In the news: Good news to environmentalists, General Motors Canadian subsidiary has recently announced it plan of building hybrid versions of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks at its Oshawa truck assembly plant situated east of Toronto.
It's been quite a while since GM and other automakers have planned of increasing their production of hybrid vehicles as a solution to the ever increasing gasoline prices. GM has invested in a hybrid power plant in Oshawa, Ontario Canada where it will produce its first hybrid Silverados and Sierras which are scheduled to go on sale in the fall of 2008.
David Paterson, GM Canada's Vice-President of Corporate and Environmental Affairs indicated that the production of the hybrid Silverados and Sierras will not result to an increase workforce. "Right now we produce 1,335 pickup trucks a day in that plant and the rate of production will be similar. And then the percentage of vehicles that will be produced that are hybrid will totally depend on the market reaction to the product," said Paterson.
The vehicles that are to be produced at the Oshawa plant are to be exported to the United States, although Canada is also a huge market for GM's full-sized pickups. The announcement regarding the hybrid Silverado and Sierra was given ahead of the Canadian International Auto Show which will start on Friday. The hybrid pickups will not be on display since they haven't been created yet but according to reliable sources it will not be visually different from the redesigned Silverados and GMC Sierras that will later be introduced at the Toronto Show.
"The only thing that you would see different in 2008 is the badge on the back of it that says hybrid and an indication in the driver cluster as to when you're in hybrid mode and when you're on regular gasoline engine," said Patterson. The hybrid Silverados and Sierras are still going to be equipped with top-of-the-line auto parts and accessories like the for a more appealing interior.
And since the Silverado and Sierra are going to be turned into hybrid, they will be equipped with internal-combustion engine and an electric motor powered by a battery that is charged by kinetic energy produced as the vehicle brakes.
GM's hybrid Silverados and Sierras will utilize what the automaker calls "two-mode" technology that makes use of electric motor to assist the pickups while running at highway speeds and not just when the vehicle is starting and braking. "We call it a two-mode because, basically, the transmission allows you to use the electric motor in either one of those two types of circumstances," explained Paterson.
