GM Cancels Full-Size Hybrid SUVs and Pickups
If you were hoping to get your hands on a next-generation edition of the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid or the GMC Yukon Hybrid, then you are in for a disappointment. GMInsideNews.com is reporting that neither GMC nor Chevrolet will be offering full-size gasoline / electric SUVs when their common platform is redesigned for the 2014 model year. This also applies to the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid and the GMC Silverado Hybrid full-size pickup trucks, which share the same basic chassis.
The decision to step away from the big hybrid game is a logical one for GM. Although the mild hybrid setup found across the full-size SUV and pickup lineup was capable of improving city mileage by as much as 25 percent, very few buyers took the company up on its green truck offer. Slow sales have translated a lack of interesting in shoehorning the battery-assisted drivetrain into the upcoming redesigned platform. Instead, the company has focused on improving how each of the full-size vehicles drives, particularly in terms of comfort and handling - a decision which as eaten up the majority of the development dollars earmarked for the upgrade program.
Fans of the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, however, can stay positive, as GM will most likely continue to offer that particular flavor of electric SUV. The Escalade Hybrid is currently the most expensive model in the luxury automaker's lineup, and one can imagine that the profit margins on the premium sport-utility vehicle are equally high. The battery-assisted Escalade has also managed to garner credibility amongst celebrities, who have used the eco-conscious image projected by the hybrid system to offset the conspicuous consumption associated with the vehicle itself.
Early reports had the Escalade moving off of its body-on-frame design and instead embracing a sedan-based unibody platform, but it would now appear that at least for the near-term, Cadillac will maintain the SUV's rugged construction.
