DID YOU KNOW THE CHEVY TAHOE HYBRID GETS BETTER FUEL ECONOMY THAN TOYOTA CAMRY?

You read the headline right. The full size SUV Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon, when equipped with the dual mode hybrid system, get better fuel economy than Camry. In fact the hybrid version of these vehicles delivers a 50% increase in fuel economy over their standard non-hybrid version. GM announced an EPA estimated 21 mpg city and 22 mpg highway for the 2 wheel drive hybrid Tahoe and Yukon models. That matches Toyota Camry’s 4 cylinder model’s EPA estimated 21 mpg city and beats the 6 cylinder model by 2 mpg. All of this is possible without any compromise in power thanks to the world class dual mode hybrid technology. It is important to note that these estimates are using the EPA’s new more conservative “real world driving” ratings.

America has had a long love affair with the full size SUV. That relationship has been challenged by high fuel prices. Now you will be able to get the benefits of the full size Tahoe and Yukon with the mileage of a mid size sedan. Did I mention power? These hybrid family movers boast a 6.0 liter V8, delivering 332 horse power and 367 foot pounds of torque.

The dual mode hybrid system allows the Tahoe and Yukon to run up to 32 mph on electricity alone. After that speed, the trucks either run on gasoline alone, or a combination of gasoline and electricity. GM’s fuel management system will deactivate cylinders at highway speeds under low load increasing the fuel efficiency. What is really neat about this system is you don’t even know it is happening, and it operates flawlessly, unlike the old 2-4-8 system of the early 80’s.

GM is also planning to use the Two Mode system in its Silverado and Sierra pickups. I am certain as production capacity increases; you will see this system on many more GM vehicles. There is unconfirmed talk about it showing up on some of the mid sized luxury vehicles, but as close as I am to the GM brass, I could only get “I can neither confirm nor deny those rumors” out of my friends.

GM continues to invest heavily in alternative fuel technology. They offer the most E85 capable vehicles in the world that run on a fuel mixture of 85% ethanol, usually from corn, and 15% gasoline. The new Chevy Volt plug-in electric vehicle will run entirely on electricity, with gasoline only being used to run a generator when trips exceed 45 miles. GM also has a fleet of Hydrogen Powered Equinox SUV’s running America’s roads where the only emission is water vapor. I am working with GM to set up a demonstration running a hydrogen vehicle from Washington DC to Ocean City, demonstrating an emission free family vacation.

GM made its announcements about the fuel economy of the new Hybrids at the Texas State Fair. I cannot resist telling you this. Toyota brought its racing display and racing trailer. The racing trailer was towed to the fair not by Tundra, but by a one ton Chevy Silverado. I have pictures.

DID YOU KNOW GM PASSED TOYOTA IN GLOBAL SALES?

The third quarter results are out and GM has outsold Toyota again for the second quarter in a row, moving them back into first place for the global sales crown. GM’s third quarter sales came in at 2.38 million units compared to Toyota’s 2.34 million, allowing GM to edge out Toyota for the annual total. The race is close though with GM’s annual 2007 sales at 7.06 million units compared to 7.05 million for Toyota.

GM continues to tell Wall Street analysts that it will not sacrifice profit to keep the global sales crown, and they seem to be sticking to their plan. GM’s sales gains have come with significantly less consumer incentives than the rest of the domestic nameplates. In fact, many of GM’s best selling products have needed no incentives to boost sales. The industry measures the need for incentives by day supply of inventory. If the day supply is low, then incentives are not needed. GM’s Cadillac CTS, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and Chevy Corvette have some of the lowest days supply in the industry. These units are literally selling as fast as they come off the car carrier. Later in November, Chevrolet will ship the new Malibu to dealer showrooms. This vehicle is expected compete head to head with or beat Camry and Accord in quality, styling, functionality, safety and fuel economy, and should be GM’s newest hot seller. It will have a 5 star crash rating and will get an EPA estimated 32 mpg highway rating.

GM credits its continued leadership over Toyota to sales in emerging markets. An example of this can be found in China, where GM’s Buick brand is the best selling import in that country. GM actually sells more Buicks in China than in the United States. All of this global sales talk might give one the impression that Toyota comes close to GM in U.S. sales. While Toyota’s market share has increased in America, it seems to be coming more at the expense of Ford and Chrysler than GM. Toyota has suffered three straight months of year over year sales declines while GM has experienced sales increases over the past two months. The best selling vehicle brand in America is Chevrolet. That brand is almost 100,000 units ahead of Toyota and well over 100,000 units ahead of third place Ford. If you add GM’s other U.S. brands, GM out sells Toyota by close to one million units.

Globally, GM is the sales leader in 12 of 15 world markets. They only lose to Toyota in India, Australia and in Japan, where trade restrictions and tariffs discourage imports. Sales leadership shouldn’t really matter that much. Consumers really just want quality vehicles that reliably perform to expectations. Still, the bragging rights stoke the egos of auto executives including this one. I hope you will forgive me.