GM set to detail shift to fuel-saving technology

LOS ANGELES, Nov 26 (Reuters) Stung by criticism that it conspired to kill the electric car, General Motors Corp. is preparing to detail its commitment to new fuel-saving technologies, including new electric vehicles, according to people familiar with the automaker's plans.

GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner will use an appearance at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week to highlight a development program the automaker hopes will be seen as a strategic shift and help distance it from its reputation as a company focused first on gas-guzzling trucks, people briefed on the presentation said.

The effort is part of GM's bid to demonstrate how it is investing some of the billion saved through a wrenching program of job cuts and plant closures in technology, including hybrids, an area where it has lagged Toyota Motor Co. GM is likely to wait until the Detroit auto show in January to comment in depth on its future electric vehicle plans, but Wagoner will discuss the company's strategy in Los Angeles on Wednesday, people with knowledge of the plans said.

GM recognizes that to change consumer attitudes about the quality of its brands it has to address the criticism that it has not done enough to drive advances in fuel economy -- an especially key concern in California, said one GM executive, who asked not to be named ahead of the announcement.

California, the most populous and richest U.S. state, has become increasingly hostile ground for the Detroit automakers, who have watched Toyota ride its reputation for quality and fuel-efficiency to a dominating No. 1 position in the local market.

GM's reputation in California suffered further from the controversy that surrounded this summer's release of the film ''Who Killed the Electric Car?'' The critically hailed documentary focused on the role the world's largest automaker played in the decision to end California's experiment with all-electric cars that many environmentalists still see as the most promising alternative to gas engines.

GM declined to comment on upcoming product plans, but a spokesman said the company would provide more detail on its investment in fuel-saving technologies in coming weeks.

''Technology is an area where we have seen an acceleration in our efforts in the past few years, and it's safe to say we'll be providing more information on this,'' GM spokesman Chris Preuss said.

One area that GM will highlight is its effort to develop a new ''series hybrid,'' a vehicle that would use a gas-engine to generate power only for an electric motor that would drive the car.

GM has also been developing a plug-in electric hybrid vehicle under the internal code-named I-Car. Wagoner is not expected to provide more details on that program until next year, people briefed on the plans said.

Environmental advocates and utilities in California have been pushing GM and other car companies to move such rechargeable vehicles into production, citing their potential to push gas mileage to 100 miles-per-gallon and beyond by running only on battery power for short trips.

GM has its first hybrid vehicle on the U.S. market now, the Saturn VUE Green Line SUV. It has also announced plans to introduce hybrid versions of its Yukon and Tahoe SUVs by late 2007 using technology it has jointly developed with BMW AG and DaimlerChrysler AG. Hybrid versions of GM's Saturn Aura and the GMC Yukon are expected to be on display at the Los Angeles show.

Ron Cogan the editor of the California-based Green Car Journal, said that upcoming ''two-mode'' hybrid system, which uses two sets of gears and two electric motors, promises to keep costs of future hybrid vehicles down, reducing a major barrier to their more widespread use.

''I think this might be a coming out party for GM,'' Cogan said. ''They have been beat up a lot in the past about not having a hybrid out and lagging Toyota.'' Chelsea Sexton, a former GM employee who featured in ''Who Killed the Electric Car?'' and now works with the clean-car advocacy group Plug In America, said GM deserved credit for coming ''full circle'' on electric car technology.

''I have a lot of history with GM,'' she said. ''But I think we have to be cautiously optimistic.'' Reuters KR VP0012