General Motors to Use Diesels

The Detroit-based automaker General Motors is planning to use diesel engines on selected Cadillac and Saturn auto models in the United States. The said plan is expected to be a reality by the turn of the century. This move shows that General Motors is also jumping on the diesel bandwagon. European automakers are already making headways in developing better diesel engines and it seems that American car manufacturers are also doing the same.

The Detroit automaker will be using eco-friendly vehicles fuel efficient vehicles according to the company’s vice chairman Bob Lutz. The said new generation of diesel engines will be used on passenger cars, crossover SUVs, and light-duty trucks.

According to sources inside the automobile manufacturer, the company will be unveiling a diesel engine powered vehicle at the upcoming Frankfurt Auto Show that is slated to take place this September. The said vehicle is reported to be an e-flex Opel Vectra. The e-flex system developed by General Motors to make its vehicles fuel efficient involves an internal combustion engine recharging a battery pack which in turn powers an electric motor. The electric motor provides power to the vehicle.

On January next year, the same system will also be showcased at the Detroit Auto Show. For that motor show though, the system will not be used on an Opel auto model but instead it would be used on a Saturn. The working relationship between the two car companies has been well documented and has given the Saturn brand its revitalized lineup for the 2008 model year. Experts are speculating that the e-flex system will be used on the reigning North American Car of the Year, the Saturn Aura, with its usual array of reliable parts down to the Saturn head bolt and other components.

It can be remembered that the e-flex system was unveiled by General Motors at the Detroit Auto Show also earlier this year. The said system is what powers the Chevy Volt, the production of which is now being anticipated by car buyers in the country.

The diesel engine used in the e-flex system will also be used in a Cadillac auto model. “It'll end up in a Cadillac, and there will be a front-wheel-drive version of the engine in 2009 or 2010 calendar year,” said an unnamed source within General Motors. “It's an Epsilon (mid-sized car) based product,” the source added.

According to the source, the e-flex system will be used on the next generation Saturn Aura if the plan already laid out by the car company is observed. Lutz, on the other hand, said that the upcoming introduction of diesel engines to their vehicles is not in response to the hotly debated CAFÉ standard.

“There's a lot of hype on diesels right now. It's not going to be a 50-state solution. It's going to be minus California and minus what other states adopt California standards,” said Lutz.

Lutz added that they are looking at the development of diesel engines to increase the fuel efficiency of their vehicles. “We're doing a bunch of them right now. We will be introducing diesel passenger cars in the U.S. We are going to have a V-6 diesel engine for passenger cars, crossovers and light trucks.”