GM introduces hybrid pickups: Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra
Posted on March 8, 2009
Filed Under Chevy Silverado News and Info
Full-size now comes in green
GM introduces hybrid pickups: Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Saturday, March 07, 2009
With all the buzz about gas-electric hybrid cars, I’ve heard plenty of exasperated people ask, “Why don’t they make hybrid pickups?”
The questioners might assume a hybrid pickup would get 30 or 40 miles per gallon, like a hybrid automobile. Numbers like those are unachievable with current technology, but a hybrid pickup capable of about 20 miles per gallon in urban commuting has just arrived.
Last week, I drove General Motors’ new two-mode hybrid half-ton pickups, sold as the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid and GMC Sierra Hybrid in both two- and four-wheel drive. The Chevy and GMC are identical except for trim and styling differences and a $370 price premium for the GMC.
The EPA rates two-wheel drive versions at 21 city, 22 highway; four-wheel drive at 20 and 20. My test drives suggest those mileage numbers are achievable only when the trucks are driven very conservatively.
On a 75-mile loop through San Antonio, which included lots of turns and traffic lights, the GMC Sierra 4×4 that I tested delivered 18.9 mpg. I accelerated leisurely but kept up with traffic.
The truck, with three adults aboard, had no cargo, and a tonneau cover that comes standard on the hybrids protected the bed. A typical four-wheel drive crew-cab pickup with a conventional V-8 power train probably would yield mileage of 14 to 17 mpg in the same driving scenario.
Even driven normally, the hybrids should wring a couple of extra miles from a gallon, and certainly do so with far fewer tailpipe emissions. As I’ve written before, hybrid fuel mileage and emissions levels depend on driving style as much as they do the advanced technology power train.
Drivers intent on getting the best gas mileage are aided by a simple gauge with a needle that points right during efficient driving and to the left when the driver’s right foot gets heavy.
GM’s new pickups share the two-mode power trains with GM’s large hybrid SUVs. The system combines a six-liter V-8 engine, two electric motors, three planetary gear clusters and a 300-volt battery pack.
Developed by GM in concert with BMW and the former DaimlerChrysler, this impressive system is controlled by an onboard computer almost powerful enough to calculate additions to the national debt.
These hybrids are available only in Crew Cab configuration in two trim levels. The least expensive, which is actually quite well-equipped, is $38,995. An upper-trim hybrid with leather and navigation system is $45,130. Unfortunately, most potential buyers are shut out at these prices.
GM’s complex pricing strategy makes calculating the hybrid price premium over conventional trucks difficult, but the new hybrids seem to cost about $1,000 more than similarly equipped Silverados and Sierras. Dealers probably won’t discount the new hybrids as heavily as the regular trucks, if at all.
The hybrids are capable pickups, with 1,400-pound payloads, 6,100-pound towing capacities, room for four or five passengers, and no shortage of power. Aided by two 60-kilowatt motors when needed, the 332-horsepower V-8 engine accelerates and pulls as well or better than most conventionally powered trucks. It’s very torquey.
Fuel is saved because the electric assist can keep the V-8 from bearing the entire load. With gentle acceleration from a stop, the electric motor alone got my test truck rolling up to 15 to 20 mph. GM says 30 mph on electric is possible, but I couldn’t make it happen.
Like all hybrids, the gas engine shuts off when the truck stops, then restarts when needed. This alone saves gas, as does the hybrids’ electrically powered air-conditioning compressor and power steering pump, components typically driven by a vehicle’s gas engine.
Based on the trucks I drove, GM seems to have done an exceptional job insulating the occupants from the coarseness and noise of the big V-8 starting and stopping while the vehicle is under way, and from general road noise as well.
Power to charge the bank of nickel-metal hydride batteries, tucked under the rear seat, comes from the same electric motors that help motivate the truck. When the truck coasts and brakes, the motors reverse polarity and act as generators to reclaim the energy typically lost during deceleration.
Other strategies save fuel: Some truck components are made of especially light materials, the tires have a low rolling resistance (something to consider when replacing them), and four of the eight cylinders in the gas engine are shut down when the main computer senses easy, low-load cruising.
In his 27 years of writing a column for the Austin American-Statesman, Pete Szilagyi has driven more than 1,400 new cars and trucks.
According to Pet…
Target audience: Small-business owners, individuals and families hoping to save money on fuel and go green.
Highs: Power, smooth operation, fuel savings, cleaner emissions, comfort, cabin quietness.
Lows: No less-expensive models to entice fleet buyers and those unable to pay $40,000.
Bottom line: Probably the greenest full-size pickup on the planet.
EPA rating for greenhouse gas emissions (10 is best): 5
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