthStar V-8. The flex-fuel Lucerne will use the same 3.9L V-6 installed in the Chevy Impala. Other models picking up flex-fuel capability for 2009 include the Hummer H2 and Chevy HHR. GM has committed to making half of its fleet flex-fuel capable by 2012, and now we just need some stations where people can buy ethanol and some cellulosic ethanol in mass production.

[Source: General Motors]

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.

[Source: General Motors]

A year ago the Zeta rear-wheel-drive architecture developed at General Motors Holden division in Australia looked set to spawn a host of new North American models. The platform that under-pins the new Pontiac G8 and the upcoming Chevrolet Camaro now looks like it will have much more limited application. The next generation of the Chevy Impala was due to be built on this platform alongside the Camaro but now will likely stay on an updated version of the current front-wheel-drive chassis.

The fact that the company needs to move aggressively to meet new 35mpg fuel economy standards will likely mean that higher-volume applications like the Impala go to smaller, lighter platforms instead. The fate of the rumored Alpha compact rear-drive platform is still up in the air at this point. Whether a new Zeta-based Pontiac GTO ever sees the light of day is unknown as well. The 2.9L Cadillac turbodiesel V-6 mated with the two-mode hybrid system would probably get a GTO or Impala in the ballpark of 35mpg. However, that combination would probably be too expensive to get the desired volumes on the Impala and might not appeal to prospective GTO buyers.

[Source: GoAuto via Autoblog]

Here's an update on GM's new hybrid for China. Shanghai GM says they will release a Buick LaCrosse hybrid for the Chinese market before the Beijing Olympics, which will have its opening ceremonies August 8, 2008. The hybrid will be based on the Saturn Aura hybrid and the pricing and mileage difference ($2,500 premium and 25 percent improvement in mileage) hints the hybrid system is mild and not GM's two mode system.

In China, Toyota and Honda currently offer a hybrid for sale. Recently, China's Changan Auto debuted its first hybrid and other Chinese automakers like BYD and Chery said they would offer hybrids next year. In a recent speech, Bob Lutz said China admired the Buick brand over any other GM brand. Currently there are no plans to release a Buick LaCrosse hybrid in the American market.

GM has said they would release 16 hybrids in the next 4 years and the US market already has the Aura hybrid, so a Buick hybrid in the U.S. is possible. Below the fold is a Chinese TV ad for the Buick.

Related:

• Want a Buick hybrid? Move to China, where the LaCrosse hybrid is coming soon
• LA Auto Show video: Bob Lutz confirms GM will release 16 hybrids in next four years
• China's Changan Auto's first hybrid model: Jiexun-HEV
• Chery has huge plans for hybrids in 2008 and beyond
• China's BYD Automobile to make hybrid next year

[Source: AutoChannel]

UPDATE: Thanks to Ash, image has been changed.

Artist Michel de Broin stripped down a 1986 Buick Regal and added pedal power. The video above shows some guys taking it on the road, then the Toronto police pulling the car over and eventually towing it away. Don't feel too bad for the concept because there is a street-legal human-powered car available from the HumanCar Company. I think a covered human car and even the Buick would be street legal if the people that made the video took the right steps. I assume riding in a comfortable, aerodynamic, safe human-powered vehicles is a funny, stunt to these people but it's a serious issue. Below the fold is a video of an electric-assist Velomobile, a popular covered bike-car concept.

[Source: Jalopnik]

Earlier this year at the Shanghai Motor Show, General Motors showed off a hybrid version of the Chinese market Buick LaCrosse. The car was powered by GM's mild hybrid belt-alternator-starter system matched to a 2.4L four cylinder engine. General Motors will now start building the BAS LaCrosse at their Shanghai joint-venture plant in the first half of 2008 and put them on sale before the Olympic Games in Beijing. So far hybrid sales have been poor in China due to relatively low gas prices and high costs of the vehicles. However with Chinese gas taxes set to rise dramatically, the relatively low cost BAS system could prove popular for GM.

[Source: Reuters]

Ben Harper: musician, car collector, carpooler.

In a Forbes Auto article earlier this month, the sweet-voiced Harper spoke to Shira Levine about the way high fuel prices have put him on his bike more often and into friends' cars to share rides.

Harper has got enough money to have a small fleet of cars (a 1964 Buick Riviera, a 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid and a 2006 Lexus RX 400h) and he's considering converting the Buick to pure electricity. He said, "I am a GM man. I am a Chevy guy. I have a '64 Buick Riviera that I am having converted into an electric car. I am not driving it until it is converted. Well, I take it around the block to keep it broken in. But, it's a mission right now that is out of control."

Harper recently test drove a 2008 Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG and looooved it, but it wastes too much fuel. "That isn't the car for me now," he said. "I am into being environmentally aware and focused. I want to be responsible."

[Source: ForbesAutos.com /Shira Levine via Ecorazzi]

click above image to view more shots of the Buick Riviera Concept

We mentioned the new Buick hybrid at the Shanghai Motor Show, but Buick announced more than the LaCrosse over in China. Autoblog Chinese brought us pictures of the Buick Riviera Concept when the car was revealed at the end of April, but I think readers will still be interested in this vague-sounding "fuel-efficient" possible hybrid. GM says the "Riviera has been engineered to accommodate a new hybrid system that will go into production at Shanghai GM." Parallel? Series? Who knows?

[Source: GM, Autoblog Chinese]

Writers for Winding Road are in China at the Shanghai Motor Show. They recently managed to get Chris Gubbey, Executive Vice President for GM Shanghai, to squeak about an announcement GM will soon make about Buick's first ever hybrid model. Don't go looking for it at American dealerships; the advanced powertrain is destined solely for the Chinese version of the LaCrosse.

Winding Road says the Buick hybrid will use a Belt-Alternator Starter hybrid system (BAS) like the one in the Chevy Malibu. This won't result in 50 mpg ratings for the LaCrosse hybrid, but should increase the vehicle's numbers a little. Current LaCrosse models in the US get around 22-24 mpg. We'll have more when GM officially announces the vehicle.

[Source: Winding Road]

A new Green Collection of cars from Hertz will feature vehicles with fuel economy ratings of 28mpg or better. Included in the 35,000-car collection will be the Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, Buick LaCrosse and Hyundai Sonata. Many of the vehicles also carry EPA SmartWay certification, indicating lower emissions of polluntants and greenhouse gasses. The vehicles can be reserved by specific make and model.

Hertz officials say they're reaching out to specific customer segments with the program. The company already has the Prestige and Fun collections. All can be reserved at 50 major airports throughout the country. More locations will be added.

[Source: Hertz]

General Motors announced today that it is once again offering zero percent financing on select models. The deal includes GM's large SUVs like the Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon XL and Hummers, although the discontinued Hummer H1 and other cars, like the Corvette and Solstice, are excluded, according to the Detroit Free Press. A lot of these are flex-fuel. GM's website says that almost every 2006 model is on sale. The Freep also mentions GM's slow sales (down eight percent for the year), high gas prices, and new incentives that GM's competitors are offering as reasons for the special sale. The zero percent financing will last customers up to 72 months, and the sale only lasts for 72 hours. Looks like GM calculated that since a lot of customers have decided that GM's vehicles were not the right ones to buy, GM is trying to create a few snap decisions to buy in the next few days. We'll see if it works and if and how other automakers respond.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]