A Hybrid By Any Other Name

Starting in 2012, the standard four cylinder engine for the Buick LaCrosse will be a hybrid. And, it will be a 25 per cent fuel economy improvement over the current four cylinder engine.

But GM isn't calling this a hybrid. They are using the name eAssist. They are avoiding the hybrid name, Buick engineers and marketing officials say, because to many customers, hybrid means stripped down.

"This is a Buick, and this needed to stay a Buick," said Darryl Wilson, the lead development engineer on the eAssist project. "This isn't a let's do everything we can do to get fuel economy. This has to deliver on what the LaCrosse has established what the LaCrosse's performance is."

The system uses a 115 Volt lithium-ion battery and a 15 kilowatt motor to give the LaCrosse's engine an extra boost when it needs it. It also allows the engine to be turned off while idling. GM estimates the eAssist version of the LaCross will get 37 miles per gallon on the highway, and 25 miles per gallon in the city, with a sticker price of around $30,000. The exact price will be determined closer to the vehicle's launch this summer.

This is what those in the industry refer to as a mild hybrid. It doesn't have as much of a fuel economy boost as a full hybrid. But, it costs substantially less.

"You don't get quite as much city fuel economy benefit as you would with a strong hybrid," Wilson said in an interview with WWJ AutoBeat Reporter Jeff Gilbert. "However the cost, and the ease of integration into multiple powertrains is significantly better with this architecture."

GM's Darryl Wilson talks about eAssist on Jeff Gilbert's Worldwide Automotive Report

General Motors used a similar mild hybrid system on several vehicles a few years ago. The company says this more advanced version has six times the power of the previous system.

Systems of this type are expected to become more widespread in coming years, as carmakers are forced to meet stricter fuel economy standards. GM would not say where this system would be used next, or how it may be marketed in other brands.

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