Transcript: GM's Bly: Plenty of Alternatives

This transcript is from a PodTech.net podcast at:
http://www.podtech.net/home/technology/1649/gms-bly-plenty-of-alternatives

Guest: Mickey Bly - General Motors
Host: Matt Kelly - PodTech

Matt Kelly - PodTech
This is the NETGEAR on PodTech.net, my name is Matt Kelly and we're here at the L.A. Auto Show; and I'm joined by Mickey Bly from the General Motors team and we're here to talk about hybrid fuel technology. Why don't you tell us about your title and what your job there is at General Motors.

Mickey Bly - General Motors
Sure. I'm the Director of Engineering for the hybrid vehicle operations.

Matt Kelly - PodTech
Congratulations. Some exciting news being made here today from General Motors on hybrids.

Mickey Bly - General Motors
Yes.

Matt Kelly - PodTech
Tell us about some of that.

Mickey Bly - General Motors
Well, we're really happy today to announce the continuing growth of our hybrid portfolio. Today, we've introduced the GMC Yukon 2-mode hybrid, which will continue to roll out our 2-mode technology, which is our highly advanced hybrid technology we announced last year. It will be in the Idaho and that we also were able to introduce today our next application of the BAS hybrid that were, the Belt Alternator Starter hybrid that's going to be in our Saturn Aura Green Line, which would continue the introduction of the technology that we introduced in the Vue Green Line last year.

We also introduced today that we have the new next generation Saturn Vue coming out with three different hybrid choices for the customers eventually. Early next year we'll be introduce or late next year, we'll be introducing the hybrid, the BAS technology in there for 20% fuel economy improvement. Then the next year, we'll be introducing the 2-mode front wheel drive technology for 45% improvement, and then today we -- Rick Wagoner earlier today introduced that we would be moving forward with a Plug-in Hybrid capability in the Vue also; as soon as the batteries are ready for that.

Matt Kelly - PodTech
Can you talk about General Motors commitment to this technology?

Mickey Bly - General Motors
Yeah. I think you heard this morning with Rick speech; exactly what you said there that Rick has indicated this is a high priority for the company. He has instructed the organization to move forward with this and when my CEO tells me, he's ready to move forward we're moving forward with it. So, we're committed to make it happen.

Matt Kelly - PodTech
This really actually continues General Motors commitment to this it began with the Flex-Fuel technology.

Mickey Bly - General Motors
Yeah, depending on where you want to start back, but we have introduced Flex-Fuel actually 20 years ago that most people don't realize; introducing E10 capability on all of our General Motors vehicles back in the late 80's. We've up that by being able to go to E85 or 85% ethanol, late 1990s and Rick also reiterated today that we've committed to double our production of E85 capable vehicles by 2010, and then even increase that further by 2012 as the year indicated earlier.

But what we've been doing is, trying to get a strategic role out of our proportion technology and diversifying the energy sources and really what Rick was trying to explain today was, that in the future the energy demands of the world is going to be significantly increasing. We need to provide a lot of different avenues of energy supply in order to support automotive and non-automotive actually. We're doing that through biofuels, we're doing that through hybrid electric vehicles, we're going to do with it fuel cell vehicles, which we're introducing next year into the public hands. We're going to have 100 vehicles that are hydrogen fuel cells, and then the plug-in even gets you one more step because you're taking energy off the grid, which has been producing a lot of different forms whether its coal, gas, nuclear, water, hydro plants or even wind technology, all that providing energy across the grid.

Matt Kelly - PodTech
Talk about the promise of these new technologies for the American consumer in terms of their pocketbook; as also you had alluded earlier to national security, perhaps?

Mickey Bly - General Motors
Yeah, exactly. We've to as a company as everyone has indicated and is talking. We've had to reduce our dependency on imported oil and a way to be able to do that is to diversify your energy source. Well, there is a finite amount of oil in the US that we can use and we need to diversify our energy sources for that. That's very important for us to move forward.

Matt Kelly - PodTech
Your final thoughts on the industry, what you've launched here today and moving forward what you've for the company and American consumers?

Mickey Bly - General Motors
Yeah. Well, I think today just continues to reinforce the fact that three or four years ago in the Auto Show service, we committed to a portfolio, a strategic portfolio of rolling out hybrid vehicles. We're continuing to introduce those vehicles as we committed to back then. It's a consistency of that message and actually delivering on what our commitments have been we're really growing that more and more. There was going to be some more announcements in next few months and next few Auto Shows for even more opportunities. I think your readers or your listeners will be very interested in hearing those announcements too.

Matt Kelly - PodTech
As will I, look forward to it.

Mickey Bly - General Motors
Good.

Matt Kelly - PodTech
Mickey Bly of General Motors. Thank you for being on the Podcast.

Mickey Bly - General Motors
Thanks Matt.

Matt Kelly - PodTech
For the next year, I'm Matt Kelly on PodTech.net.