Plug-in Saturn Vue not dead, will be revived (sorta) by 2011
by Sebastian Blanco on May 5th 2009 at 7:48PM 
For all the jokes about how Americans now own GM, it turns out that AutoblogGreen readers and GM executives think alike. In a poll we ran yesterday, the most popular choice for what to do with the Saturn hybrid powertrains was "Move the powertrain to the Equinox." A GM spokesperson said today that, although the brand itself will indeed be sold, the powertrain - both the standard and plug-in versions - will be migrated to other vehicles in the GM stable, according to Automotive News. The new PHEV will come to fleet vehicles in early 2011 with Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC or Buick badging and might someday make it to dealer lots. As with the Chevy Volt, the fate of the new PHEV will be affected by the price of gasoline. Nice work, y'all, just remember to not take the corporate jet to DC any time soon.
Gallery: Detroit 2008: Saturn Vue Two-Modes
[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris M 9:32PM (5/05/2009)
Any of the "dual mode" hybrid vehicles could be upgraded to plug-in status, but it would most likely be either the smallest, to get the biggest ad-worthy efficiency boost, or the high end, as the luxury buyers would be more willing to pay the premium price for the latest in brag-worthy technology.
So the most likely candidates are the Chevy Equinox and the Cadillac Escalade hybrid.
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why not the LS2LS7? 3:02AM (5/06/2009)
These are parallel hybrids, not serial. If they are upgraded to plug-ins, they still will not have any usable zero-emissions range, only increased fuel economy for the first X miles after plugging in. In my opinion this is a difficult feature to try to sell to the customer.
jharlan 9:38PM (5/05/2009)
If it was on the showroom floor now, it would be something. In 2011 it will be lost in the crowd. Timing is everything. Tesla got it right!
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