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Even the radio is going hybrid. As part of the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week, GM has donated some vehicles for the festivities. There are four 2009 Chevy Tahoe Hybrids all decked out in political garb and XM logos (note that the XM logo is higher on the SUV than the political parties, just in case you forget which is more important) cruising the streets. These vehicles will also be used at the Republican National Convention next week in Minnesota, and the XM radio teams will be reporting from the SUVs in each city and then continuing using them through the inauguration in January. Read our review of the Tahoe hybrid here and then help us speculate on which vehicles a President Obama or a President McCain would promote. At least we know what John Kerry (remember him?) likes.


[Source: XM]

Click the Tahoe hybrid for a high-res gallery

There are plenty of dissenters who believe that the full-size hybrids from General Motors don't deserve any sort of green recognition at all. We can understand their argument, especially considering that the fuel mileage of these monsters is less than half that of the hybrid by which all others are judged, the Prius. Still, lets make a few comparisons. According to fueleconomy.gov, the Camry hybrid would save its driver $642 in gasoline per year compared to the standard Camry. By the same measurement, the Tahoe hybrid would save its driver $903 during those 12 months. Additionally, the Tahoe might be able to seat an entire large family (6+ people) that would need two vehicles if they were both sedans.

We are not going to suggest for even a second that the full-size SUVs from the General are the greenest cars on the road. Still, the annual fuel savings available to those who need them earns them a spot at number five on our list. Here's Number 4.

Click the Saturn Vue Hybrid for a high res gallery.

The other day, we found out that GM was having problems with the Cobasys batteries in the automaker's mild hybrid vehicles. The hybrid versions of the Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Vue and Saturn Aura are affected and around 9,000 batteries were recalled and replaced. At least, that's how GM explained it. According to a post over on HybridCars, Cobasys revealed that "a lot" of the information in the way GM told the battery problem story "it is not correct." According to HybridCars, the Cobasys executive "declined to elaborate further." Even so, we have our own questions in to GM and Cobasys to get their responses. Stay tuned.

[Source: HybridCars]

I missed covering this tidbit of information last week while I was traipsing through Europe, but some interesting information emerged when GM released their March sale results. GM has been making an awful lot of noise about their two-mode hybrid system with lots of announcements about all the vehicles the system will be installed in. What they aren't bragging much about is sales. That's because there isn't much to brag about. In fact it appears that the sum total of hybrid sales for all models offered by GM in the first three months of 2008 was 843. That is not a typo, it's 843. Unlike other manufacturers, GM has never broken out sales of hybrid models from conventional versions. Perhaps this is why.

During the same period Ford moved 5,225 Escape and Mariner Hybrids and Toyota sold...well let's just say Toyota sold a whole lot more than that. While GM has made plenty of auto show announcements about hybrids and they run lots of print and TV ads promoting their green-ness, they haven't really done a lot to promote hybrids on the lot. Perhaps they don't actually want to sell that many because the cost is so much higher and they don't want to lose all that money. Or perhaps customers just don't really want a hybrid full-size truck. Perhaps, as Troy Clarke told us at the Chicago Auto Show, they were holding them back for captured fleet testing until they were sure everything was right. Have any of you readers actually tried to find a hybrid at a dealership or tried to buy one? Let us know about your experience.

[Source: The Truth About Cars]

GM will make a "Major Technology Announcement" related to hybrids at the Geneva Motor Show tomorrow. We invite your speculations on the nature of the announcement in the comments below, and we promise full coverage early tomorrow morning. You can watch a live webcast of the announcement by GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner online at GMnext at 8:45 a.m. EST/2:45 p.m. CET. GM-Europe President Carl-Peter Forster will join Rick in making the announcement.

[Source: GMnext]

General Motors has apparently placed Cobasys on their list of distressed suppliers, a move that could be very bad news for some of GM's hybrid programs. Cobasys is the battery company jointly owned by Energy Conversion Devices and Chevron Technology Ventures. Cobasys supplies the nickel metal hydride batteries used in GM's mild hybrid system in the Saturn Aura and Vue and the Chevy Malibu. They are also one of two supplier teams with development contracts to provide lithium ion battery packs for the PHEV Saturn Vue that was shown at the Detroit Auto Show. Cobasys is doing the pack integration for cells provided by A123 systems for that program.

Apparently Cobasys lost $76 million in 2007 and expects the amount to widen to $82 million this year. ECD and Chevron are apparently at odds about funding the battery supplier and coming up with a spending plan for this year. When GM declares a supplier distressed they start watching them much more closely and the chances of a supplier on that list winning new business are slim. GM's full-size hybrid trucks, such as the Tahoe/Yukon, utilize batteries produced by Panasonic while the plug-in lithium battery programs all use multiple suppliers, so they should be ok unless another supplier stumbles. GM has not announced the name of the supplier for the Vue Two-mode hybrid that is due to launch this fall.

[Source: The Car Connection]

Driving the soon-to-be-released Chevy Malibu around the Anaheim Convention Center wasn't earth-shattering. Then again, I don't think that earth-shattering is what GM has in mind with this mild hybrid. For one thing, this car won't be all that widely available when it goes on sale for around $22,000 in mid-January. For another, aside from some green badging and an "eco" light on the dashboard, there's not much that will tell you this Malibu is any greener than any other on the road today. If you're looking to an energy info screen a la the Prius or the new plug-in Ford Escape hybrid (which is sweet), you're out of luck.

What the Malibu hybrid does offer is a reasonable green alternative. It's a full-size sedan and the "eco" light (according to the GM representative who I rode along with on the test drive - sorry I forgot her name) does affect how people drive; they try to drive so the light goes on. This isn't all that hard when you're slowing down. The belt-alternator-starter mild hybrid system and nickel metal hydride battery add around $1,800 to the price of the car while offering a slight increase in MPG. As we've said before, the standard version gets 22/30 city/highway mpg while the hybrid does a bit better at 24/32. Is it worth it? If you were inclined to purchase a Malibu in the first place, my vote is "yes," but this isn't a must have by any means.


Related:

• Autoblog first impression of the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu (and hybrid version)

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.

Related:

• 2008 Saturn Vue Green Line hits the street at $24,795 and 32 mpg HWY!

[Source: Stephen Downer / Automotive News]

Previous rumors that GM might price their new Two-Mode hybrid SUVs in the low $40K region to grab market share have proven untrue as the company has finally revealed the pricing. The rear-wheel-drive Tahoe will weigh in at a base price of $50,490 with the four wheel drive GMC Yukon topping out at $53,775 with all prices including a $900 destination charge. Without knowing exactly what equipment is included on the hybrid models, it's hard to say exactly what the hybrid premium on these SUVs will be, although a rough guess would put it at roughly $3,000-4,000 over a similarly equipped 5.3L version. Once available tax credits are factored in though, that price gap will narrow considerably.

[Source: General Motors]

Click the Silverado hybrid for a high-res gallery

Now that General Motors has launched production of their full-sized SUVs with the Two-Mode hybrid system, it's time to spread the wealth. Along with the Cadillac Escalade hybrid that we saw a few days ago, the full-sized Silverado pickup truck is also getting the hybrid treatment. Like it's enclosed, eight-seat cousin, the pickup will get a forty percent boost in city mileage with a twenty-five percent bump overall.

The beauty of the two-mode system in these applications is that gives a substantial boost in fuel efficiency without sacrificing the fundamental functionality of the vehicle. The two-wheel-drive Silverado hybrid can still tow 6,100 lbs thanks to the 6.0L V-8. The hybrid system allows increased use of the cylinder deactivation so that the engine runs on four cylinders under light load, with the electric drive providing power for acceleration when needed. Also like the SUV versions, the pickup has been tuned to operate with less noise under all conditions so that the difference between all-electric and engine drive modes is not as jarring. Depending on the battery state of charge, the truck can run over a mile on electricity alone at speeds up to 30 mph. The Silverado hybrid goes into production in second half of 2008. Details after the jump.

Related:

• GM discontinues the parallel hybrid Silverado and Sierra trucks

[Source: General Motors]

We thought a week or so ago that GM's new hybrid SUVs would start around $45,000. That information came from a GM spokesman, who said the hybrid version would cost about the same price as the conventional 5.3L model with similar equipment. A price like that would have meant virtually no price premium for the hybrid. Following that post, GM's website confirmed the news, and showed the costs of the Chevy Tahoe 4-Door two-wheel drive hybrid ($47,915), the Tahoe four-wheel drive ($50,720), and the GMC Yukon two-wheel drive hybrid ($48,370).

Whoops.

The Detroit News reports that GM will reveal the "real prices of hybrids" next week, and the numbers will be higher. How high? No one is saying, but GM spokesman Terry Rhadigan said this week that the website prices "weren't right when they were up there and we're not sure how they got up there." Looks like the hybrid premium is alive and well at GM. Stay tuned.

[Source: David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau]

Two stories, one bit of news: hybrids are not the answer in Europe.

In a pair of articles by Paul McVeigh in Automotive News yesterday and today (both subs req'd), Ford and GM are saying that they are moving forward very hesitantly on hybrids in Europe. GM says there is little demand for the gas-electric cars in Europe, Ford says they flat-out won't sell (full or mild) hybrids there, at least not in the foreseeable future. Ford of Germany Chairman Bernhard Mattes said the decision was due to the different driving habits of European drivers compared to Americans.

Instead of hybrids, Ford will "concentrate on solutions such as stop-start systems, better aerodynamics and tires with low rolling resistance to help make its cars more fuel efficient," McVeigh writes. Rita Forst, GM Powertrain Europe's head of product engineering, said that GM will also offer micro hybrid (aka stop-start) and mild hybrid (aka stop-start that can capture braking energy) systems in European vehicles for customers who want increased fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions, according to McVeigh. GM is also working on full hybrid powertrains with Daimler and BMW, but this technology is destined for U.S. vehicles. Not everyone is against hybrids in Europe. See Volkswagen, for instance.

[Source: Automotive News Europe]

According to Ed Peper (pronounced "Peeper") General Manager of Chevrolet Division of GM, Chevy is on quite a roll. Outside the US, the brand is growing by double digits in many markets, and the Chevy line is holding its own against competition in the US. While it is true that GM and Chevy are talking green every chance they get, one finds it hard to forget history. GM and Chevy are synonymous with the high energy lifestyle we are trying to wean ourselves from. GM invested in and out of the EV-1, preferring to destroy what cars they built rather than leave them in the hands of their users as evidence that, indeed, they once existed at all.

Continues after the jump.

[Source: International Motor Press Association]