copyright 2008 GM Media Archive
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Here at Discovery Communications' LEED-certified HQ in
Silver Spring, Maryland, reps from GM recently descended
upon our lobby to tout GM and its subsidiaries, and
especially its
href="http://planetgreen.stage.discovery.com/tech-transport/ hybrid-wheels.html">hybrid technologies
coincidence, of course, that GM is a Planet Green
advertiser, but that doesn't mean I didn't learn a ton about
the vehicles and technologies on display.
With six cars being shown off to both the public and
Discovery employees, many people that happened to be just
walking by the building stopped in to check out the cars,
especially the fuel cell--driven
href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/09/gm_equinox_fue l_cell.php">Chevy Equinox
until 2015 or 2016. But for me, it was the three SUVs that
caught my eye. Allow me to share with you what I learned.
href="http://www.saturn.com/saturn/vehicles/greenline/index. jsp">Saturn Vue href="http://www.gmc.com/yukonhybrid/index.jsp">GMC Yukon href="http://www.chevrolet.com/traverse/">Chevy Traverse
On display were the compact crossover
(by far my favorite!). The Vue is called a "crossover SUV"
because of its cargo space and seating but lack of truck
bed. This is a great mid-sized family vehicle, and with a
4-cylinder engine, the gas mileage is pretty decent at 25
mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the hwy. And starting at
$26,200, it?s also pretty affordable.
The GMC Yukon seats eight people--yes that's right, I said
it, eight people! ? and it's a hybrid that gets 21 mpg
around the city and 22 on the open road of the highway,
certainly an improvement over its conventional counterparts.
With three rows of seats, GPS, XM Radio, a remote starter,
and frontal and side airbags for maximum safety, the Yukon
won the 2008 Technology of the Year Award from
href="http://www.automobilemag.com/features/awards/0802_gm_t wo_mode_hybrid_technology_of_the_year/index.html">Automobile Magazine
blogger's league, but it's still pretty cool, in my opinion.
Last but not least, my personal favorite: the Chevy Traverse
Hybrid. It seats eight and has mad cargo space, due
to the fact that rear seating folds down into the floor of
the vehicle, providing a flat surface for hauling stuff
(which, in my case, would be two beautiful-but-huge dogs).
With a five-star safety system, GPS, and hands-free calling,
this baby gets 24 mpg on the highway and 19 mpg in the city.
href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/walking/">Walking
and
href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/biking/">biking
are important tools for reducing our reliance on
fossil-fuels, but let's face it, most of us need four wheels
to get around a lot of the time. At an affordable $28,000, I
could definitely see myself carting my pooches--while
reducing my current carbon footprint --around
in this vehicle.
Further Reading on Hybrid and Fuel Cell
Technology: href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/hybrid-cars/ ">How to Go Green: Hybrid Cars href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/buying-guides/buy-gre en-hybrid-cars.html">Buy Green: Hybrid Cars href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/hybrid-cars/">Hybrid Cars from Planet Green href="http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/11/08/usda-gets-chev y-equinox-fuel-cell-vehicle-for-project-highway-te/">USDA gets Chevy Equinox fuel cell vehicle for Project Highway test
Check out the first post in this series,
href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/gm-alt ernative-fuel-vehicles.html">Know Your Alternative Fuel Vehicles (Part 1)













