After much waiting GM finally steps up to the environmental plate. The General Motors company recently announced that two of it’s best selling full-size SUV’s, the Chevy Tahoe and it’s sibling the GMC Yukon, will be available with hybrid power-trains for 2008. GM estimates that the new SUV’s will get 21 mpg city and 22 mpg highway. This figure is a match for so called fuel efficient sedans let alone full size sport utility’s. Their fuel economy in the city matches a 4 cylinder Toyota Camry sedan and betters it’s V6 equivalent by up to 2 mpg. Also these are the first vehicles in GM’s line-up that use their new hybrid transmission which was co-developed with DaimlerChrysler and BMW. With over $1 billion dollars invested in this technology you can safely bet it will trickle down to the rest of it’s regular car line-up. The transmission is also expected to make it to it’s line of full size trucks real soon. Optimistic, General motors expects to sell 10,000 units a year for both SUV’s combined with a price tags for both to be in the $40,000 range. The system used mates a 6.0 liter V8 with a electric motor that can actually run on it’s own up to 32 miles an hour. This classifies them as full Hybrids. Also both the Tahoe and Yukon uses cylinder de-activation systems that actually shut off up to four of the engines eight cylinders during cruising along with wind-cheating bumpers to improve aerodynamic efficiency. This news is refreshing coming from a company that has greatly benefited from gas-guzzling SUV’s. Showing a commitment to the greater good definitely gives them brownie points in my book. Well it’s a start anyway. A step in the right direction is better than standing still. Expect to see them on dealer lots soon. 
After much waiting GM finally steps up to the environmental plate. The General Motors company recently announced that two of it’s best selling full-size SUV’s, the Chevy Tahoe and it’s sibling the GMC Yukon, will be available with hybrid power-trains for 2008. GM estimates that the new SUV’s will get 21 mpg city and 22 mpg highway. This figure is a match for so called fuel efficient sedans let alone full size sport utility’s. Their fuel economy in the city matches a 4 cylinder Toyota Camry sedan and betters it’s V6 equivalent by up to 2 mpg. Also these are the first vehicles in GM’s line-up that use their new hybrid transmission which was co-developed with DaimlerChrysler and BMW. With over $1 billion dollars invested in this technology you can safely bet it will trickle down to the rest of it’s regular car line-up. The transmission is also expected to make it to it’s line of full size trucks real soon. Optimistic, General motors expects to sell 10,000 units a year for both SUV’s combined with a price tags for both to be in the $40,000 range. The system used mates a 6.0 liter V8 with a electric motor that can actually run on it’s own up to 32 miles an hour. This classifies them as full Hybrids. Also both the Tahoe and Yukon uses cylinder de-activation systems that actually shut off up to four of the engines eight cylinders during cruising along with wind-cheating bumpers to improve aerodynamic efficiency. This news is refreshing coming from a company that has greatly benefited from gas-guzzling SUV’s. Showing a commitment to the greater good definitely gives them brownie points in my book. Well it’s a start anyway. A step in the right direction is better than standing still. Expect to see them on dealer lots soon.
