Posted on 10/17/2013 6:06:17 AM PDT by thackney
Capitalizing on America’s abundant supply of clean-burning, low-cost natural gas, General Motors said Wednesday it will build a Chevrolet Impala sedan that can operate on either gasoline or compressed natural gas and travel up to 500 miles between fill-ups.
The bi-fuel Impala, which goes on sale summer as a 2015 model, could be the start of something big. Honda Motor has been selling a natural gas-powered Civic since 2011 and while still modest, sales have been steadily rising. The Japanese carmaker is on track to sell about 2,500 CNG Civics this year, up from 1,900 in 2012 and 1,200 the year before. In July, Ford Motor said its most popular vehicle, the F-150 pickup, will be offered with a compressed natural gas engine starting in the 2014 model year.
“Natural gas will grow increasingly attractive as an alternative fuel source, as we’ve seen each year with natural gas Honda Civic sales, particularly in areas like California where HOV lane access is available,” said Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. “The lack of infrastructure remains a hurdle, but if more automakers begin to offer CNG-powered vehicles, we could see a greater push for access to CNG in the years to come.”
The Impala’s bi-fuel powertrain is engineered to switch seamlessly from CNG to gasoline, which should reassure consumers worried about finding a place to refuel. For business fleet customers, whose drivers return to a central location, CNG refueling shouldn’t be a problem. GM did not announce the new car’s price, which is likely to be higher than the standard gas model, but savings at the pump could offset that extra payout quickly.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
No, but it cuts down on wiring and complexity.
Running anything thru the firewall (especially with 32/64/whatever connections is expensive and potentially troublesome.
Having the powertrain controller mounted on the engine is a good design.
Actually, at the time, we filled up in Kenya, drove into far northern Uganda, stayed for 4 to 6 weeks and drove back out to Kenya.
Little or no fuel for sale in the Karamoja region of Uganda. In an emergency, I could possibly call in some favors and get a bit of tractor fuel.
“GM. Choke on your cars and trucks.”
I don’t even know where to start with you. I just purchased another Chevrolet Avalanche to replace the 2003 that’s now got 165,000 miles on it with very little maintenance. I am in my 70’s and I can honestly say that this is the best car I have ever owned. The new vehicle has an engine that goes from a V8 to a V4 when on the highway at speed on level ground. The fuel milage goes from 19-20 to 28-30 and it makes the change seemlessly. I have a friend who owns both a Volt and a Prius. He says that the Volt is a superior vehicle in every way. So do you have any evidence to support your “claim” or are you just spouting off? I am not happy with the GM bailout either, but GM IS developing good technology
My 90 Miata has the battery in trunk.
I meant hood in that post, not door.
Add to that realm of ugly the Scion xB [xtra Boxy?] and the Cube.
Actually, ours was even LESS aerodynamic than the photo version. We had a factory roof rack on top - BIG roof rack!
This Land Cruiser HJ75-RV is an excellent example of Form following Function, and is, as such, BEAUTIFUL! It carried our family of six and all our camping equipment & supplies over 300 miles of dirt road (each way) which had seen little maintenance since colonial times.
Our kids called it "The Camel". It was tall, tan, could carry lots & lots of "stuff" and din not need a "drink" during the trip.
Worst fuel mileage was 15.6 mpg (US gal) while pulling a trailer (made from the back half of a Land Cruiser pickup) filled with 3/4 ton of Portland cement, plus the usual family load in the Cruiser.... on dirt roads.... in the rainy season.
A truly BEAUTIFUL vehicle!
BTW, with the terrible, boxy aerodynamics and roof rack, we'd get 19.6 mpg on the paved highways in Kenya... if Mrs BN would keep it under 70-75 mph while she was driving.
I’m not trying to stop you from doing exactly what you are free to do. I will not, however, take your good fortune and lack of understanding exactly what this company did to capitalism and buy one of their cars/trucks/SUVs.
That company, along with the government intimidated and extorted PREMIUM bond holders of the company’s interests to take pennies on the dollar at the investment. What did that allow? It funded GM’s Union Healthcare funds and gave them and the government major holdings in the company.
I hope your enjoy your Avalanche with 165,000 miles on it and any new one you see fit to purchase. I just won’t subsidize a company so against American freedom and capitalism like you. GOOD TECHNOLOGY (heavily subsidized by government) is not always progress.
I always wondered about those environmentalist liberals who drive those CUBE SUVS that have the window pillars only on one side, and all window on the other side when that vehicle get’s less mileage than a car or vehicle that is aerodynamic.
“ours was even LESS aerodynamic “
*horrified scream*
Noticed that if I have my sunroof up, the car suffers a performance hit.
The missus car has a roof rack, but it’s one of those “conformal” deals.
“if Mrs BN would keep it under 70-75 mph while she was driving.”
Well, yes.
There is that.
The missus has a leadfoot too.
I’ll look over at the speedometer and just about die.
“I had a 79 Vega that got 35MPG at interstate speed limit. I often stopped to get gas just to stretch my legs and get something to drink. 500 miles in one setting is cruel and usual punishment.”
You are lucky the Vega ran 500 miles without breaking down.
You are lucky the Vega ran 500 miles without breaking down.
I got almost 40,000 miles on a $250 car.
That was one in a thousand or higher.
Most Vegas were, uh, “quality challenged.”
Any other cars since give you that much luck?
I drove a secondhand used Veedub for 30K miles with a hole the size of a quarter in the differential, didn’t know it until it hatched.
I do miss that car, it was fun in the snow.
I had a 62 Belair that got 24MPG till I wrecked it and I had a 58 GMC that I got about 18 MPG both had 283 engines.
So do you buy a FRAUD, a DAGOPMOBILE, or do you just by foreign?
The main thrust of your argument was that GM vehicles were inferior. That was the issue to which I was speaking. It would seem that your invective, couched with inaccurate information about various GM products, was really about the fact that you didn’t like the bailout. I accept that you don’t want to do business with GM because of the bailout, but to suggest that it’s about product quality is nonsense and you know better.
“62 Belair that got 24MPG till I wrecked it”
That... is a crime.
You shall be punished with...teletubbies for that!
/ kidding.
I squeezed miles out of a ‘96 Jetta until some kid with a pickup truck ran a red turn arrow and took the nose off my car.
Fuel mileage suffered after the oil pump broke.
[momentarily siezed, then continued pumping oil, at highway speed.]
I talked to a construction worker that had a diesel VW wagon that got 65 MPG.
Before the USEPA began its quest to eliminate automotive diesels via hyperstringent emission limits, you could tune a diesel to run super lean and get really impressive economy.
If you could use the new 44,000 psi piezoelectric injectors with old emission limits, the fuel economy would be stunning.
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