GM shuns "hybrid" label for latest electric-assisted model: Buick Lacrosse 25/37 mpg
 

Buick LaCrosse with "eAssist" EPA rating: 25/37 mpg (US)
Compare to LaCrosse without "eAssist": 19/30 mpg (US)
Compare to Camry hybrid EPA rating: 31/35 mpg (US)

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Looks like GM is taking a new marketing direction for its mild hybrid "BAS" (belt-alternator-starter) system, which was generally ignored by buyers in the Malibu & Saturn Aura "hybrids", and dismissed by hybrid enthusiasts as weaksauce.

Significantly, it looks like they aren't going to use the "hybrid" label in their marketing. Now they're calling it an "eAssist" light electrification system. And buyers won't be able to ignore it because it's standard equipment on the LaCrosse.

Technical / efficiency details:

• fuel economy up by an estimated 25 percent
• 2.4L Ecotec direct injection four-cylinder, 180 horsepower
• compact, liquid-cooled 15 kW induction motor
• 15 kW of assist/regen from the motor-generator is 3x more powerful than previous GM BAS system (was 2 kW of power assist and 5 kW of regen)
• 115V air-cooled (electric fan) lithium-ion battery, integrated power inverter and 12V power supply weighs 65 pounds (29 kg)
• six-speed automatic transmission with higher gearing & electric-driven transmission oil pump

Looks like the car also gets new LRR tires and some aero upgrades over the previous year:

• active grille block
• underbody smoothing (panels, probably - doesn't say)
• rear deck spoiler

Source: Buick News - United States - News

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1289827735

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1289827735

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1289827735

...interesting, especially the motor-generator application; wonder if they'll fit on other GM cars?

...notice the wording, they call it a "motor-generator" not a "starter-alternator"!

...but, quoting: "...While the eAssist system shares the same basic belt-alternator-starter configuration of previous BAS designs, it delivers more than three times the power and is much more capable than the previous-generation BAS system."

Using the smaller displacement European Insignia engines would probably have been blasphemy. :rolleyes:

Unfortunately, that's a reality of marketing vehicles in North America.

Which sucks.

Wow, they really upped the voltage and power on this one. Good idea. Wasn't the first BAS only like 36V or something like that?

Well, they're orthogonal. No reason in the world they can't add this system to their European engines too.

The good part is that it's not even an option, just normal.

3835 LB sounds like a recipe for bleh.

...all-American "lightweights" (not!)

CHEVY @ 3200 lbs.
BUICK @ 3800 lbs.
CADDY @ 4200 lbs.

Retrofit the eAssist system into a Cruze Eco. :)

Wow, as pudgy as it is, this is a 25-30% increase in MPG, as standard equipment. Way to go GM!

They get that mileage without eAssist.

But Opel could indeed add such a system to make it's EU engines even more efficient.
THE question to ask is why they don't use it.

I like this approach. GM is definitely moving in the right direction.
37 mpg highway is impressive for a big car. I'm guessing a good hypermiler
could get it above 40.

Because GM doesn't control opel anymore. Magna runs the show now.

tjts1 -

Huh? Is that true? I remember the talks, but I thought that was cancelled :

BBC NEWS | Business | General Motors cancels Opel sale - 4 November 2009
CarloSW2

Hmm, if I could get an Eassist from the junkyard and retrofit my cobalt :)

I could probably exceed the FE for prius's :)

Yeah, that's what I said. The eAssist doesn't depend on the engine, so if they add it to the European engines, they should see the same percentage increase in European mpg.

I really like that the tac tells you if the vehicle is off, in auto stop mode or of it's engine is running, it's good info to have in a simple to understand format.

Good observation. Don't see actual fuel economy info in there though. It might be something you can cycle through in the center display of the cluster.

GM bailed out of the sale and kept Opel.

The intention to sell Opel most likely never existed, and only served as a smokescreen to facilitate lay-offs.

There was one company talking of making this into an upgrade for any car, now that would be something neat.

Upgrade any old cludge with an E-assist :)

Never dimiss the power of belt drive http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/gr...smiley-003.gif
http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/gr...smiley-003.gif

This is great news, but when did GM decide that Buick buyers wanted to spend a little bit more money on getting better fuel economy?

Did they say what the capacity of the battery is?

rmay635703 -

By any chance are you referring to the "Electrocharger"? :

Electrocharger / Retrofit PHEV Hybrid Conversion Kit :: Sigma Automotive

I followed it since 2006, but alas, it never came to be, http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-cf...re2473-cry.gif .

CarloSW2

I remember seeing that one but it seems like one was going to be an alternator replacement.

Ah well maybe my memory is fogging.

I'd guess that GM just wanted to raise their CAFE numbers. and if you're going to add some equipment to do that, it'd seem reasonable to do it on the pricier models.

Interesting tidbit: the e-assist car will be the same price as the V6, at least in the first year of production...

That should let them collect some interesting market research.

I think it is more likely that GM is trying to keep any hybrid, tax rebates around for serious hybrids instead of their BAS-retarded, jokes.

Bob Wilson

The whole thing reads like an ecomodder's garage. Can't you just see the engineers, a couple of years ago, sneaking off to ecomodder on their computers then attending a meeting with their "new" ideas.

Alas, as we know, most of these ideas are very old. At least they are finally seeing the light of day.

...honest, it's not stealing, it's re-cycling, officer!

Now lets get that system paired with a diesel engine. I want regenerative braking.

...maybe GM could rename it "Lend-Lease" technology (to play to WWII patriotism?) with the marketing explanation:

"...it LENDS you the power to go UP the hill, then LEASES it back as you brake going DOWN the hill."

...what'cha think GM?

If we're talking about saving fuel on a grand scale, this may be a bigger game-changer than the Prius. Yeah, yeah, I know, Blasphemy! But...
This appears to be a system that GM would be capable of putting into EVERY car they make with much less effort than any other carmaker's system. Just imagine if GM offered a 25% improvement on the entire model line, including Corvettes, Camaros, and all of those trucks. GM's products would save more fuel in the first year than every Prius ever made. Me likey!

...hm-m-m, a 25% increase for an Eco Cruze would mean something like 53 MPG!

First, it helps to understand what they did:

GM’s Cruze Eco: Fuel Economy Without the Batteries | BNET
What they deliver is 40-41 MPG "on the highway" for a compact car. As long as we ban them from urban travel and jammed up freeways and only for small payloads, it is a great solution. Considering the small size and highway-only performance that is 20% worse than the Prius, it really is only competition for the Jetta TDI, not the Prius.

GM spent a decade spreading FUD about the Prius with 'tall tales' such as unprofitable, battery frauds, the CNW Marketing "Dust-to-Dust" nonsense to bogus claims by Bob Lutz. That they finally built a car to compete with the Jetta TDI is good but it in no way competes with Prius performance.

Bob Wilson

You completely missed my point. First, I can't imagine GM really cared whether the Prius was profitable; they had to compete with Toyota at that price point whether Toyota was making money on them or not. Second, I doubt the first generation Prius was profitable; fortunately, Toyota goals were more long term than what GM would have planned.

More importantly, I was not comparing any particular GM product one on one with the Prius. But if GM has developed a simplified hybrid, ahem, E-assist system that can go on every car they make, that is big. It may not be the extreme vehicle the prius is, but jumping a 20 mpg car to 25 will save twice as much fuel as improving a 40 mpg car to 50. Even better, GM could be installing E-assist on a couple million cars a year in a very short period of time. Hybrid Synergy Drive will never be that.

Am I reading the gear ratios right?

1550 rpms @ 60mph?

Ok, works for me. You win! Science and engineering don't matter.

Bob Wilson

It has automatic motor shutoff at stops, which is good for air quality. It has regenerative braking. 15hp of electric assist on acceleration.

I wonder if you can accelerate with a light foot on electric only without the gas motor kicking in.

What speed could a 15hp electric motor bring that vehicle to without any gas assist? From a hypermiling perspective, I need a motor that will e-assist in acceleration up to about 45mph, then shut down and let me coast down to 30mph. The battery can charge on uphill runs and when I need to keep my speed up due to traffic.

If the price point is $30k in 2012, and gas prices are at $4 per gallon, I bet the grey hairs (me included) will go for it big time. I know I would rather drive a bigger car with a smoother suspension if there were no mpg penalty.

payne171 -

I would call it a "mild hybrid+" drivetrain. The Saturn mild-hybrids had the stop-start technology and the mini battery pack for eAssist. The Cruze-Eco has the aero-goodies. But the technology was/is not across the product line, it was/is a pri$ey option.

The Lacrosse (and Regal!) combines both MPG strategies and is not an option. I am very interested in what the LaCrosse sales will be because we should be able to gauge customer acceptance. It's also well-timed for the increase in gas prices.

Buick is now funneling Opels. That was going to be Saturn's job before they were closed down. I wonder if Opels will also have this technology standard?

At 26/37 MPG, that was my personal minimum (old EPA) MPG standard for compact cars. Sedans have come a long way.

CarloSW2

Who ever said science and engineering don't matter? I never criticized the Prius's science or engineering; I really never made any claim about the Prius. Or the Cruze. The point I made was about saving fuel, not in one car, but across the industry. You want science? How about mathematics? Let's assume the nation's cars average 15000 miles per year. A car making 24 miles per gallon will burn 625 gallons of fuel. Now your Prius gets 50 mpg. The most comparable car is a Yaris (from an economy standpoint ONLY). I'll use EPA numbers rather than real world numbers because they favor the Prius more. In that case, 32 mpg up to 50 is a 56 % improvement. More than half again as good, and it saves 170 gallons of fuel per car per year (300 versus ~470). ~17 million gallons total (about 100k Priuses sold last year). Very impressive.

Now, if you improve the fuel economy of our 24 mpg GM Generic by 25%, it only saves 125 gallons of fuel per car. BUT...GM sold well over 2 million cars last year. That would save 250 MILLION gallons of fuel per year. If the Toyota Prius ran on perpetual motion, 100,000 of them would only save 47 million gallons. Is anything GM has ever made a better piece of engineering than the current Prius? Probably not, but the economy of scale says that E-assist could have a lot bigger impact on worldwide fuel usage than Hybrid Synergy Drive (even including all of the other HSD cars sold) simply because it could be built on a much grander scale. I'm glad you're an engineer and a proud Prius owner, but I was arguing economics while you had engineering blinders on.

Hello -

More details on the motor/alternator :

2012 REGAL TO OFFER NEW eASSIST FUEL-SAVING TECHNOLOGY
http://www.buick.com/content/dam/Bui...al_eAssist.pdf
Soooooo, if you're a featherfoot, you can keep the car from downshifting.

CarloSW2