General Motors organized the first test-drive of its 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon two-mode hybrids just the other week. The significance of this event goes far beyond the vehicles themselves.
These GM SUVs, due to go on sale by year's end, are the fruit of an unprecedented venture also involving BMW and DaimlerChrysler to take hybrid technology to the next level. And there's more to come.
In early 2008, DaimlerChrysler introduces this jointly produced two-mode hybrid technology for its Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen. BMW is up next with a two-mode hybrid, though it has not said when or in what vehicle the technology will be used. The hybrid tech is also planned for other future DaimlerChrysler models, likely those with Hemi motors. And in GM's lineup, it'll make its way into the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups as well as the Cadillac Escalade. In addition, GM is scaling the two-mode hybrid system for both front- and rear-wheel-drive cars.
Back in 2004, GM had already begun work on two-mode hybrid technology when it invited other automakers to collaborate. BMW and DaimlerChrysler signed up, recognizing the significance of developing hybrid technology that could attain good fuel economy both on highways and in city traffic. Other manufacturers have considered the project but so far haven't enrolled.
In the past three years, the outside world has only had a tiny peek inside what the three companies call Global Hybrid Cooperation. Only once has the venture offered its garage in Detroit's suburbs, and then only for an official opening of the facility that took place a full year after it became operational.
The center is staffed with more than 500 engineers from the three companies. While the Michigan facility is the epicenter of the hybrid development activity, work is ongoing in technical centers around the globe. In total, another 150 engineers are working elsewhere on the technology. The three companies combined have invested $1 billion into the joint hybrid development.
One can only imagine how difficult it has been for the three to work together. Each has a very distinct personality and culture. No doubt there were more than a few egos thrown into the mix. In fact, we would have loved to have been a fly on the wall through the two-mode development.
And clearly there has been some friction. One minor public indication came on the eve of GM's test-drive of the new hybrid technology, when Chrysler (not to be upstaged entirely) abruptly announced that not only would the Dodge Durango go hybrid as expected, but so, too, would the Chrysler Aspen.
But such little spats are a small price to pay for the critically important work the three companies are doing — no less than the global moon shot of our time.
It is this kind of venture that will find technological solutions to reduce or even eliminate environmentally destructive emissions and reduce or even eliminate the world's dependence on petroleum for fuel — ultimately saving the planet.
Joint ventures are the only way to solve these challenges. Aside from Toyota, no single carmaker has the resources — both monetary and human brainpower — to go it alone. Look at the price tag of this project — a whopping $1 billion. And it only takes us partway to the goal.
Larry Nitz, GM's executive director of hybrid powertrains and GM's lead representative in the venture, says the companies not only shared these extraordinary costs, but they also tapped the best and the brightest minds in each of the three companies. As a result, the end product is better than any of them could have done single-handedly.
It's been a great effort by all three companies to make this initiative work, and bravo to GM for taking the lead. The technology created here will be used to bring hybrids into the mainstream.
Read Michelle Krebs' daily analysis of the auto industry on AutoObserver.com.
These GM SUVs, due to go on sale by year's end, are the fruit of an unprecedented venture also involving BMW and DaimlerChrysler to take hybrid technology to the next level. And there's more to come.
In early 2008, DaimlerChrysler introduces this jointly produced two-mode hybrid technology for its Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen. BMW is up next with a two-mode hybrid, though it has not said when or in what vehicle the technology will be used. The hybrid tech is also planned for other future DaimlerChrysler models, likely those with Hemi motors. And in GM's lineup, it'll make its way into the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups as well as the Cadillac Escalade. In addition, GM is scaling the two-mode hybrid system for both front- and rear-wheel-drive cars.
Back in 2004, GM had already begun work on two-mode hybrid technology when it invited other automakers to collaborate. BMW and DaimlerChrysler signed up, recognizing the significance of developing hybrid technology that could attain good fuel economy both on highways and in city traffic. Other manufacturers have considered the project but so far haven't enrolled.
In the past three years, the outside world has only had a tiny peek inside what the three companies call Global Hybrid Cooperation. Only once has the venture offered its garage in Detroit's suburbs, and then only for an official opening of the facility that took place a full year after it became operational.
The center is staffed with more than 500 engineers from the three companies. While the Michigan facility is the epicenter of the hybrid development activity, work is ongoing in technical centers around the globe. In total, another 150 engineers are working elsewhere on the technology. The three companies combined have invested $1 billion into the joint hybrid development.
One can only imagine how difficult it has been for the three to work together. Each has a very distinct personality and culture. No doubt there were more than a few egos thrown into the mix. In fact, we would have loved to have been a fly on the wall through the two-mode development.
And clearly there has been some friction. One minor public indication came on the eve of GM's test-drive of the new hybrid technology, when Chrysler (not to be upstaged entirely) abruptly announced that not only would the Dodge Durango go hybrid as expected, but so, too, would the Chrysler Aspen.
But such little spats are a small price to pay for the critically important work the three companies are doing — no less than the global moon shot of our time.
It is this kind of venture that will find technological solutions to reduce or even eliminate environmentally destructive emissions and reduce or even eliminate the world's dependence on petroleum for fuel — ultimately saving the planet.
Joint ventures are the only way to solve these challenges. Aside from Toyota, no single carmaker has the resources — both monetary and human brainpower — to go it alone. Look at the price tag of this project — a whopping $1 billion. And it only takes us partway to the goal.
Larry Nitz, GM's executive director of hybrid powertrains and GM's lead representative in the venture, says the companies not only shared these extraordinary costs, but they also tapped the best and the brightest minds in each of the three companies. As a result, the end product is better than any of them could have done single-handedly.
It's been a great effort by all three companies to make this initiative work, and bravo to GM for taking the lead. The technology created here will be used to bring hybrids into the mainstream.
Read Michelle Krebs' daily analysis of the auto industry on AutoObserver.com.
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