Comments on: 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid

By: 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid Gets EPA Ratings - Eco Auto Blog

2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid Gets EPA Ratings - Eco Auto Blog — Mon, 25 May 2009 13:55:06 +0000

[...] now we know lots about the upcoming hybrid twins from GM – except for price. There have been rumors of a price premium as large as $10,000 – let’s hope [...]

By: 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid Gets EPA Ratings - Eco Auto Blog

2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid Gets EPA Ratings - Eco Auto Blog — Mon, 25 May 2009 06:38:54 +0000

[...] now we know lots about the upcoming hybrid twins from GM – except for price. There have been rumors of a price premium as large as $10,000 – let’s [...]

By: 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid - TTAC | Houston Cars

2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid - TTAC | Houston Cars — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 01:54:00 +0000

[...] Read more about the 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid. [...]

By: 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid Gets EPA Ratings

2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid Gets EPA Ratings — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:52:12 +0000

[...] now we know lots about the upcoming hybrid twins from GM – except for price. There have been rumors of a price premium as large as $10,000 – let’s [...]

By: Leroy Brown

Leroy Brown — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 02:06:09 +0000

I fixed the engine size to the correct 6.0 liters – sorry for the mistake. And the chart on WSJ about the powertrain operation is interesting, if a bit confusing.

I guess this is one that we’ll have to see and drive before we can render final judgment. There’s no doubt that this vehicle has the potential to be one of the most important releases in the past few years. I, for one, can’t wait to get my hands on one.

By: Leroy Brown

Leroy Brown — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:48:29 +0000

For the life of me, I can’t re-find where I found the engine size. In fact, I can’t confirm 5.3 or 6.0 liters. Do you have a link to the article where you read 6.0? If I’m wrong I want to get it corrected ASAP.

The transmission needs to have 6 gears. Consider this – since this is an SUV, and could be used for towing, first and second gear need to have low gear ratios. Since that’s the case, 3rd and 4th have to be reasonably close, or else 2-3 shift would be clunky to say the least. So it’s not like GM can just put 4 taller gear ratios in place – it just won’t work. This is a cop-out, and a testament to cheapness, and there’s no way around that.

I worry that the Yukon Hybrid won’t get the gas mileage expected, at least not with the average driver. The amount of battery juice needed to power a vehicle of this size would be massive, which means lots of batteries for any meaningful run on battery power. Of course, more batteries means even more weight; something that the Yukon doesn’t need more of. Time will tell, indeed.

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 00:26:34 +0000

First, the new engine will be a 6.0 liter, not a 5.3 liter. Although it has bigger displacement, the engine rating is only 300 hp, versus 320 hp for the 5.3 liter engine. Search on “Atkinson Cycle” to learn more on why GM is using this engine to achieve higher efficiency.

Secondly, in a hybrid such as this, I can see no reason for more than a 4-speed transmission. On a conventional engine, the 6-speed makes sense as it will need to accelerate the vehicle from 0 to 80 mph, or whatever speed the driver selects. However, in the Hybrid, the vehicle will accelerate from 0 to 25 mph with pure electric power (except for quick accerations, towing, steep hills, etc.). Therefore, the engine is mostly used from 25 mph and up. This, in essence, eliminates the need for two additional gears.

Time will tell how successful GM has been with this vehicle, but since most hybrids get better gas mileage in the city than on the highway, I believe GM may be under promising and over delivering a vehicle that can get 25 mpg or better in combined driving.

Regards,
Bill