Right on the heels of GMNext, GM Canada has started a purely green public outreach effort, the Green by Design podcast. The first episode says there will be 10 'casts, all about green topics such as hybrids and fuel cells. For the most part, these types corporate programs are usually extended commercials telling us things we've heard before, but one thing seems new here. Thirteen minutes into the 20-minute podcast, someone says, "We have about 10 hybrids in the pipeline at General Motors. We are going to be introducing a new hybrid every 3 months for the next two years."

Two years? GM Chairman Bob Lutz has said "sixteen hybrids in the next four years" and GM CEO Rick Wagoner said "one new hybrid coming out every quarter for next four years." So, they meant 16 hybrids including the ones released in the last year or two? Whatever they mean, in two or four years or how many hybrids total (16, 20 or 24), GM will probably have more hybrid brands than any other car maker for many years.

Fellow blogger Sam Abuelsamid notes that as with most automakers, GM doesn't have exactly the same model lineup in the smaller Canadian market that it does in U.S. The smaller Canadian market with its higher gas prices tends to skew more toward smaller cars than the U.S. market. It's possible some duplicate models with different branding might not be offered north of the border. For example, GM Canada might sell the Silverado Hybrid but not the Sierra hybrid. Unless GM in the U.S. says anything about a change in plans, what the Canadian side says should not necessarily be taken to reflect U.S. plans.

[Source: GM Green By Design]