GM Janesville Assembly Plant Produces 500,000th E85 FlexFuel SUV

[Ming]

UAW/GM Janesville Assembly Plant Produces 500,000th E85 FlexFuel Vehicle
2006-03-22



The General Motors Janesville Assembly plant achieved a milestone of producing more than 500,000 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Yukon Denali and Yukon XL Denali full-size sport utility vehicles, with E85 FlexFuel capable engines. The Janesville employees were recognized in a ceremony at the plant which included Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle.

Since 2002, the UAW Local 95 /GM Janesville Assembly workforce has been assembling SUVs with the 5.3L V8 engine that are capable of running on gasoline, E85 ethanol (a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline), or a combination of both. The plant‘s production is part of the fleet of 1.5 million E85 FlexFuel Vehicles (FFVs) GM currently has on the road and plays an important role in the corporation‘s commitment to addressing energy concerns and the consumption of petroleum.

“I commend the UAW/GM workforce and General Motors’ contributions to and support of alternative fuel sources. Ethanol is clean, renewable, and reduces energy use,” said Governor Doyle. “It helps Wisconsin farmers, and it helps energy security by reducing the demand for petroleum.”

Ethanol is a high octane, domestically-produced renewable fuel. In the United States., ethanol is typically produced from corn and other grain products, and in the future may be produced from other biomass resources such as agricultural and forestry wastes or specially grown energy crops.

“We have made a significant investment in E85 Ethanol by using the technology on one of our most popular engines,” said Gary Malkus, plant manager, GM Janesville Assembly. “With the launch of the all-new Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Yukon Denali and Yukon XL Denali, we‘re anticipating that the E85-capable 5.3L FlexFuel engine will make up as much as 70 percent of our production volume.”

GM is the leader in FFV production and sales. GM currently has nine models available that are E85 ethanol capable, and plans to add more than 400,000 E85 ethanol-capable vehicles to the fleet in 2006. To aid consumer awareness, in mid-2006 GM‘s FFVs will be equipped with a yellow gas cap. GM will also be contacting owners of pre-2006 flexible-fuel trucks to remind them of their option to use E85 ethanol fuel or gasoline.

The plant concluded the event by announcing the donation of an E85 ethanol-capable 2007 Chevy Tahoe to The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin, and an elementary school art competition in which students in the Janesville School District will create artistic interpretations of the theme “Working Together to Protect Precious Places.” The winning images will then be magnified and superimposed across the entire body of the Chevy Tahoe that will help The Nature Conservancy in their rugged conservation work.

Source: http://www.autoracingdaily.com/article.php?cid=7273

[zeobandit]

Cool! Now lets see more E85 filling stations!

[ProjectRS]

Nice! I really nope this is the standard of the future and GM beats everyone to it

It is hard to tell what will stick with so many alternative fuel projects out there.

[hotrod1949]

This is great news, E85 capability needs to get more press. It is less expensive, and more easily renewable than a gas/electric hybrid, yet they get all the press.

[tomcat_cool17]

It will be less expensive if the major foreign oil companies stay out and don't buy the main sellers of E85. If they ge their hands on it, then they will just drop the price if gas a raise E85 costs since they won't be making as much off of it. Even if it is a little more expensive initally, it's better than supporting the foreign oil market, and I hope more consumers see it that way: reducing our dependency on foreign oil supply.

[symdon]

I'am a Chevy dealer By Janesville and these new 2007 Tahoe' sell like crazy

[azhimel]

Anyone here know the MPG of an E85 Tahoe?

[slvrlkdude]

Show me the E85 filling stations. It's great that GM makes vehicles that run on this alternative fuel, but until this fuel is made available to consumers, it's just GM PR.

[symdon]

15 city 21 Hwy on my window stickers.

[garjus]

Great to see another wisconsinite here. Welcome aboard.

[Proetus]

Originally Posted by azhimel

Anyone here know the MPG of an E85 Tahoe?

The 2006 model was rated at 11/15 when using E85.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/2001c...f.jsp?id=22627

[nsap]

Excellent! It's just a matter of time before there are more E85 stations. People I have talked to (that have know interest in the auto industry) are very interested in E85.

[asim]

Originally Posted by nsap

Excellent! It's just a matter of time before there are more E85 stations. People I have talked to (that have know interest in the auto industry) are very interested in E85.

Matter of time? I hope. It never seems that it wants to come to Houston.

[56 Starchief]

we need E85 on the east coast yesterday

[Gm786]

Sounds great! Now let's get somemore E85 gas stations more wide-spread!