Buick Green Car Advisor Blog on Edmunds' Inside Line

September 24, 2009

GM to Build Laboratory in China to 'Tap Country's Outstanding Research Talent'

General Motors announced today that it will create a laboratory in Shanghai to contribute to technological innovation in a number of automotive-related fields for GM both domestically and on a worldwide basis.

The announcement came less than a month after GM disclosed that its sales in China in the first eight months of this year increased 49.6 percent on an annual basis to 1,111,401 vehicles.

The China Science Lab (pictured) will be the first major laboratory established by a global automaker in China. In a statement, GM said the lab's initial focus will be on research related to advanced propulsion technology and joining technology.

But the lab will also focus on battery cells, megacity safety research, advanced vehicle development, and light materials. It will engage in additional activities in accordance with market conditions and its own research capability as it ramps up.

The lab will also carry out collaborative work with universities and government-run scientific institutions across China. It is expected to employ up to 100 staff during its early stage of operation. No specifics were provided regarding the lab's scheduled construction and opening dates or its cost.

Kevin Wale, president and managing director of the GM China Group, said that through the lab, "we will leverage the country's outstanding research talent together with GM's extensive resources to come up with new innovations for the benefit of vehicle users around the globe."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett September 24, 2009, 12:56 PM
Categories:: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, China, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Opel, Plug-ins and Electric, Saab
Technorati Tags:: Buick

September 23, 2009

Buick Takes Another Look at Premium Small-Car Market With Action Avant Concept

After years of avoiding the competition that exists in the premium small-car market, Buick has decided to take another look at it -- and some of the innovations the brand's designers have come up with are very impressive.

The vehicle pictured here is the Buick Action Avant, and as best we can tell it exists principally in artists' renderings. No problem, because it's very clear to see a designer's work this way, especially when it's conveyed in a publicly accessible video.

We strongly encourage you to check it out. If you do, you'll be able to see some of the nifty innovations Buick designers have come up with recently. They include:

A luggage porter that consists of automated trays or arms that extend luggage to you, rather than requiring you to reach into the vehicle to get it.
A "smart door" that recognizes when you've pulled into a tight parking space and automatically slides forward to facilitate exiting.
And, seats and other components that move sideways (inward and outward) to maximize occupant space depending on how many people are in the vehicle.

The video's narrator says "this is a small, very premium vehicle, somewhat coupe-like, for city driving." That it is. But it's also a showcase of GM innovation and a Buick a normal person could easily get excited about.

If the Action Avant is an indication of what Buick intends to take to the premium small-car market, we would not be surprised if it thrived there -- if the brand's reliability and fuel economy are on par with the attention this concept gives to customer needs.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett September 23, 2009, 1:48 PM
Categories:: Buick, Fuel Economy
Technorati Tags:: Buick Action Avant

August 19, 2009

General Motors Scraps Plan for Buick Plug-In Hybrid After Focus Group Disses It

General Motors announced today that the all-new Buick plug-in gasoline-electric compact crossover it was going to bring to market in 2011 won't be entering the marketplace after all.

The most any of us will likely see of that vehicle is the teaser photo (above) that it supplied with a statement announcing development of the plug-in electric hybrid on Aug. 6.

If you read that statement, you read this:

"Buick has always been at the forefront of new technology, so it is only fitting that the brand should debut our new plug-in hybrid technology in a beautiful new crossover," said Stephens. "This will firmly put Buick, and GM, front and center in the advanced technology game."

That would be Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman of product development.

Well, a funny thing happened to the Buick on the way to market: A bunch of people saw it, said it stunk, and GM killed it before too many more people saw it. Or as Stephens put it in the statement GM issued today:

"We were all struck by the consistency of the criticism of the compact crossover. And what we decided to do in response is a good example of the essence of the new General Motors...acting quickly, and boldly, and listening to feedback from customers, employees, dealers, media and just about anyone else with an opinion."

That's 100 percent quality spin. But wait. There's more:

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (3); Scott Doggett August 19, 2009, 3:01 PM
Categories:: Buick, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Buick

August 6, 2009

GM Confirms Buick Crossover With Plug-In Dual-Mode Hybrid System for 2011

Confirming a report we brought you last month, General Motors Corp. says that its Buick lineup will, indeed, get a new plug-in hybrid crossover in 2011.

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"Teaser" photo from GM provides a taste of Buick Plug-In's styling. (Clck to enlarge.)
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Speaking at a gathering this morning of auto industry executives, suppliers, analysts and� and media in upstate Michigan, GM product development chief Tom Stephans said the crossover will follow the Chevrolet Volt extended range plug-in due out at the end of 2010 and will use a modified version of the dial-mode hybrid system in us on the Silverado and Sierra hybrid pickups.

The yet-to-be-named 5-seat crossover will be smaller than the present Buick Enclave SUV, Stephans said, and will have a regular gasoline model, powered by a 2,.4-liter, four-cylinder Ecotec engine with a 3.0-liter V6 as an option.

The plug-in model will be positioned a top-of-the-line with a 3.6-liter V6 mated to the hybrid electric drive.

The hybrid will get gets the same lithium-ion battery cells as the Volt but in a package with only have as much energy storage - 8 kilowatt-hours vs. the Volt's 16 kwh battery pack.

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GM technician works on Buick plug-in battery.
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Because� it has a standard gas-electric hybrid system rather than the Volt's all-electric drive, the Buick plug-in will have only about 10 miles of all-electric range before its gas engine kicks in.

Power stored in the battery pack will be used to augment the gas engine when accelerating, towing or otherwise placing heavy demands on the gas engine.

Although Toyota Motor Corp.. will have a plug-in hybrid in test fleets next year and Ford Motor Co. is presently testing plug-in version of its Escape hybrid, GM said the Buick would be "the first commercially available plug-in hybrid" by a major automaker.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell August 6, 2009, 10:55 AM
Categories:: Buick, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Buick Crossover Hybrid

July 8, 2009

GM "On Track" for Plug-In Crossover by 2011, Says Product Planning Chief

Sale of Saturn Brand, Which Was To Get the New Hybrid, Won't Delay Its Launch

Following up on last month's report of a possible Buick dual-mode plug-in hybrid in 2011 to replace the Saturn plug-in that was dropped when GM sold the brand:

GM's product development chief has told Reuters news service that the company is on track to bring out a plug-in crossover SUV by 2011.

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This Buick mock-up could be the new GM plug-in hybrid.

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"I can tell you that I won't lose one day in terms of customers being able to walk into dealerships and actually purchase a plug-in," GM Vice Chairman Tom Stephens said in an interview with the news service.

Stephens also said GM isn't ignoring the idea of a battery-electric city car: "I think there's pent-up demand for the technology," he said of GM's work on electric-drive vehicles. "My job is to get it out there and get it right the first time but then get it cost-effective so that we can do a huge number."

Stephens has been head of GM product development since April, just in time for the Obama administration auto industry task force's examination of GM's business plan -- a review that wound up with the administration pushing GM into bankruptcy last month.

The company's turnaround plan -- submitted to secure operating loans from the federal government -- calls for GM to introduce at least 14 hybrid and other advanced technology vehicles in the next three years.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 8, 2009, 1:43 PM
Categories:: Buick, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Saturn
Technorati Tags:: GM Plug In Crossover

June 26, 2009

General Motors to Locate Small-Car Plant at Existing Factory in Orion, Michigan

General Motors Corp. is close to announcing its decision to locate a new small-car plant at an existing facility in Orion Township, Michigan, The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) and The Detroit News reported today, citing unnamed sources.

GM spokespersons Tom Pyden and Sherrie Childers declined to confirm the location of the plant, but the former said an announcement would come as soon as today.

The automaker had been looking at three plants that were slated to close as part of GM's bankruptcy reorganization: in Orion; Spring Hill, Tennessee; and Janesville, Wisconsin. The Orion plant currently produces Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 sedans.

The Journal said the Orion plant was chosen in part because the region has many displaced autoworkers and because the facility is already a passenger-car plant, rather than a truck factory, meaning it potentially will be less expensive to retool for a small car, said one of the people familiar with the matter.

The News reported that tax breaks, not retooling savings, gave Orion the edge. According to the newspaper, Orion Township officials recently sweetened an offer to GM that includes a 100 percent tax break on new machinery and equipment for up to 25 years - more than double what was offered earlier this month.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett June 26, 2009, 12:04 AM
Categories:: Buick, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Chevrolet Malibu

June 15, 2009

Does New Buick Crossover Get GM Dual-Mode Plug-in Hybrid System?

Volt Fan Site Says Buick Now Gets System Formerly Planned for Saturn Vue

The leading Chevrolet Volt fan site , GM-Volt.com, which General Motors often uses to launch trial balloons and leak info, says it has learned that the General plans to migrate its plug-in dual-mode hybrid system from the Saturn Vue to a new Buick crossover (right) expected to be launched in 2011.

Plans for the Vue two-mode plug-in went out the window when financially ailing GM agreed last week to sell its Saturn unit to Penske Automotive, which will use contract manufacturers to build cars after 2011.

Until then,GM has agreed to continue making the Vue, Aura and Outlook for Saturn, but only the conventional models -- there's been no deal yet on the Saturn mild-hybrids, and the changeover to (probably) overseas contract manufacturers under Penske would begin just as the rechargeable two-mode plug-in system comes on-line at GM.

The new Buick, shown when a camera picked up an image of the clay styling model during a recent CBS News interview with GM design chief Ed Welburn (warning, there's a 30-second commercial before the interview video begins), shares the Vue's platform, so is set up for easy installation of the dual-mode system.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 15, 2009, 7:37 AM
Categories:: Buick, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Saturn
Technorati Tags:: Buick

April 28, 2009

Saturn Hybrids, Including Promised Plug-In, No Longer in Vue

Saturn Vue 2-Mode Hybrid, due this year, and plug-in Vue due in 2011 now appear dead.

GM says it will kill Saturn to help make some of its financial woes go away, and we expect the beleaguered automaker and its federal minders have done the number crunching and know whereof they speak.

But in killing its most fuel-efficient brand, GM also will be ending plans for several new Saturn hybrids, including dual-mode and plug-in hybrid Saturn Vue crossovers.

We figure that with its dramatic new restructuring plan also calling for the end of Hummer, Pontiac and Saab as GM brands, killing Saturn and its hybrids (it already markets the Vue Greenline mild hybrid and the Aura full hybrid sedan) won't damage GM's average fuel economy standing. Loss of the less-efficient Hummer and Pontiac brands will cancel out loss of Saturn and Saab in the annual corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) computation.

But GM tells us that it doesn't have plans to quickly shift the Vue hybrids -- existing and planned -- onto surviving Chevrolet, GMC, Buick or Cadillac platforms, and that's a shame. It would seem to run counter to the government's goal of getting a million plug-ins on the road by 2020.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell April 28, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Saturn
Technorati Tags:: General Motors

November 12, 2008

China Tells Automakers to Go Electric, Suggests "Incapable" Carmakers Shut Down

China's National Development and Reform Commission has urged the mainland's major carmakers to co-operate in making electric cars, while suggesting "incapable" carmakers leave the industry, the South China Morning Post reported Tuesday (subscription required).

"Hybrid vehicles should be just the transition before local carmakers can manufacture their own electric cars or plug-in hybrids," said Chen Jianguo, a deputy head of the industrial co-ordination department of the NDRC, at a vehicle conference in Tianjin over the weekend.

The central government is considering ways to assist the industry, including subsidies to explore new technology and raising the consumption tax for large gas-engine vehicles, the Post reported.

Chen said it's "possible for the government to give a hand financially if carmakers can hand in good proposals with good quantitative analyses."

At the conference, Science and Technology Minister Wan Gang said the ministry would work with the NDRC and the Finance Ministry to promote hybrid vehicles starting next year. At first, the emphasis will be on the country's public transport, taxis and postal vehicles.

Chen suggested "incapable" carmakers, which are recording low sales or have high inventory and poor distribution networks, should sell off or shut down their business.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett November 12, 2008, 9:46 AM
Categories:: BYD, Buick, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Buick LaCrosse

October 29, 2008

General Motors Reportedly Delays Most Future Products, R&D in Cash Crunch

General Motors is postponing nearly all of its spending on product development in 2009 and 2010--a cost-cutting move that could delay the introduction of key fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Chevrolet Cruze, although the much-anticipated Volt plug-in hybrid is still on schedule.

The automaker also is cutting spending on engineering, design, and research and development, Automotive News reported today

(subscription required), citing unnamed sources. So far, nothing has been officially canceled, but nearly everything is delayed, the sources say.

"The 2009 stuff that's too late to cancel is coming out, then everything else gets pushed out anywhere between three months and up to a year," said one of the sources. "It's not just capital budget; it's also engineering, design ... everything that would cause money to flow out in 2009."

The automaker is taking drastic action to avoid running out of money sometime next year, the publication reported. With its product delays, GM hopes to save as much as $1.5 billion, said the source.

GM spokesman Dee Allen declined to comment on plans for individual products. "There have been all kinds of speculation," he said. "We've said we're reviewing our portfolio, and we do that as a regular course of business."

Two high-profile vehicles--the Chevrolet Camaro and the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid--are protected from the cutbacks, said one source close to GM. Likewise, the restyled Buick LaCrosse and possibly the Cadillac CTS wagon are still due to market as planned.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett October 29, 2008, 6:38 AM
Categories:: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Fuel Economy, General Motors
Technorati Tags:: Automotive News