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Saturday, 16 August 2008 |
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Filed under: Buick, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Pontiac 
Click above for high-res gallery of GM's display on Woodward Ave.
For the past several years General Motors has been using the Athens Coney Island Restaurant on Woodward Ave. as a base of operations for the Dream Cruise. The parking lot this year is again filled with classic, wannabe classic, and future classic GM machinery, much of it brought out from the GM Heritage Center in nearby Sterling Heights. For those who haven't yet seen the new Camaro in production form, the red RS we saw a few weeks ago is on display here in the parking lot along with a ZR1 in police markings and what must be one of the most yellow first generation Camaros anywhere. The powertrain tent at the back of the lot is filled with past present and future powertrains from the Z11 427 to the two-mode hybrid and even a fuel cell stack. The parking lot area is open to the public all day, so come on down. If you can't make it, check the gallery below.
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Wednesday, 13 August 2008 |
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Filed under: Hybrid, MPG, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, First Drive 
Let's get something out of the way right now. Not every vehicle we write about here is going to be as efficient as a Prius or have a plug or require pedal power. There is a huge market place of vehicles out there. None of those vehicles are for everyone. Not everyone needs or wants a Prius or a Mitsubishi iMiEV or a Chevrolet Silverado. However, in spite of rapidly falling sales of big trucks there is still a very significant need out there for such vehicles. I am in no way advocating (nor have I ever done so, in fact for many years I have done the opposite) that people should buy a Silverado or other truck for personal transportation or commuting. Having said all that, these vehicles and others all need to become more fuel efficient, for economic and environmental reasons. In a market segment that will still amount to about 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S. this year, GM is scaling back production but they are still trying to make the vehicles they sell more efficient. To that end they are introducing the both XFE and two-mode hybrid variants of the GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado for the 2009 model year. We had a chance to sample both versions on a brief drive this week and you can read about it after the jump.
Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.Continue reading ABG First Drive: 2009 Chevy Silverado Hybrid and Silverado XFE Permalink | Email this | Comments |
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Tuesday, 12 August 2008 |
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Filed under: SUVs, Trucks/Pickups, Green, Chevrolet, GM, GMC 
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Chevy Tahoe XFE
Remember earlier in the year when Chevy quietly added the 36-mpg XFE model to its Cobalt lineup? XFE stands for "Xtra Fuel Economy" (should we tell them they spelled "Extra" wrong?) and means these vehicles have been equipped with some easy fuel-saving technologies to eek out as many miles per gallon as possible. GM announced today that the Cobalt XFE will be joined by XFE versions of the Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon for the 2009 model year.
The General already offers hybrid versions of its full-size SUVs, which are also joined by hybrid versions of its half-ton trucks for 2009, but the XFE models will continue to be powered by a flex-fuel version of the company's 5.3L gasser V8. It produces 320 hp/340lb-ft in the Tahoe and Yukon, and 315 hp/338 lb-ft in the Tahoe and Yukon. All are rear-wheel-drive only and mated to GM's 6L80 six-speed auto with a fuel-saving 3.08 ratio rear axle. In order to maximize fuel economy, all four of these new XFE models get low rolling resistance tires, aluminum wheels, an aluminum spare wheel, aluminum lower control arms and a lowered suspension with revised tuning. In addition, the Silverado and Sierra also get a new front lower air dam and soft tonneau cover that improve their aerodynamics.
What does it all add up to? 1 mpg. All four standard vehicles were rated at 14 mpg city/20 mpg highway, while their XFE counterparts bump those numbers to 15 city/21 highway. The gains are certainly minimal and we're not sure yet what sort of price premium XFE models will demand, but we give GM credit for at least reacting to the current shift in consumer tastes so quickly. We would have preferred, however, that it had just made these fuel-saving changes standard equipment rather than a separate model.
[Source: GM]Continue reading GM debuts fuel-saving XFE versions of Silverado/Sierra and Tahoe/Yukon Permalink | Email this | Comments |
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Tuesday, 12 August 2008 |
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Filed under: MPG, Chevrolet, GM, GMC 
In a bid to try and salvage some sales from the rapidly deflating full size truck market, General Motors has decided to add XFE models to its big pickups and SUVs. As with the Cobalt XFE the new label is short for Xtra Fuel Economy. While the new XFE models don't come close to matching the mileage of the Two-Mode hybrid models, they do provide a boost in mileage at a much lower price point. The XFEs get a 1 mpg bump in both city and highway mileage going from 14/20 mpg to 15/21 mpg city/highway. GM has used an array of mass and drag reducing tweaks as well as a taller final drive ratio to achieve the improvement. The engine block, spare tire and wheels of the XFE models are all made from aluminum while the lowered ride height and deeper front air dam improve airflow around the vehicles. The pickups also get a standard soft tonneau cover on the bed. The XFE. The improvements may not seem like much but every little bit helps, especially for those that are actually using trucks for work purposes. On the other hand those that used to buy the trucks for personal transportation are unlikely to be swayed back.
[Source: General Motors]Continue reading GM to add XFE models to full-size pickup and SUV, 15 mpg city/21 mpg hwy Permalink | Email this | Comments |
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