GM brings the changes with the Saturn Aura Green Line Hybrid
(Credit: CNET Networks)Following the announcement this morning from GM chief Rick Wagoner that Saturn plans to bring to market a plug-in hybrid vehicle, the company continued its hybrid kick with the unveiling of the 2008 Saturn Aura Green Line Hybrid here at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show. The Aura Green Line Hybrid makes use of the same belt alternator system (BAS) technology that we recently saw in the Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid, and will deliver a 25 percent increase in fuel economy over the gasoline-only Aura, according to Saturn representatives.
(Credit: GM)Production of the Aura Green Line Hybrid is scheduled to begin in March 2007, and the car is expected to have a base price less than $23,000. While the BAS is entry-level hybrid technology, it represents just the first stage in GM's move toward alternative drivetrain technology: the automaker also used the first morning of the L.A. Auto Show to show off the GMC Yukon Hybrid, which will use GM's next-generation two-mode hybrid system.
