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Feb 03, `08 — General Motors will showcase several gas-saving commercial vehicles at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show Feb 6 thru Feb 17.

GM’s Fleet and Commercial Operations (FCO) will display vehicles featuring outstanding fuel economy, E85 ethanol and biodiesel capability, and gas-electric hybrid vehicles designed to help GM customers go green without going broke.

Here are some of the gas-friendly vehicles designed for commercial and business use that will be at the Chicago Auto Show:

Chevrolet Express 3500 Cargo Van
GM’s clean-burning, dependable and powerful 6.6 L Duramax engine can use B5 biodiesel and comes in rear-wheel or all-wheel drive. The Express also has left-hand side load doors and remote release side panels for easy loading and access.

Chevrolet Silverado
The half-ton Silverado gives customers the choice of powering their truck with E85 ethanol, gasoline or a combination of both fuels. In addition, this 2008 Fleet Truck of the Year continues to delight fleet owners with its comfort, capability and best-in-class fuel economy.

Chevrolet Impala Police Pursuit Vehicle
The 2008 Chevrolet Impala Police Car can operate on cleaner-burning, renewable E85 ethanol, an energy source that can help reduce our dependence on petroleum. E85 has been a very popular choice among fleet customers – including law enforcement agencies – because its availability is growing, and because E85 vehicles are an affordable fleet option.

Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicle
The Tahoe PPV is the only SUV rated as a police pursuit vehicle. The 2008 Tahoe PPV is powered by the Vortec 5.3L V-8 engine delivering 320 horsepower (238 kW) and 340 lb.-ft. of torque (470 Nm). The Vortec 5.3L features Active Fuel Management technology, resulting in improved fuel economy, and can operate on E85 ethanol.

Silverado Hybrid
The 2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid is a full-size pickup that achieves 40-percent greater city fuel economy and a 25-percent improvement in overall fuel economy.

The hybrid system provides all-electric driving at low speeds, allowing fuel savings to be realized even when the truck is fully loaded or towing a trailer. Silverado Hybrid can tow up to 6,100 pounds (2,767 kg).

The Silverado Hybrid goes on sale in late 2008. More at Chicago Auto Show.

Also, the AP reports, “GM says the 2009 GMC Sierra hybrid gets a 25 percent improvement in fuel economy without compromising performance, while its GMC Denali XT concept - a low-slung, muscular utility vehicle - gets 50 percent better fuel economy than a comparable small pickup.

The Sierra is the next large GM vehicle to get the company’s new two-mode hybrid system, which has also been introduced on the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon sport utility vehicles and the Chevrolet Silverado pickup. The SUVs are expected to go on sale early this year, while the Silverado and Sierra are scheduled to hit the market at the end of 2008.” More at AP.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — XM Satellite Radio, the nation’s leading provider of satellite radio, today announced that XM Radio is a standard feature for the first time on all General Motors 2008 model year Buick, HUMMER and Saab vehicles.

XM is also now widely standard across many of the most popular vehicles in the Saturn, Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac lineups, including: the all-new 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, Silverado, Tahoe, Cobalt, Corvette and Impala; Saturn VUE, OUTLOOK, AURA and SKY; GMC Acadia, Yukon, and Sierra; and Pontiac G5 and Solstice models among others.

Cadillac was the first automotive brand to offer XM as a standard feature. In total, XM is available today on more than 50 model year 2008 GM vehicles sold through thousands of GM dealerships nationwide. GM was the world’s first automaker to offer satellite radio as a factory-installed feature when it introduced XM on Cadillac models in 2001. GM has produced more than six million vehicles with XM.

“XM looks forward to offering our unmatched music, sports and talk programming to all Buick, HUMMER and Saab buyers,” said Steve Cook, executive vice president, Automotive, XM Satellite Radio. “This expansion will continue XM’s outstanding growth in the new car market, that will provide us with sustained subscriber growth for 2008 and beyond.”

More at XM

General Motors Media Online reports on “Stolen Vehicle Slowdown”, a new technology from General Motors and OnStar. ”General Motors (GM) and OnStar demonstrated today a prototype technology that can help OnStar further assist in the safe recovery of subscribers’ stolen vehicles and reduce fatalities and injuries resulting from police chases. This new technology, known as Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, is the latest enhancement to OnStar’s stolen vehicle service and can allow OnStar advisors working with law enforcement to send a signal to a subscriber’s stolen vehicle to reduce engine power slowing the vehicle down gradually.

“From its inception, the motivation behind OnStar has been the safety and security of our subscribers and others on the road,” said Chet Huber, OnStar president. “Every service we add builds on this original promise. The Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service will allow our subscribers added peace of mind by possibly preventing their vehicle from being used as an instrument of harm if it happens to be stolen.””

More at GM Media Online