GMC to launch hybrid pick-up truck

DETROIT: General Motors Corp will introduce a new hybrid full-size pickup and a concept hybrid truck this week at the Chicago Auto Show, betting that pickup drivers have been itching to jump on the hybrid bandwagon.
GM says the 2008 GMC Sierra hybrid gets a 25% improvement in fuel economy without compromising performance, while its GMC Denali XT concept – a low-slung, muscular utility vehicle – gets 50% better fuel economy than a comparable small pickup.
The Sierra was the next large GM vehicle to get the company’s new two-mode hybrid system, which had also been introduced on the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon sport utility vehicles and the Chevrolet Silverado pickup. The sport utility vehicles were expected to go on sale early this year, while the Silverado and Sierra are scheduled to hit the market at the end of 2008.
The two-mode system got a lot of buzz late last year at the Los Angeles Auto Show, where the hybrid Chevrolet Tahoe was named the 2008 Green Car of the Year by the Green Car Journal. – AFP