GM to make a plug-in hybrid Saturn Vue in 2008

(Credit: CNET Networks)

General Motors has begun development of the world's first plug-in hybrid production vehicle, which will be offered as a version of the 2008 Saturn Vue hybrid. The announcement was made at the kickoff of the 2007 Los Angeles Show this morning at the Los Angeles Convention Center by GM's CEO Rick Wagoner. The front-wheel-drive 2008 Saturn Vue hybrid will incorporate GM's two-mode hybrid system, which will make its first appearance in the Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid, due to come to market next year. Wagoner said that no definite timeline had been decided for the Vue hybrid plug-in, but he suggested that the car would make use of a lithium-ion battery pack. He added that the 2-mode hybrid 2008 Saturn Vue would deliver a 45-percent increase in fuel economy over the gasoline-only Saturn Vue. We expect to get more details at the GM press conference later this morning.