GM (GM) has bought 50% of diesel engine company VM Motori. Newer clean diesel engines are being viewed as an alternative to hybrid models for delivering fuel-efficient cars and trucks.
With the Toyota (TM) Prius being synonymous with hybrid cars in the US, GM may want to move away from the hybrid platform. The company plans to launch a turbo-diesel Cadillac for Europe next year and GM will bring out new Hummer and pick-up models with similar engines.
The move by GM may be as much a marketing decision as it is an engineering one. The big car company could believe that the Japanese lead in hybrids is too large. If so, GM could build its own global lead in clean diesel engines and operate an alternative engine platform.
The competition could set up two "green" engine technologies with Toyota and GM as champions for each.
Douglas A. McIntyre