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General Motors Corp. Delays Launch of the '09 Saturn Vue 2-Mode hybrid until next year, further illustrating how the auto maker intends to pinch its pennies for the remainder of 2008.
Saturn's new hybrid was slated to begin output Dec. 1 in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, but GM now is postponing Job One until first-quarter 2009.
The delay, which a spokesman characterizes as “four to six weeks,” also could affect Saturn's timetable for dealer deliveries and training, as the hybrids were expected in showrooms in early January.
The Saturn Vue 2-Mode represents the first application of GM's 2-Mode hybrid technology outside of its fullsize trucks and a fresh entry in one of the industry's few segments not experiencing double-digit sales declines.
At low speeds, the 2-Mode system permits a range of all-electric drive, internal-combustion engine power only, or a combination of the two.
GM is planning a plug-in version of the Vue 2-Mode, scheduled to arrive in late 2010 or early 2011.
