Saturn Vue Plug-In Hybrid on the Road to Reality

Date posted: 2008-07-24 08:23:00.0

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Fearing that the Saturn Vue plug-in vehicle is getting forgotten in all the excitement about the electric Chevrolet Volt, the GM FastLane corporate blog on Wednesday provided a detailed update of its "other plug-in." In a word, work on the Saturn Vue plug-in vehicle is "progressing."

Larry Nitz, GM's executive director of hybrid powertrain engineering told the Plug-in 2008 conference here that the automaker is "currently testing 11 Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid electric vehicles at the GM Proving Grounds in Michigan and Arizona." The Vue plug-in is due out roughly in late 2010, about the same time that the Chevrolet Volt is set to arrive in showrooms.

"We initially started testing with two early development vehicles using nickel-metal hydride battery technology," Nitz wrote. "But now we're using lithium-ion batteries. We've done extensive battery thermal management work in the lab and on the road, and plug-in charge integration is fully operational and undergoing refinement." He added that the Vue plug-in uses a modified version of the GM two-mode hybrid system, which first came out in transit buses in 2003.

"We clearly still have a lot of work to do before the Vue plug-in is ready for production," Nitz said. "But we continue to make progress."

What this means to you: The Vue plug-in is alive and well and still on track to end up in your driveway in a couple of years. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent