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Detroit Auto Show: Saturn Vue Plug-In Hybrid

In a mere two years Saturn will make its Vue Plug-In Hybrid available for masses. Wait for it, wait for it, yes, this hybrid will plug into the standard 110V household electrical outlet and connect to the car at the front fender, utilizing an adapted two-mode hybrid system from GM. The battery will fully recharge in four to five hours. In addition to the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the Plug-In Hybrid will also feature GM's 3.6-liter V6 VVT engine. Even though it does contain a V6 engine, the Plug-In Hybrid will be capable of electric-only propulsion of 10 miles or so at low speeds according to the early testing. I would hate to see what this would do to household electronics. I have problems running the toaster and the dryer at the same time and who knows what would happen if a car was plugged into the mix.

1:44 PM on Mon Jan 14 2008
By Travis Hudson
784 views
14 comments

Comments

combat chuck at 01:49 PM on 01/14/08
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overheard at Saturn HQ, "Ooh, I know! Let's paint it green!"
Ash78 at 01:54 PM on 01/14/08
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That's not the color of the forests and the moss and the lichen and the grass.

That color evokes "nuclear waste" in my mind.
sos10 at 02:55 PM on 01/14/08
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It will do nothing to your household equipment... it is not running on 110v it is only recharging... huge Watts difference.
Hyman Decent at 03:21 PM on 01/14/08
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@sos10: Doesn't the wattage depend on the charging rate, i.e., the faster the rate, the higher the wattage?
philibuster at 03:22 PM on 01/14/08
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I think I'll just leech off other places. Drive around with a 1000' extension cord, plugging in to large corporations' exterior outlets.
philibuster at 03:25 PM on 01/14/08
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oh yeah, 10 miles? in 4 to 5 hours? So I plug my car in for 4 to 5 hours for a 2 minute drive?
charles_barrett at 03:38 PM on 01/14/08
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Uh-oh, 10 miles low speed electric-only operation: there goes Fisker's Karma "stealth mode" niche market. Saturn can sneak you up the driveway after your late-night trysts for half the price...!
Euromobile at 03:39 PM on 01/14/08
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Can anyone say 'pointless'!
charles_barrett at 03:43 PM on 01/14/08
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@philibuster:
"oh yeah, 10 miles? in 4 to 5 hours? So I plug my car in for 4 to 5 hours for a 2 minute drive?"

It'd be worth it to go three-hundred miles per hour... (do the math, Dude)
johnnyangel at 05:33 PM on 01/14/08
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The point of a plug-in hybrid is what, exactly? So that the car can run on batteries alone for a little longer, shift some of its energy consumption to dirty coal-burning powerplants, and boost the fortunes of extension cord manufacturers? How many Americans overall even have garages with readily accessible AC outlets?
NovaloadMissesPolar at 05:40 PM on 01/14/08
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Has anyone every worked out how much it costs in electricity to charge up one of these things? Electricity is relatively cheap--relatively but I don't recall ever seeing the math for that.
10 miles at low speed. 4 hours on the charger.
Sounds like a failing cell phone.
Mike the Dog at 05:56 PM on 01/14/08
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That bandwagon's getting pretty crowded... FWIW I had a '73 Delta 88 that was almost the same shade of green. I called it "puke green".
philibuster at 07:25 PM on 01/14/08
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@Charles_Barrett: I did the math. Twice. I still got 7.
lascauxcaveman at 01:00 PM on 01/15/08
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@philibuster: 10 miles / 2 minute drive = 300 mph.

@Novaload: It goes only 10 miles on a 4-hour charge; sounds like a relatively small battery (Vuebattery < Priusbattery < Teslabattery) charging at a fairly low amperage. Maybe a dollar or $1.50 worth of electrons? In theory, the electric motor is WAY more efficient, so it's less polluting even if you use a coal power plant to get those electrons. Where I come from, its %80 hydropower.

Ten miles, round trip, that's my commute if you throw in a side trip to Safeway and a run by school to pick up my kids. That's just me. I know most people who commute need to go further.

I'm not in the market for this or any other SUV, but this absolutely makes sense for a guy like me.