GM Has a Good Idea

No, I don't mean it's getting out of the car business.  Regular readers will expect a slam every time GM comes up, but not this time.  No, this time I think they've done something interesting and creative: A hybrid Chevy Silverado pickup.

Autoweek covered the prototype last year, and reviewed the for-sale version in this week's issue.  When I first heard the idea, I thought it would be a cobbled piece of junk with no usable truck features, like a Silverado with a bed full of "D" cell Energizers.  It's not.

It's a full-function pickup with two neat hybrid features.  First, it uses stored electricity -generated by braking- to re-fire an engine that shuts off when it's not under load.  The Toyota Prius also shuts off at a stop.  I don't know about the other hybrids.  Shutting off the engine is a sure-fire way to save fuel.  Second, the engineers at GM came up with something truly novel and useful: dual three-prong 110 volt electric outlets in the truck bed that are driven by the same generator that powers the re-start batteries.  The only downside is that the engine has to be running to power the outlets.  But that's certainly cleaner and maybe more efficient than having a stand-alone generator firing to power your compressor or electric drill.

I'm not a pickup kind of guy (don't really need to be - my father owns two), but if I were in the market I'd give the Silverado a hard look. Congratulations to GM for building something interesting.