Not bad for a company that's had its efforts elsewhere for so long! http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=co...que&newsid=7360 http://www.theautochannel.com/F/news/2005/.../09/000122.html 125bhp from 1.7 CDTi engine, 40bhp and 54bhp from additional electric motors. Battery is 1.3kWh NiMH from Varta. Diesel though, so only for us Europeans! 8)
"The Astra concept demonstrates that fuel efficiency and vehicle dynamics can be significantly improved by hybrid technology.†I thought GM was saying that hybrids didn't add anything for the cost and complexity. Maybe someone should tip Lutz off to this revelation.
It is just a concept vehicle. They mention nothing about actually delivering it... which is of no surprise, since work on it began back in 1993 as part of the PNGV program. Of course, with emissions data and a price, it is unrealistic to consider it beyond a prototype anyway. They could have cheated by using very expensive light-weight components. Imagine the MPG improvement Prius could gain if its body was built with a composite fiber instead of some aluminum and the rest steel. Unfortunately, that's far too expensive to be realistic.
