Buick LaCrosse foreshadows GM’s latest hybrid effort
A nice improvement in fuel economy
eAssist defines GM’s lithium-powered mild hybrids
When GM killed its BAS mild hybrid powertrain, found in vehicles like the Chevy Malibu and Saturn Vue hybrids, the company promised an upgraded mild hybrid powertrain that would use lithium. The first taste of that new hybrid powertrain has been revealed.
The 2012 Buick LaCrosse hybrid will use a 4-cylinder engine coupled with its new lithium-powered hybrid powertrain, so far called eAssist, to achieve 25/37 mpg city/highway.
The new hybrid drive’s lithium-ion battery pack is connected to a small 15-horsepower electric motor that utilizes regenerative braking, a fuel cutoff system and start-stop technology to provide a 25 percent gain in fuel economy over the conventional LaCrosse according to GM – in both city and highway traffic.
Additionally, the new LaCrosse hybrid is outfitted with aerodynamic body panels underneath the car and low-rolling-resistance tires, as well as a special lower grill that closes at highway speeds to improve fuel economy.
The new LaCrosse hybrid is expected to go on sale next summer for less than $30,000.
Not sure yet what to make of this hybrid development. If cost effective and profitable, then its a great step forward for GM – assuming that such a powertrain would essentially begin to become GM’s standard 4-cylinder powertrain. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that will happen.
Overall, however, this new hybrid powertrain provides only a moderate improvement in fuel economy compared to the old Chevy Malibu hybrid, for example, a car that can only be called a flop if judged by sales. More disconcerting, however, is that compared to other hybrid sedans, GM’s eAssist hybrids offer significantly lower city fuel economy numbers. The upcoming Hyundai Sonata hybrid, for instance, achieves 36/40 mpg city/highway, or the Lincoln MKZ hybrid offers 41/36 mpg.
Nonetheless, while the LaCrosse hybrid falls short in the city compared to the competition, it might offer a more cost-effective pricing point for heavy highway drivers.
First, they aren’t going to call it a hybrid, instead it will just be called “eAssist”. Second they are going to claim it offers better fuel economy, at least on the highway, at a cheaper cost than something like the MKZ or HS 250 hybrids. At least that was the point at the LA Auto Show.
I’m not that familiar with Buick, so I don’t know if that’s a fair comparison. For instance, would a loaded Fusion or Camry hybrid be better comparison? Again, I’m Buick ignorant at the moment, but I don’t see a Buick hybrid tempting a Lexus hybrid buyer, for instance. Maybe in China, but not the US.
Well after that 2-mode hybrid marketing, how can they market this one as one mode mild hybrid?
It’s pretty interesting that GM is avoiding the hybrid nomenclature altogether. It’s not a hybrid, its an eAssist vehicle. it’s not a plug-in hybrid, it’s a ranged extended EV.
Its good to see GM bringing a more conventional hybrid to market. That said, the meager fuel efficiency numbers and somewhat hefty price tag underscore that they might consider a solely hybrid model. Then they could focus more on reducing the weight and cost of the model to make it truly competitive. You can compare this half-hearted effort with the very expensive, low-availability and unproven Volt and come to the conclusion that they really have no idea of the hybrid market. It can’t be worth their investment when they’re this far off the mark.
If US taxpayers are essentially shareholders in GM at this point in time, can my vote be to firmly point their engineers in whatever direction Toyota set out for with the Prius? It doesn’t seem like they’re familiar with that success story.