LA Auto Show: GM, Saturn Announce Vue Plug-in Plans
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO 
on 11.29.06
Treehugger has joined journalists and bloggers from around the world for the two-day extravaganza of media events leading up to the 100th Los Angeles Auto Show. We'll be bringing you news of some of the bigger developments and announcements as they unfold -- it's already been an exciting time!
The events kicked off this morning with a keynote by GM's Chair and CEO Rick Wagoner. Wagoner's speech focused on GM's plans for "greening" its fleet by focusing on flex-fuel models, electric cars (yes, the EV1 got a prominent mention) and fuel cell vehicles, and included a brief announcement of expansions to Saturn's Vue Green Line. At the press conference that followed, Jill Lajdziak, general manager of the Saturn division, detailed the company's plans to release a front-wheel-drive, 2-mode hybrid system in the Saturn Vue Green Line, and to follow that with a plug-in version of the vehicle.
According to company's literature, the 2-mode hybrid system will increase the Vue's fuel efficiency by 45% (over the non-hybrid version) with the following operations:
- Engine off at idle
- Low speed electric-only propulsion
- Electric boosting during brisk acceleration, climbing steep grades or towing
- Cutting off fuel to the engine during vehicle deceleration
- Regenerative braking
- Engine speed and load control
For those of you with more of an activist bent, you'll be happy to know that representatives of the Rainforest Action Network and the JumpStart Ford made their way to the stage after Wagoner's speech, and asked him to sign a pledge committing GM to significant improvements in fuel efficiency for the company's fleet by 2010. Wagoner politely declined.
Finally, Shell Oil has sponsored my trip to the LA Auto Show, and asked that we publish the following disclaimer:
Shell has underwritten Jeff McIntire-Strasburg's travel expenses to attend the LA Auto Show. Jeff is not required to blog about Shell products or initiatives. The only Shell requirement as a condition of underwriting these expenses was to include this disclosure of this relationship on Treehugger.
Done... and happy to do it. I'll be talking to one of Shell's reps tomorrow about their work in alternative fuels -- if you've got questions you'd like asked, feel free to leave them in the comments. ::GM Media Online and the LA Auto Show
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I just watch Who Killed the Electric Car this weekend so GM is fresh in my mind. Don't get suckered by their greenwashing.
Cheers to the RAN/JSF people for being there to point out this farce.
Shell eh? Tool.
Though many may blanch at Shell's questionable ethics in Africa, to me they seem like one of the more environmentally conscious oil companies. I was doing research on chemical refining in the Cancer Alley region in Louisiana and Shell was the only company out of all the companies down there (and there are a lot of them, including big names like Exxon) to grant me an interview with one of their environmental advisors - and give me a tour of their facilities! Openness=good, hence I put Shell above pretty much all the other oil companies (though of course oil companies are not very environmentally friendly by nature) and am not surprised that Shell is now sponsoring Treehugger.
http://www.essentialaction.org/shell/issues.html
Ask them why Shell stations don't accept credit cards in South Africa! Just a major annoyance for me here. ;)
Seriously though, how about asking what amount of GMO would they be looking at to produce biofuels in the future? Biofuels are beginning to become available here in SA, but the fear of GMO's overtaking the highveld to produce it needs to be asked. Also, what lessons are they learning from Brazil biofuel initiative? Thanks.
_________________________________
Writer's note: Will do, Aaron... Thanks.
Rick also wrapped up his speech by shoving an environmentalist that asked him to sign a pledge to make GM the leader in fuel economy by 2010. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoQkVYn0gCU
First watch this.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoQkVYn0gCU
Then
Checkout what a corporate executive at the LA Auto Show said in response to what just happened during the speech by the chairman and chief executive officer for General Motors, Rick Wagoner.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFDjz1VqFlE
Rick also wrapped up his speech by shoving an environmentalist that asked him to sign a pledge to make GM the leader in fuel economy by 2010. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoQkVYn0gCU
There was a shove? Where? If they were not supposed to speak then they should not have been up there and deserved to get escorted off.
Well, that explains Shell Oil's friendly supprt on Treehugger. Cheery posts like "Shell Draws A Bright Line: No Food For Fuel" already showed how Treehugger is in Shell Oil's back pocket, but this is totally ingregious greenwashing. This is just plain out unethical and really disgusting.
Shell Oil isn't a reformed company, they just hired a top notch PR firm in Oct 2005 which is doing things like paying junkets for journalists, like this one for Treehugger. If that isn't unethical I don't know what is.
Shell Oil is guilty of not only enviromental crimes but of political and human rights offences that have resulted of the murder of thousands in Africa and elsewhere. Nothing can stand in their way as they destroy lives and damage the environment. They are by far the most unethical and flagrant offenders of all the oil companies. This is not old news, this is still going on; google "shell oil" and "murder" and you'll get the picture.
That Treehugger would take junket money from Shell Oil blows my mind. I am disgusted and have completely lost any respect I had for Treehugger.
--
editor note: You certainly are entitled to your opinion, and I agree with a lot of what you say about Shell, but our decision was either to accept a plane ticket (with no strings attached) or not to go to the show to cover it.
Ther are never "no strings attached".
--
editor note: And what are those strings?
For a rather objective article on Shell's various environmental / political / human rights offences readers might refer to wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Dutch_Shell_Environmental_and_reputational_issues
Scroll down as it has weath of entries from 2005 and 2006, including a November 2006 judgement in the Sakhalin pipline in Russia (which has caused an estimated $50 billion dollars of envirnmental damage), Shell was fined in November 2006 by the EU for price fixing,
In May 2006, it was reported that Shell appointed a digital agency with "experience in turning around corporate reputations" and seeks to generate positive PR through grass roots and various internet media outlets (such as sponsoring a Treehuggers contributors junket to an LA auto show) (see Campaign Magazine: "Shell seeks agency for online makeover").
Can't wait to read the glowing interview about Shell's alternatve fuel program.
Something tells me it will be extra, extra special.
I'm sure it'll be as big a rave as the Treehugger post "Shell Draws A Bright Line: No Food For Fuel", except, of course, only better!
Let's hear it for unbiased, ethical journalism! Shell's PR dollars are obviously being well spent!
If you are willing to take Shell oil money you have some hard questions to ask yourself...
1. Do we just go on their dime and have a great time?
2. Do we use this money to investigate why Shell is spending money to send bloggers to the auto show?
You seem to have chosen option 1. Please prove us wrong. Please show us you can take their money AND still investigate them. Otherwise, what are you?
"I'm sure it'll be as big a rave as the Treehugger post "Shell Draws A Bright Line: No Food For Fuel", except, of course, only better!"
Have you even actually read that post you keep citing? Probably not.
I'm reposting my response to another set of anonymous comments here:
You do indeed raise real questions.
But I call this building a relationship with real people. That doesn't mean the Rain Forest Action network, for example, is going about it the wrong way, just that there are many avenues to change.
My take is that giant companies, even ones who do bad things, are full of good people trying to make change. Those are the people TreeHugger seeks to activate and involve ourselves with.
To cynicaly dismiss anything that shell or GM does is like saying "all Americans are evil".
The folks involved in Shell's alt fuel program in the United States, for example, have as much to do with Nigeria as you have to do with bombing Iraq. That is to say - they are unfortunately connected and might do well to speak out, but as far as anyone's personal relationships are concerned, that is where the comparison ends.
That said, it is fantastic that you bring these issues to people's attention and I encourage you to continue to do so - only with activated, intelligent readers like yourself will TreeHugger strengthen in integrity and transparency.
Regards,
Nick Aster, CTO