GM's Lutz says hybrids aren't the answer
GM product guru Bob Lutz pours cold water on the petrol-electric hybrid genreToyota may have put a good proportion of its eggs in the hybrid basket -- and the latest evidence of this is the Hybrid X concept unveiled at the Geneva show -- but GM product czar Bob Lutz isn't convinced that this is the necessarily the way to go
"It's important to realise that hybrids aren't the solution to the world's problems," Lutz told CarPoint/Carsales exclusively when questioned on his views on the Hybrid X at the Geneva show.
"They (hybrids) are very expensive and we won't eat that cost. I believe Toyota is eating part of that cost."
These comments seem to fly in the face of views he expressed a few months ago in his GM Fastlane Blog.
"We are studying plug-in hybrids, and will have more to say about those soon," he wrote in his blog last September.
"The whole key there is the development of significantly improved battery technology," he added. "But rest assured I truly believe that electric-drive vehicles have a real future in this country and around the world; the only question is the nature of the power source or sources."
Perhaps his latest comments are a case of Lutz hedging his bets and trying to justify why GM has been left trailing by Toyota in the hybrid race.
Be that as it may, Lutz is adamant that GM will be the first manufacturer to put one million fuel-cell vehicles on the road. In a nutshell, fuel-cell vehicles work by combining hydrogen and oxygen to create water vapour. This process generates electricity, which, in turn, drives in-wheel electric motors.
GM has already launched a fleet of 100-plus vehicles to demonstrate its fuel cell capabilities and raise awareness of the potential of the hydrogen economy.
Lutz says that if cost targets can be hit, the next step would be about a 1000-vehicle fleet in the 2010-2012 time frame.
"Then if cost and infrastructure barriers were removed, or at least significantly reduced, we'd look at more significant numbers later in the decade."
Meanwhile, GM plans to stay in the game with imminent two-mode hybrid SUVs and clean-burning E85-compatible vehicles. E85 is a blend of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol.
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