General Motors Displays The ’Green’ Future Of Transportation At Wired Nextfest

2006-09-28 - NEW YORK – GM will showcase its vast portfolio of “green” advanced propulsion technologies and how they will help increase fuel economy, reduce emissions and help eliminate dependence on petroleum at WIRED NextFest, today through Oct. 1 at Javits Center in New York.

An official pavilion sponsor, GM’s 4,000-square-foot exhibit will focus on three areas, including: alternative fuels; hybrids and fuel cells; and demonstrating the company’s commitment to improving the environmental performance of both its vehicles and its operations.

Alternative fuels

GM is committed to reducing the nation’s dependence on petroleum and reducing vehicle emissions. E85 ethanol, a fuel blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, is an alternative fuel that helps combat both of these problems. A GM brand FlexFuel vehicle can run on 100-percent gasoline, E85 ethanol or any combination of the two.

For 2007, GM brands will offer 17 E85-compatible FlexFuel models totaling about 400,000 vehicles, nearly double the nine models in 2006. GM already has more than two million flex-fuel models on North American roads offered through Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Saturn, and has been actively encouraging growth of the E85 refueling structure. Today, ethanol in the U.S. is primarily made from corn, but it can be produced by a variety of other materials.

GM will have an extensive E85 display at NextFest that will include real corn grown by student gardeners from New York City. These gardeners are new participants in the Growing Connection (TGC), a pilot project of the Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN. TGC targets 10- to 15 year-old kids around the world, teaching them to grow food and to connect with each other through information technology.

GM, working in partnership with the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) and East End Marketing, also recently announced that the first New York E85 fueling location to be available to the public will open later this year at the Westhampton Beach Valero station on Long Island. New Yorkers will now have the option of refueling their vehicles with E85.

Hybrids

GM has a diverse hybrid program, with three separate systems designed to meet American driving patterns and needs. The systems will vary in fuel economy savings and cost, providing an opportunity for more consumers to own a hybrid vehicle and benefit from increased fuel economy savings.

Saturn’s new Vue Green Line will be a centerpiece of GM’s NextFest exhibit. A new hybrid that delivers an estimated 20-percent improvement in fuel economy, depending upon driving conditions, the vehicle is expected to deliver an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rating estimated at 27 mpg in the city and the best highway mileage of any SUV at 32 mpg. The vehicle price starts at less than $23,000, positioning the Saturn Vue Green Line as the most affordable hybrid vehicle on the market today.

Fuel cells

The Chevrolet Sequel, GM’s solution to provide the world with a cleaner, petroleum-free vehicle, also will be on display at NextFest. Sequel was introduced in 2005 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It is the first vehicle in the world to successfully integrate a hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system with a broad menu of advanced technologies such as steer- and brake-by-wire controls, wheel hub motors, lithium-ion batteries and a lightweight aluminum structure. It uses clean, renewable hydrogen as a fuel and emits only water vapor.

Sequel fundamentally changes the DNA of today’s automobiles, exchanging an internal combustion engine, petroleum and mechanical systems for fuel cell propulsion, hydrogen and electrical systems. In Sequel, GM has created a real vehicle that promises to lead to long-term, sustainable automotive transportation.

Moving beyond the Sequel, GM recently announced that it will build more than 100 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles and will begin placing them with customers in the fall of 2007, as part of a comprehensive deployment plan dubbed “Project Driveway" Designed to gain comprehensive learnings on all aspects of the customer experience, Project Driveway constitutes the first meaningful market test of fuel cell vehicles anywhere.

General Motors’ commitment to developing fuel-saving technologies is demonstrated by its lineup of more vehicles that achieve 30 mpg (based on EPA highway label data) than any other manufacturer for 2006. In fact, GM is on target to sell more than 1 million vehicles this year that achieve greater than 30 mpg highway or more. For more information about GM’s fuel-saving technologies, visit www.gmability.com.

‘Green is the New Black’ panel discussion

In addition to its extensive display, Beth Lowery, GM vice president, environment and energy, will participate in the “Green is the New Black” panel discussion at 2 p.m. on Sept. 29 in the Main Pavilion. Lowery will discuss the ongoing transformation of the total vehicle design to help in the “green” evolution of the automotive industry.

WIRED NextFest is open for general admission on Saturday, Sept. 30 and Sunday, Oct. 1, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. It will be staged in New York at Javits Center. For additional information about WIRED NextFest, please visit www.nextfest.net.

WIRED NextFest is sponsored by General Electric, Atari, Autodesk, CITI, Data Pipe, Discovery Channel, GM, Intel, NASA, Pfizer, Coke Black, Hilton Garden Inn and the Science Channel.

About General Motors

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader for 75 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 327,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2005, 9.17 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM operates one of the world’s leading finance companies, GMAC Financial Services, which offers automotive, residential and commercial financing and insurance. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

Contact Information

Kelly Cusinato

Manager, GM Environment and Energy Communications

General Motors Corp.

Contact via E-mail