GM’s Dual Mode Hybrid System Could Be America’s Best Hope for Oil Independence!

Now I know this may sound incredible: GM’s dual mode hybrid system is on big trucks. How can that possibly save America from its oil addiction? Well, let me make a few loose suppositions. First, over 50% of vehicles on the road today are trucks and sport utility vehicles. GM’s dual mode hybrid system improves fuel economy by up to 50% on the vehicles on which it is installed. If you follow this through, if all trucks and SUVs were replaced with like vehicles using GM’s dual mode system, we could see a reduction in fuel demand of up to 25% nationwide. That would be huge!

Of course this is a stretch, but it does demonstrate that the key to success is in building fuel efficient vehicles that will do the work of America. While there is certainly a place for small fuel efficient vehicles, the biggest bang for our buck may be in large ones.

GM started the research in hybrid technology in its truck and bus division. GM felt that the market for hybrids was in mass transportation, and developed the first dual mode hybrids to run busses in America’s largest cities. This technology has been adapted for use in our SUVs and pickups, and will evolve for use in large cars and crossover vehicles.

Now for the real silver bullet: Hydrogen. You combust hydrogen and you get water. GM has a fleet of 100 hydrogen powered Equinox SUV’s running around Washington DC right now. It is going to take the will of congress and continued high oil prices to push for a hydrogen distribution system in the US. GM is the leader in this technology.

The GM GIANT has a Yukon Hybrid in stock now available for test drives. Come take a trip around the block in this impressive fuel saver. For more information about this and other GM products, visit us at www.gmgiant.com

The GM Giant Has The New Yukon Hybrid In Stock!

The long awaited 2008 Yukon Hybrid has finally arrived at the GM Giant for you to test drive. Once you do, I am certain many of you will want to order one. Initial production is pegged at about 10 percent of capacity. As demand is evaluated, GM will increase or decrease that mix between conventional and Hybrid. After driving the vehicle, I am certain it will be a hit and production will be increased.

Driving the Yukon Hybrid at slow speeds around my neighborhood was like driving an oversized golf cart. The electric engine operated this big 8 passenger truck with only the quiet whine of the electric engine and the noise of the tires popping over the macadam road surface can be heard. A more aggressive acceleration from a stop sign resulted in the engine kicking in, then the hybrid system with the engine going into 4 cylinder mode. Were it not for the display on the dash, I would not have known any of the changes in the power mode. The only time you notice a change is when you slow down and the engine cuts off, leaving you 100% on battery power. Then the only reason you know is that it gets REAL QUIET.

The hybrid version of the Yukon and Tahoe delivers up to 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 accomplished 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 pounds-feet 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. GM’s two mode system can be re-sized to work on smaller mid sized vehicles, and I am told they are working on bringing out hybrid models of other GM vehicles. The nice thing about the two mode system is that it can be adapted for use on smaller vehicles, unlike Toyota’s hybrid system that only works well on smaller vehicles.

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, where the only emission is water vapor, running America’s roads.

I invite you to come test drive the new Yukon Hybrid and see for yourself how saving on fuel can be accomplished without a compromise on size comfort and power. For more information on this and other GM products, visit us online at www.gmgiant.com.

Did you know you can have maintenance done at your dealership as cheap as anywhere else?

The evolution of the new car dealership service departments is an interesting study in market shifts. Back in the 70’s, the typical car dealer relied on the factory payment of warranty claims to sustain the parts and service operations. The factory paid the dealer based on the rate they charged customers for maintenance and other customer pay functions. Since warranty work could represent well over 50% of the total service load to the shop, the dealership had to charge higher rates on customer pay to get the factory to pay more. Training and special tools were expensive, and these higher rates were necessary to support the expense.

This spawned a new industry in the United States. Independent shops and tire vendors began to pop up everywhere, offering lower prices on maintenance and non warranty repairs. The dealers didn’t mind because they were concentrating on completing warranty repairs.

Over time, dealership gross profits on new and used cars and trucks began to get squeezed due to competition, and quite frankly the customer’s ability to easily travel on more efficient roadways and shop. Dealers were faced with a dilemma. Dealers had to get profit from the parts and service departments to make up for lower profits on cars and trucks. They began to realize that they had chased the more profitable brake, tire, suspension, and exhaust work away to the independents. In fact, in many cases, technicians that had been trained by the dealerships were going to work for these independents or opening their own shops.

Along came a cottage industry of consultants that began teaching dealers how to get the profitable maintenance business back. Dealers had to re-price their labor and do things like variable labor pricing, and offering less expensive non original equipment manufacturer parts. But the factory came back with longer 3-4 and 5 year warranties. This had the effect of stalling the move to lower prices.

Today, even with longer warranties, the quality of the cars and trucks, at least for GM, is so good that warranty work now only represents 10 to 15 percent of total dealership service. We have to get the defectors; (those who only use the dealership for warranty and take the rest of the work elsewhere) back into dealership service departments.

The GM Giant is embarking on a new campaign to do just that. While we will make the case for Genuine GM Parts with lifetime parts and labor warranties, and work done by factory trained technicians, we will offer alternatives. The independents don’t use factory trained technicians and seldom if ever use factory parts. The reality is there is a place for both. Depending on your individual situation, we may recommend factory parts installed by our best technicians, or we may suggest less expensive parts installed by journeymen technicians, saving you money. One thing is for sure: We do not want you taking your car to anyone else but us for service, and we are willing to cut our prices to do it. You will see us advertising specials that will be as good as anything in the market. We will still offer Genuine GM Parts, and in some cases almost insist on them. But if price is the determining factor on whether you get the work done or not, we will commit to offer the same or better value than our competition. Even though we know our factory brakes will last longer and have a better warranty, we would rather see our customers buy aftermarket brakes from us than drive an unsafe vehicle. It is a new mindset, but we are determined to provide the best value for our customers.

For information on this or any GM Giant products, visit us online at www.gmgiant.com.