DETROIT -- General Motors will build two new sport-utility vehicles — the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon — using enhanced hybrid technology, according to a Reuters report. The trucks will be built in Arlington, Texas, beginning in late 2007. The so-called two-mode hybrid technology transmissions, which use two 60-kilowatt electric motors joined to a V-8 internal combustion engine, will be designed and manufactured at a transmission plant in Baltimore, Md. GM plans to invest up to $118 million to upgrade the Baltimore transmission plant. Originally implemented by GM in transit buses, the transmission is being advanced and adapted by BMW, DaimlerChrysler and GM for use in cars, trucks and SUVs. According to GM, the smaller electric motors are lighter and more compact, making them easier to package into an automobile transmission, and the two-mode technology allows for fuel optimization, especially during highway driving at higher speeds.
0 Comments