Comments on: GM Expands eAssist Mild Hybrid System to 2012 Buick Regal

By: Ron Turkett

Ron Turkett — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 04:55:41 +0000

I have a 2012 Buick LaCrosse and the fuel economy is much lower than the window sticker and is lower than my Camry V6. If you compare the Buick 4 Cyl with the Camry 4 cyl there is a huge difference. GM models have actual mileage less than the window sticker and Toyota models can beat the window sticker numbers. Also, the DIC in Toyotas are accurate and G.M.s DICs from my experience with many overstate the true mileage. The mileage results are hard to explain since the window sticker numbers come from the same EPA testing. My experience with Camry 4 Cyl is based on highway speeds of 20 to 80 MPH. The Buick drops significantly at 70MPH.

Field service engineers had my car for two days and pronounced everything checked out OK. I was hoping my car had a problem so other Buicks would be ok.

By: Jay

Jay — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:21:29 +0000

I know this is an old article and an old comment, but it’s not “an extra 2.2HP in a 4,000-pound car.” It’s an extra 7HP for another 1,000 pounds, and as the commenter mentioned, it’s the power-to-weight ratio that is vastly improved over the Honda. “Horsepower” can be a deceptive rating compared to the horsepower in an internal combustion engine, as an electric motor makes instantaneous torque from “idle”….much more torque than horsepower, in most cases. It’s torque that gets a vehicle moving.

By: John Rendo

John Rendo — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:12:41 +0000

I don’t know why you guys are trying to complicate things (lb per kw) and how much assist is actually provided during acceleration. Truth be told the vehicle is getting 26mp in the city and 37 on the highway. Which is 31.1 avg if you want to get technical and I”m sure the good folks at GM will find a way to figure out another 2 to 3 mpg before the vehicle hits the streets. This is what I really would like to know. How on earth are you comparing the Camry Hybrid to a Regal with E-Assist? Have you driven the Regal….. Probably not! You are probably one of these guys that swears that Japanese automobiles are far superior than any other, and that’s how you justify buying one! When you are going to respond to an article in a educated manor, next time, try to leave your personal opinions out of the conversation!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 06:09:48 +0000

whoopie doo... another snail like progress from gm.

gm needs to "put the peddle to the floor" if they wish to compete with toyota or avoid the next bailout.

By: Capt. Concernicus

Capt. Concernicus — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 22:21:28 +0000

This “new” technology from GM is really “reheated” tech from the last time GM was touting mild hybrids. When will GM bring out full blown non-plug in hybrids?

By: Nelson Lu

Nelson Lu — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:30:50 +0000

Anonymous writes:

"Currently, a Buick LaCrosse CX starts from about 27k; CXL about 29.6k; CXL with V6 engine starts from about 31k.
GM has announced the Buick LaCrosse with eAssist will be priced at 'about' 30k."

Depending on the actual pricing structure, this can be misleading. Some people have misleadingly claimed that Ford adds an $8k premium for the Fusion Hybrid by comparing the price of the base Fusion S with the base Fusion Hybrid. That is completely misleading because the base Fusion Hybrid's equipment level is the same as the base Fusion SEL. So, part of the question is going to be: how's the LaCrosse eAssist going to be equipped?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:27:54 +0000

"...so the lb. ft. of torque never get used? "

Well, to be fair to GM, the eAssist does offer its benefits, e.g. to accelerate from dead stop or very low rpm, like below 2,000 rpm.
(My concerns are more about the weight of the car relative to the power available from the electric motor and adoption of slush box by GM. An auto transmission has no way to maintain linear engine rpm while accelerating.)
The increase in fuel economy, as measured in EPA cycle, has to come from somewhere.
But once the rpm of the engine rises pass low rev of, say, 2,000 rpm, the benefits may dramatically decrease.

It looks like GM's eAssist would provide largest benefit if the driver uses a very light foot for acceleration, probably similar to those during EPA test cycles.

Caveat emptor.

By: Music Man

Music Man — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:53:50 +0000

…so the lb. ft. of torque never get used?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:55:47 +0000

@Colin: The additional 75+ lb. ft. of torque provided by the electric motor in GM's eAssiist sounds impressive, until you realize it max out at 1,000 rpm.

When the rev reaches over 2,000 rpm, it is calculated that the amount of torque from the motor available will drop to ~40 lb. ft. or lower. Unlike CVT or planetary gear, the 6 speed slush box adopted by GM could not optimize the great torque offered at low rpm.

Lastly, don't forget we are talking about a vehicle likely to weigh from 3,800 lb.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:29:21 +0000

Charles said: "The question is how much eAssist will cost. As the article states it is an affordable system. GM is obviously trying to offer an inexpensive system to boost its MPGs. If the cost is around $1,200 I think it will be a success. At $2,400, forget it."

Currently, a Buick LaCrosse CX starts from about 27k; CXL about 29.6k; CXL with V6 engine starts from about 31k.
GM has announced the Buick LaCrosse with eAssist will be priced at 'about' 30k.

A Buick Regal starts from about 26.25k; a turbo model from about 28.75k.
Is a Buick Regal with eAssist going to start from 27.45k(26.25 + 1.2)?
I won't hold my breath for it.