ThinkPad X200 Tablet Save Extra 5%Saturn's demise will cut GM hybrid total
One little-discussed consequence of taking Saturn out of the General Motors equation: GM loses just more than a quarter of its sales of fuel-saving hybrids--just the type of vehicles the Obama administration wants automakers to build.
Saturn sells hybrid versions of the Vue crossover and Aura sedan, and last year was second among GM's divisions in hybrid sales with 3,205. Chevrolet, which sold 5,838 of GM's 11,454 hybrids, was tops.
Saturn had planned to add a more advanced hybrid version of the Vue this summer. But that vehicle, which uses a front-wheel-drive version of GM's Two Mode transmission, has been canceled. So was the plug-in version of the Vue, which had been scheduled for 2010.
After Saturn goes, GM will offer only one hybrid car: the Chevrolet Malibu. GM's other hybrids will be the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups and the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade SUVs.
GM said last week that all Saturn production will end with the 2009 model year.
(Source: Automotive News)
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by KenGrubb
May 5, 2009 9:44 AM PDT
- Hybrids aside, Saturn is GM's most fuel efficient brand. This is going to hurt GM in terms of CAFE. Considering GM has been building mostly full sized SUV and PU hybrids, their 2 mode hybrids pale in comparison to Saturn's mild hybrids.
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by streamline35
May 5, 2009 11:27 AM PDT
- I never really thought of Saturn as particuarly fuel efficient, but now that I think about it, you're right (since the largest thing they make is the outlook - other than that it's a small SUV plus a couple cars).
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(4 Comments)Oh well. I look forward to a Nissan-Renault-Saturn partnership. Nissan and Renault are fully committed to building EVs, and Saturn owners are in my experience a better more receptive crowd for hybrid, plugin hybrid, and EV offerings.
With a little luck, GM will build the Volt and use it as the model for future vehicle development.