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Mechanical and aerodynamic changes and the cut in weight will help models including Chevrolet Silverado pickups improve to 15 miles per gallon in the city and 21 mpg on the highway, a 1-mpg gain, GM said today in a statement. They'll carry an XFE badge, for ``extra fuel economy,'' and go on sale next quarter.
``People want to see constant improvement in fuel economy,'' AutoPacific Inc. product analyst Stephanie Brinley said in Plymouth, Michigan, where GM was showing the new models. ``It's important to say it's better than it was last year.''
GM also is adding hybrid versions of the Silverado and Sierra, which will join gasoline-electric variants of the Tahoe and Yukon. The hybrid pickups go on sale next year. GM's large pickups already were the most fuel efficient in the U.S., beating the ratings for models including Toyota Motor Corp.'s Tundra, White said.
The pickups will have the same towing capacity as the non- XFE versions, while the SUVs' limit is slightly higher because of new transmission-cooling technology, GM said.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
After having driven the VUE on several long road trips through the Rockies, I can tell you that I'll never buy a car with anything less than 5 speeds in the gearbox (auto or manual). GM nailed the sweet spot in the VUE ... I can cruise up I-70 at 75 MPH and the transmission will switch between 4th, 5th or 6th gear without my hardly even noticing, each gear translating to about a 500-750 RPM difference on the tach at the same speed. Very quiet, though it ought to be at 4300+ pounds.
In comparison, my L300 has what seems like pretty wide spacing between the gears. Even though it cruises at about 2500-2700 RPM at 70 MPH, when I encounter a hill the tach jumps to about 3500 RPM and the engine noise becomes more intrusive.
I think the 2.4L / 6-speed combo found in the Aura and Malibu are a best-in-class combination.
That sounds similar to my 2000 Intrepid. It has an overdrive gear that's about 2/3 of direct drive. At 75 mph it's rolling around 2500 rpm, but if you need to punch it, it jumps to around 3750 when it downshifts, and then revs up from there.
My Dad's '03 Regal pulls around 2000 rpm at 75 mph, I think. I can't remember what the difference is in that car between direct drive and overdrive, but if it's 2/3, then it would only rev up to 3000 rpm when it downshifts. Plus, with the 3.8 being a lot torquier down low than my 2.7, more often it just doesn't HAVE to downshift, because it has enough power to do what it needs to do in top gear. I guess it would still benefit from a 5th or 6th gear, but not as much as my Intrepid would.
One year I drove my buddy's '66 Charger, 383-4bbl, to the Mopar show in Carlisle. It had a tach. I remember at 75 mph, it was only pulling 2500 rpm as well, despite just having a 3-speed automatic. I think it had a 2.76:1 axle. The big difference though, was that when you punched that thing, it would just take off, instantly, in top gear, without needing to downshift. That was fun. On the not-so-fun side though, it only got about 14 mpg on the highway, while my buddy, who was following me in my Intrepid, was getting 27-28.
Is Nissan's 5-speed automatic, used in the Xterra and other vehicles, considered a good transmission I wonder? I really didn't care for it when I've driven my buddy's '06 Xterra. It just seems vague and slushy. I guess if I drove it more often I'd get used to it, though.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/12/news/companies/taylor_nissan_gm.fortune/index.ht- m?postversion=2008081304
My wife's '04 VUE had the Honda V6 and 5-speed automatic in it ... we took it on a trip to Santa Fe and it cruised effortlessly at 80MPH. The '08 VUE, in my opinion, is even better on the open road. We average about 23-24 MPG on long highway stints .. EPA says 16/22 but we usually get 19-20 MPG per tank.
GM sees significant interest
Regards,
OW
Wow, more than $50 billion gone in 3 years. I knew losses were big, but that's billion with a 'B'. Didn't realize it was THAT big.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Regards,
OW
My question is if sharing suppliers exists then why is Toyota quality that much better than GM? I assume QC at Toyota is far and above that of the Det. 3.
Toyota Says It Has To Support Detroit's Future
A senior Toyota Motor Corp. executive told The Detroit News today that the failure of one of Detroit's Big Three automakers would be devastating for his company.
"We want everyone to succeed," said Steve St. Angelo, head of Toyota's Kentucky assembly plant and senior vice president in charge of engineering and manufacturing for North America. "Competition is good for us. The customers are the big winners, because it makes all of us better."
He added that Toyota depends on many of the same companies that provide parts to General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.
"We share many of the same suppliers, so if one of our suppliers has difficulty with either Chrysler, GM or Ford, there's a good chance they are going to have difficulty for us," he said.
Regards,
OW
After first mating its six-speed Hydramatic automatic transmission to a 2.4 liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine in the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ Spring Edition earlier this year, General Motors will spread the combination to a handful of other vehicles for 2009. With gas prices still well above where they were last year, GM is hoping to capitalize on the fuel economy (and performance) benefits of the additional two cogs.
For 2009, the Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura will get the same combination Leftlane previewed in the Malibu last fall. GM is said to be increasing production of four-cylinder equipped Auras, G6s and Malibus and decreasing production of six-cylinders. No doubt the marketing campaigns set to begin soon will capitalize on the fuel economy of the four-cylinders.
With the six-speed/four-cylinder combination, the Aura, G6 and Malibu achieve 22/33 mpg city/highway fuel economy, a fairly healthy increase over the 22/30 the four-speed/four-cylinder 2008 models achieved. The Aura XR will come equipped with the TAPShift paddle-style shifters from the Mailbu.
On the G6, the six-speed will be part of the Sport Package 1 on base sedans only. Unlike the Aura, only the base model G6 will come with the four-cylinder motor. The Malibu will now offer the six-speed as an option in the less expensive LT trim level, though it won’t be available on the base LS trim.
With the four-speed automatic, GM says it was left at a competitive disadvantage compared to most of its five-speed automatic competition. Only a handful of competitors offer six-speed automatics.
Most vehicles in the convention fleets will be GM gasoline-electric hybrids. Others will be flex-fuel vehicles, capable of running on gasoline or on blends that are 85 percent ethanol, or E85.
And the conventions' flex-fuel vehicles definitely will use E85, GM spokesman Greg Martin said Tuesday, Aug. 12.
In an added twist, the ethanol for the Democratic convention will be made from byproducts of beer brewing, Martin said. The convention is Aug. 25-28 in Denver, home of Molson Coors Brewing Co. The company says it makes about 3 million gallons of ethanol a year from beer waste.
Automotive News
August 13, 2008 - 12:01 am ET
DETROIT (Reuters) - In a bid to show the demand for the upcoming all-electric Chevrolet Volt, a proponent of the car has released details of an unofficial waiting list for the vehicle with over 33,000 prospective buyers.
Lyle Dennis, a New York neurologist who has emerged as a prominent enthusiast for the battery-powered car from General Motors, has been assembling a list of prospective Volt buyers for over a year through his Web site GM-Volt.com.
On Tuesday, Dennis released details gleaned from the list showing that 33,411 people had signed up to show their intent to buy a Volt when the rechargeable car is released in 2010.
The list shows the highest number of potential Volt buyers in California, Texas, Florida and Michigan. It also includes potential buyers from 46 countries outside the United States.
The average price buyers were willing to pay for the car was $31,261 -- substantially less than the $40,000 GM has said it will cost to build the first-generation of the car equipped with a lithium-ion battery pack.
The latest I read from somebody at GM is that they are looking at $35k. Take away a healthy subsidy from the government and the price should be just above $30k.
From the "Ghost Marketing" File. GM marketing has pulled out all the stops on its Olympics advertising, with new environmentally-flavored spots for Chevrolet, and a dazzling new corporate spot that touts GM's new Mr. Green Jeans persona (which is executed superbly, by the way). We have a couple of problems, however. 1. The use of the phrase "one day" as a catchall statement - that what GM is working on will make an impact on our lives one day - is tedious and ineffective. And 2. The disclaimer for the new Chevy Volt - "targeted 2010" is particularly annoying. This country is about to be Volt-ed to death by a car that doesn't even exist, has not demonstrated its feasibility and viability as of yet, and will be priced as a luxury car when it hits the market one day. Not Good.
The Vue's six speed has a 4.5:1 low gear and 0.74 in 6th. My low gear is 4:1.
Eh, if it worked for Bugs Bunny, it can work for Bumpy. :shades:
truck market will rebound and continue to make up a large part of total
sales.
Robert Carter, general manager of Toyota Division at Toyota Motor Sales
U.S.A. Inc., told Automotive News that he expects full-size pickup truck
sales to total 1.45 million in 2008 -- a significant drop from last
year's sales of 2.14 million units. But Carter said he eventually
expects the market to stabilize.
"We are absolutely confident that the recovery will take place, it's
just arguable when," he said.
"We've reduced production. It's our intention to build to the market.
But when that market comes back, the core buyer who uses the truck for
employment, who uses it for work, whether it's the landscaping company
or the contractor, can't substitute a Corolla or a Yaris."
Somehow, I'm not surprised. I think we Americans LIKE to have a larger, more comfortable vehicle to drive, as opposed to being "shoehorned" into a rollerskate.
GM expects that 80 percent of buyers could make most trips without using any gasoline, Weber said. The result is that it is difficult to give a mile-per-gallon figure on the vehicle.
``We are working with the'' Environmental Protection Agency ``and others on what is the appropriate procedure'' for measuring fuel economy.
You are talking about giving people 7 years to adjust to paying between $35 and $50 for 10 gallons.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Shouldn't that be in miles per kwh, e.g.
This reminded me when I switching the driver information center on my car to metric and it was liters per mile instead of miles per liter.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Regards,
OW
thanks!
I remember my '88 LeBaron turbo was like that. I think the display looked something like "6.3L/100KM"
It took awhile to get used to, but that might actually be a more meaningful display than if it had just said "15.8KM/L". People get so hung up on the MPG figure. For instance, a car that gets 40 mpg versus 35 mpg sounds like it would save you a lot of money, but depending on how much you drive, it actually might not. The 40 mpg car comes out to 2.5 gallons/100 miles, while the 35 mpg one comes out to 2.86 gallons/100 miles.
So the 40 mpg car will save you $1.44 every 100 miles, at $4.00 per gallon. Or about $216 every 15,000. Not really that much money, especially if you have to sacrifice something for the more economical car, like comfort, performance, etc.
Chevy Aveo: 23,767 (77.9%)
Chevy Cobalt: 59,310 (61.3%)
Pontiac G5: 9,090 (69.5%)
Pontiac Vibe: 13.196 (78.3%)
Saturn Astra: 1,353 (99.3%)
Buick Lacrosse: 16,679 (78.6%)
Buick Lucerne: 28,489 (86.8%)
Chevy Impala: 66,485 (50.1%)
Chevy Malibu: 44,574 (67%)
Chevy Monte Carlo: 2,008 (99.4%)
Pontiac G6: 44,885 (55.2%)
Pontiac G8: 611 (95.6%)
Pontiac Grand Prix: 7,403 (35.4%)
Saturn Aura: 23,816 (77.8%)
segment leaders-
Honda Fit: 30,285 (99.5%)
Toyota Yaris: 40,132 (89.4%)
Honda Civic: 148,085 (98.1%)
Toyota Corolla (not Matrix): 114,305 (92%)
Honda Accord: 170,046 (97.5%)
Nissan Altima: 119,789 (85.5%)
Toyota Camry (not Solara): 180,580 (91.4%)
they could measure it in joules per 100 miles or miles per joule or something, but then no-one would know what it meant.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Someone who drives 60 miles per day to and from work or whatever, would run the battery down and need about 20 miles of motor-generator power. At 40 MPG this would be about half a gallon of gas, which is about 120 MPG + electricity.
For the USA (or the World), a fleet of this type of vehile would greatly reduce oil consumption (assuming that the electricity is generated with wind, coal or not oil). The big picture is important.
New Battery designs , new wonder fuel , what's next a car that floats on water and runs on magic? Please. GM would like to sell it's Hummer and Saturn lines , Saab could go as well , but who's stupid enough to buy proven losers when times were good , now that times are anything but good. As for the Volt , number one , it's not out yet , number two how can anyone forget GM's truely dismal record for bring out new product designs like the Cadillac V-468 , or the Diesel Oldsmobiles, Corvair or Citation? Toyota will eat GM ,sure as the world turns.
Then, T can take over because they will have a plug in that is much better.
Regards,
OW
I concur with you 100%. am i the only one who watched the CNN program,we were warned,America out of gas ?
Bob putz clearly stated " the battery tech is NOT READY,we have alot of isues including safety problems that needs to work ,but we are moving full speed ahead with the car and HOPE the battery will catch up.
sounds like a DUD to me! but this is GM we are talking about so nothing new here.
i'm with Obama on this HOPE thing but i think GM is taking it a bit too far.
keep hope alive GM fanboys ,because right now thats all you've got. :sick:
And that Cadillac Escalade Hybrid. Geez! If someone can afford a $71,000. Why does he care about fuel economy? I know there is a Lexus LS600hL. But people buy that car not to save money, but because it is the most powerful LS, which can probably justify the premium price. The case is not the same with the Cadillac Escalade since the base engine is a 403hp 6.2L. And NO I don't think celebrities will go for a vehicle that looks like any giant truck with big engine .
I think you are dead wrong about who and why people buy the Lexus LS hybrid. I think that they want to appear "green".
A GM reorganized that way would seal the fate Chrysler (if it's not sealed already). And I think that going forward there is no longer room for three domestic automakers in this globalized market. There may not be room for two, in which case my money's on GM sticking around.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Regards,
Wayne