These Are GM's Previous Attempts At Selling Hybrids

GM wouldn’t start offering hybrids in its vehicles until 2004 with its GMT800 platformed pickups. The first was the Chevy Silverado Hybrid.

Compared to hybrids today, the hybrid system in the truck was simple and extremely mild. Rather than having a full blown hybrid system with a battery, the system consisted of an electric motor inside the transmission flywheel. This essentially acted as a starter/start/stop system/alternator for the engine, powering accessories and the truck’s battery. When coming to a complete stop, the engine would shut off, but then the electric motor used 48V power to restart the engine. Three 14V batteries under the rear seats provided a bit of extra power that were charged by regenerative braking.

There was no assist mode nor could the system move the trucks on electricity alone. Any fuel economy gains the trucks received were entirely from its ability to start and stop the engine. Those gains were modest. Some saw a 10 percent increase as the system was still linked to a big 5.3 liter V8. Others, like Motor Trend in their long term test, didn’t see the value as they only saw a 1-1.5 mpg improvement over the standard engine. And it wasn’t cheap; while the hybrid option was $1,500, it required pricey option packages: a Silverado extended cab 4X4 with an auto started at just over $31,000. After adding the hybrid and its other pricey but required packages, you wound up with a near $40,000 mild hybrid pickup in 2004 dollars.

The second of the GMT800 platformed hybrid pickups, the GMC Sierra Hybrid was identical to its Silverado brother. It used the same powertrain setup as the Silverado with the electric motor paired to a 5.3-liter V8. Some reviewers were more harsh in their assessment of the Sierra and its hybrid system to the point of saying it wasn’t really a hybrid at all, but a fancy start-stop system.

The pricey-ness of it’s hybrid system was called out as well. When TTAC tested one in 2008, they noted that it would take eight years to recoup the $6,900 total cost of the hybrid system. This cost included the optional packages that you had to equip the Sierra with in order to get the hybrid.

Just a few years after its first hybrids in the GMT800 pickups, GM went and did what it should have done in the beginning: the company introduced hybrid cars.

The first of these hybrids was the Chevy Malibu Hybrid, based on the seventh-gen Malibu. GM had a chance to do something different with the hybrid system in a smaller car that could actually see fuel economy gains, but choose not to. The hybrid setup here was the same as in the pickups, it was just bolted to GM’s Ecotech I4 instead of a big V8. Its economy gains were mid however, achieving just 24 mpg city/32 mpg highway. At least it was was cheap, with a starting MSRP of just $22,790

Saturn went with the Green Line moniker for its hybrids. The first of which was the Aura Green Line. It debuted a year after the Aura itself, which was all new for Saturn in 2006. Mechanically identical to the Malibu, it shared the same 2.4-liter Ecotech hybrid setup as the Malibu Hybrid. It also got identical gas mileage figures at 24 mpg city/32 mpg highway. It was cheaper than the Malibu though. Its $22,695 MSRP was $95 less than the Malibu Hybrid and also made it the cheapest hybrid on the market at the time.

The Saturn Vue Green Line, the second of the brands hybrid line, was interesting in that it recieved two generations. The first was based on the first-gen Vue. But it debuted at the end of that generations run in 2007. Just a year later, an all new Vue debuted and Saturn gave this new Vue a Green Line version as well.

Mechanically it was identical in both generations, which is to say that it was also mechanically related to the Aura Green Line and Chevy Malibu Hybrid with its electric motor and Ecotech engine setup. Fuel economy improvements were up 20 percent over the stander Vue, but you had to pay $2,000 premium over the standard MSRP to get it. The Vue Green Line, along with the rest of Saturn, ceased to exist when GM folded the brand in 2009.

Towards the end of the decade, GM introduced a new generation of its full size pickups. Called GMT900 internally, the automaker also brought back a new generation of its hybrid pickups for a second generation. The hybrid system improved this time around. The Silverado Hybrid could now drive in EV only mode up to 30 mph and other tweaks saw the addition of a redesigned front air dam and tonneau cover for the pickup beds. The system was quieter too with GM claiming the gas to electric transition was more smooth.

The system was made up of a 6.0-liter 332 hp V8 paired with dual 60-kWh electric motors making 80 hp paired with a CVT. But mileage ratings were ok at 21 mpg city/22 mpg highway. That might have been a tough sale for its $38,995 starting price.

The redesign of GM’s pickups in 2008 also saw a new generation of the mechanically related GMT920-930 full size SUVs. GM gave the Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade all hybrid versions this time around. They all shared the same 6.0-liter V8, dual electric motor and CVT transmission setup as the pickups. These things weren’t that great at being hybrids though.

For one, GM wanted owners to shout to the world that they were driving around in hybrids. The exteriors of these things were covered in hybrid stickers and badges. From the lower body side panels to the C-pillars and rear hatches on the SUVs, it was all too much. Weight was also an issue. While GM fitted lighter seats, a smaller 12V battery and used aluminum in places like the hood and engine, they were still heavy. The hybrid tech added 350 pounds to the Tahoe Hybrid for instance. And fuel economy gains were only OK: Car & Driver tested a GMC Yukon SLT with the 5.3-liter V8 against a Tahoe Hybrid on a mixed city/highway loop and saw a five mpg improvement over the standard V8.

But you had to pay for the gains. Both the Tahoe and Yukon Hybrids both started over $50,000; the Escalade Hybrid started at over $60,000.

The 2010s saw GM finally introduce a proper, designed-from-the-ground-up hybrid in the Chevy Volt for 2011. Its hybrid system was dubbed Voltec. It had a 16.5 kWh battery pack developed in conjunction with LG Chem that was paired with an Opel sourced 1.4 liter 80 horsepower I4. It was a hit, and more than a few people lined up to buy one, even though many said its $41,000 MSRP ($43,000 with leather. And of course dealers were marking them up for way more) was too much. It wasn’t without its issues of course, like a federal investigation over battery fires.

By 2012, even though GM had a proper hybrid system with its Voltech PHEV setup, the company was doubling down on its mild hybrid system. Now dubbed e-Assist, it could be found in the Buick Regal e-Assist, Chevy Malibu Eco and as the base powertrain setup in the full-size Chevy Impala and Buick LaCrosse sedans.

e-Assist was more than just a powertrain setup though. It was whole host of fuel economy saving features. It included the 2.4-liter Ecotech I4, a 20-HP electric motor/generator, an 0.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack behind the rear seats, a lower final drive ratio, active grille shutters and aerodynamic underbody work.

This all added up to OK fuel economy gains. Car & Driver tested a 2012 Regal e-Assist over 1000 miles and saw 26 mpg. That was four mpg better than the regular Regal 2.4 without e-Assist but three mpg worse than the turbocharged Regal 2.0T.

Cadillac wanted in on the premium electric game. So 2013 saw the introduction of the striking ELR PHEV coupe. Cadillac drew inspiration for the styling of the ELR from its Converj Concept from 2009.

Under that nice bodywork was the main problem with the ELR. It was mechanically related to the Chevy Volt as it used the entire Voltech powertrain setup. That mean 37 miles of range. But charging times were long. If you were lucky enough to have 240-volt charger at the time, you could fully charge in five hours. This increased to 12.5-18 hours with a 120-volt charger. The price was an even bigger problem. No one wanted to pay over $75,000 for a Cadillac with the internals of a Chevy, no matter how advanced it was. Only 2,958 examples of the ELR were ever made.

The Volt was so successful that GM introduced a second generation for 2016. GM improved the Voltech powertrain setup by giving it a bigger 1.5 liter engine and larger 18.5 kWh battery pack. This combined to allow the Volt to gain 15 miles (for a total of 53 miles) of EV range over the previous generation. Production of the Volt finally ended in mid February 2019.

GM quietly re-introduced the e-Assist system on its full size trucks, the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, for 2016. But it had an extremely limited availability; I’m sure you probably didn’t realize the trucks were even offered. Only 700 were made, split between 500 Chevys and 200 GMCs. And they were all only sold in — you guessed it— California. It was a strange sort of “We’ll release these and see what happens” ploy by GM. The company said that it would “monitor the market closely ... and adjust as appropriate moving forward.” But I’m assuming the market didn’t respond as we never saw the e-Assist system offered on the trucks again.

The e-Assist system in the pickups paired a 5.3-liter V8 with an eight-speed automatic transmission, a 13-hp electric motor and a 0.45 kWh battery pack. The trucks weren’t cheap. Chevy only sold the e-Assist on the Silverado 1500 1LT for $39,985. GMC wouldn’t say how much it charged for its Sierra e-Assist. But you could only get it on the 1500 SLT with the Premium package, a truck that cost $50,155 at the time before the e-Assist system was even added.