GM may unveil plug-in hybrid in .. January?
I like everything about this story except Bloomberg's use of "people say" in the headline. Considering how big the news is, though, Bloomberg's use of people "who asked not to be identified because the research is secret" as sources is understandable. Anyway, let's get to the good stuff: there may be a plug-in hybrid coming from a major auto manufacturer in about six months. Unnamed GM officials told Bloomberg that the also unnamed hybrid could be "ready in time for the Detroit auto show in January," and that any commercial production is at least a year away. The vehicle will get more than 60 mpg and plug into any outlet.
Officially, GM had no comment on this rumor, but it is convenient that the news slipped out today, just a week before the film "Who Killed The Electric Car?", which is critical of GM, opens in theaters.
[Source: Bloomberg, Thanks to CoreyTheGent]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tush 3:26PM (6/23/2006)
60mpg? Doesn't the normal non-plugin Prius get almost that much?
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Charles S 4:01PM (6/23/2006)
*IF* GM is going to come out with a Prius-fighter, it would be smart to quote a number that is comparible to the Prius, but no need to go all out to impress the world...yet.
While I have no doubt that GM can make a prototype, the better question to ask is: would the market that supports a plug-in (current audience and the future consumers) believe that GM will follow through?
As a happy owner of a hybrid for nearly five years, I know I am ready for a Plug-in. I think it's good to assume that those who are happy with a hybrid will be likely to take the leap to a plug-in. The market may not be big, but whoever is the first to offer a production model will certainly capture the market. Otherwise, the sales will go to aftermarket manufacturers for out-of-warranty hybrids.
It's a big investment for any automotive companies, so I will take all this plug-in talk with a grain of salt. At this point, all this rhetoric from the manufacturers and aftermarket vendors are just PR effort to generate interest and buzz.
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Swade 9:35PM (6/23/2006)
GM's first plug-in hybrid was actually displayed in Stockholm in March 2006. They won't tell you it's true, but Saab's 9-3 Convertible Biopower Hybrid concept was also a plug-in. The plug was glued shut and the press releases were changed at the last minute before the show.
Speculation was that the cover up was in order to use a bigger brand and a bigger market to unveil the technology. Detroit sure sounds plenty bigger to me.
I've summarised the whole shebang at the following link:
http://www.trollhattansaab.net/archives/2006/06/gm_unveiling_pl.html
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kerry Beauchty 3:05PM (6/24/2006)
GM is partnering with BMW and Daimler Chrysler and
announced and described their advanced hybrid system, which goes far beyond anything on the road today.
The film about the death of the electric car is so full of paranoid BS that it makes Oliver Stone's
films appear almost rational documentaries. Anyone who still wants to buy a two passenger $50K car that
can travel no further than 85 miles and can't leave the county, much less the state, get in line and
bid on some of the few Impacts that have survived.
And people are going to pay to see a film that claims GM killed this car in spite of "great demand?" There was no demand, the cars wer leased because no sane person would buy one and they
were discontinued when they wouldn't pass the new safety laws from the NTSB. GM was only allowed to produce a limited quantity when they applied for and received a temporary exemption from safety requirement by the Feds. I remember that car and also that no one except the diehard self styled envirnmentalists ever drove them. Honda also had an
electric car, which cost more than GM's to produce ($65K) , which meant that they had to lease the car
rather than try to sell it. When the Feds restricted GM's output, they forbade GM from selling the car
and required that all veicles be returned to GM at the end of the lease. That's the truth of what really happened. Now go see the film and how it
ignores reality to spin a typically lame Hollywood
story of intrigue. Another tinseltown piece of crap.
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gmaccessroeis-direct.com 10:04AM (6/27/2006)
No Tush, the Prius has never ever ever gotten 60 MPG.
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