HYBRID TECHNOLOGY GOES BIG. REALLY BIG

While Chevy is offering hybrid technology on Tahoe (at participating dealers only) and Malibu (very limited availability), General Motors has been in the hybrid business a lot longer... and in a much "larger" market.

The question: How do you get more people to use hybrid vehicles?

The solution: Build vehicles a whole city can use.

Since 2003, GM has applied hybrid technology to the highest fuel-consuming vehicles on the road, including mass-transit buses.

If the U.S. had only 1,000 GM hybrid-powered buses operating in major cities, the cumulative savings would be an estimated 1.4 million gallons of fuel annually, enough to fill 175 tanker trucks.

According to a study conducted in 2006 by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, transit buses with the GM hybrid technology deliver up to 75% better fuel economy than traditional transit buses.

They also reduce:

  • Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) up to 39%
  • Particulate matter (PM) up to 97%
  • Carbon monoxide (CO) up to 60%
  • Hydrocarbons up to 75%.

Here's the history of hybrid bus development at GM...

In 2003 ...

GM introduces the hybrid-electric bus, helping dramatically reduce engine noise and emissions. If the U.S. had only 1,000 GM hybrid-powered buses operating in major cities, the cumulative savings would be an estimated 1.5 million gallons of fuel annually.

In 2004 ...

Seattle's local transit authority begins taking delivery of the largest single order for GM hybrid-powered buses ever placed in the U.S. The single fleet is expected to save more than 750,000 gallons of fuel each year ... the equivalent of thousands of small hybrid cars.

In 2006 ...

Transit agencies in California, Nevada and New Mexico place hybrid bus orders, agreeing to purchase up to 157 diesel-electric hybrid buses powered by GM's advanced hybrid propulsion system.

Today ...

Big plans just keep getting bigger. In January 2008, GM delivered its 1,000th bus powered by the GM-Allison hybrid system. GM hybrid-equipped buses operate in 70 cities in the U.S., Canada and Europe, including Austin, Denver, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Portland, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tulsa, as well as Yosemite National Park.

In cars... in trucks... and even in big buses... Chevy and GM are driving real-world solutions to save fuel and reduce emissions. One ride at a time.