2009 Saturn VUE 2-mode Hybrid ( Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (ATPZEV))

Looks good eh?

You just really can't beat good old American iron can you?

Have a look at the Holden Captiva which is fully imported into Australia from South Korea.
http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/modeloverview?modelid=30006
I wonder if the Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid is made in the good old US of A or is it made in South Korea? Good for GM, good for the USA. Maybe Malorn can clear this up for us?

 

Performance, emission, MPG and towing capabilities are very similar to Highlander Hybrid.

We'll see about the price and reliability of VUE 2-mode hybrid.

 

It's about dang time they take smog-related emissions seriously. BAS did nothing to improve them and the first Two-Mode vehicle actually made them worse. Finally hearing about something better than the traditional design is long overdue, especially since GM loves to promote so far in advance of the vehicle actually being available.

Unfortunately, the article only made a vague reference to efficiency without actual comparison to the competition or even itself with a smaller engine. And since the title states "World's Most Fuel-Efficient V6 SUV", that lack of detail is reason to be concerned. How can they make that claim with only an "up to" percentage value? Why no MPG estimate of any kind? After all, that is the very thing consumers expect to be provided.
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Highlander-Hybrid offers a similar figuration; however, the vehicle GM will be competing more directly with is from itself.

Once a consumer selects an automaker to buy from, comparing the models they offer is obviously the next step in the purchase decision. That will lead to intense scrutiny between the traditional 4-cylinder Vue and 6-cylinder Two-Mode hybrid.

The price should make things very interesting. Of course, that wasn't mentioned either.
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Promises again, you can get promises at any car dealership. It's telling how they always downplay the actual MPG numbers on their "hybrids" and just substitute them with the percentage of improvement in mileage that it will be over the gas only hog. Isn't the current gas-only V6 Vue getting 17 mpg? Why don't they just say it will get 34 mpg? Because at its best, the Vue gas-only V6 can get 17 but probably gets 13 or 14 so the Vue hybrid will get at its best perhaps 30 but will get you normally around 25, that's why. 30 is good but their habit of having to deceive their customers is too ingrained. Instead of just labeling us as a "Hate Parade", why don't you try to figure out why we don't even consider GM when shopping for a new car? If you have a relative who always hits you up for money and feels the need to lie about it, do you hate them? If someone, anyone, takes advantage of you whenever you meet them, do you hate them? Perhaps, perhaps not but you will not trust them and you will avoid them. Take that to your little chrome club.

 

GM wasted no time claiming the word "green" as their own.

 

Yeppers. They're really good at marketing nonexistent "green" cars too.

 

Is this another GM green car that doesn't yet even exist? Is that why they don't say what the MPG is? Is says that it's 50% better MPG ...which makes you think it's available, right? But then it says something about 2009? Is that when it WILL be made? If so, then why are they advertising it now? I'm so confused by GM ads. I do love Toyota ads. They show an ad. I go look at the product. Hate parade? Can't hate what doesn't exist ... or does it?

 

Not sure that is stated correctly. The HSD get lower mpg highway since the air resistance is higher, not because the drivetrain efficiency is lower at highway speeds. Or better stated, the GM low speed mode is more inefficiency at lower speeds than at high speed.

 

On paper calculations don't always equate to real-world results. The actual implementation may prove that the case.

How did you draw a conclusion without any real-world data being available yet?
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2-Mode transmission is a souped up 4-speed automatic transmission. To be more accurate, it is a combination of HSD and an 4-speed automatic transmission. Mode 1 is basically HSD (torque converter replacement). Mode 2 is basically an automatic transmission with smoothened shiftshocks with assistance from two motors/generators.

From my understanding.... I am going to try to explain in a way an HSD expert can understand. 2-Mode's MG1 and MG2 have the same power rating while for HSD, MG2 is more powerful than MG1. In the first mode, 2-Mode uses the second pair of the planetary gearset as a torque multiplier. This way, 2-Mode behaves like HSD with torqy MG2 at low speed. ICE power gets split into electric and mechanical paths. MG1 generates electricity and output through MG2 with mechanical torque multiplier. This achieves the same result as HSD. If the power demand is very low, the vehicle would just power from the HV battery.

At high speed, there will be times when it will stay in 1st to 4th gear. Transition between these gears are done by the second mode, therefore eliminating shift shocks. GM taunts about pure mechanical power output over HSD while 2-Mode vechicle is "in gear". In real world, it is possible only at certain speeds with certain power demand. The pure mechanical output disadvantage is that, the ICE is restricted (locked) at these certain RPMs. If the driver requests more power or the speed increases, the system has to enter the second mode to activate the CVT functionality. In this second mode, there will be a combination of electric and mechanical power usage just like HSD. The 4th gear (overdrive) produces very low torque that the electric motor assist comes in play just like HSD. The second mode splits ICE power with the first PSD and then recombine with another PSD. There are more mechanical gear drags than HSD in this mode. It is a very important point because for 2-Mode, there is no pure mechanical path in overdrive while cruising.

All these mode switchings are done with clutches (up to 4). We still do not know how reliable 2-Mode transmission is going to be.

 

I don't think 2-Mode can stealth (battery power with ICE off) over 32 MPH. Prius can go up to 42 MPH (software limited) however, mechanically it can go up to 62 MPH as shown in Plug-in Prius.

Well, either that or HSD is better in the city than 2-Mode. 2-Mode highway is not as good as it was hyped up to be as detailed in my previous post.

 

It's bait. They are daring us to call them hypocritical. And I'll ya, it's pretty tempting. Perhaps we should bring up their own "stop gap" arguments.
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