NAIAS Blog: Saturn Shows a Timeline of Hybrid Future

GM's final and Saturn-focused press conference didn't offer any surprises like this morning's Cadillac presentation (we'll take our CTS coupe in black, please!) but it was an opportunity for yet another showcase of environmentally friendly technology inside COBO hall. Yippee. The Vue is, as we all know, already available in mild hybrid form, and has been since the last generation model. That doesn't mean there isn't room to grow, and that's what this afternoon's presentation was all about.

The first new Vue to roll onto the stage was a two-mode hybrid similar to the Tahoe, Yukon, Silverado, and Escalade hybrids we've already seen, only with a high-feature 3.6-liter V-6 in place of the 6.0-liter V-8. GM was reluctant to announce anything more definitive than "a 50-percent increase over the Vue XR", saying that "fine tuning and increased efficiency will continue development right up until production begins." That will be late in 2008.

A few years later, possibly in late 2009 but more likely sometime in 2010, lithium ion batteries will be added to the two-mode and with it will come a fender-mounted plug. Saturn hopes to push development of the plug-in Vue hard enough to be the first major manufacturer to offer a hybrid that can be charged from a household plug. A 100 percent increase over a regular gas-powered Vue is promised.

The final concept driven--scratch that, pushed--onto stage was a Saturn version of the Opel Flextreme concept from the Frankfurt show. It's either malfunctioning or so futuristic it can't even be started, because it was running only on a two-manpower rear-mounted engine.