14.6.2006
Michelin Challenge Bibendum 2006: GM receives eight top scores

GM underlined its leading position in alternative propulsion concepts with eight best performances at this year’s Michelin Challenge Bibendum (June 8 – 12, 2006). The HydroGen3 scored top marks three times, the Opel Zafira CNG and the Saab 9-5 BioPower twice, and the Saturn Vue Green Line once.

With hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles such as the HydroGen3, GM proves that alternative propulsion has already made the leap from the laboratory to the road. In April 2005, it won the Rallye Monte Carlo for fuel cell-powered vehicles, and in Paris it won top marks in the slalom, as well as the emissions and CO 2 categories.

The seven-seat, natural gas-powered Zafira 1.6 CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) compact van, which is about to be launched, achieved top marks in the tests for braking and noise. Its monovalentplus concept is designed for maximum efficiency in natural gas operation. Fuel costs are around 30 percent less than diesel and as much as 50 percent less than gasoline, with emission levels also lower: 20 percent less CO 2 than a gasoline model and 15 percent less than a diesel.

The Saab 9-5 2.0t BioPower achieved its best marks in the acceleration and braking categories. Running on bioethanol (E85), its powerful engine develops more performance than a similar gasoline model, yet with reduced CO2 emissions. While engine performance increases from 110 kW/150 hp to 132 kW/180 hp, the combustion of bioethanol (E85), a renewable energy carrier, releases around 90 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than gasoline.

As the first vehicle of a new hybrid generation, GM presented the Saturn Vue Green Line in Paris, and it received a top rating in the fuel economy category straight away. The compact SUV consumes up to 20 percent less fuel than a conventional gasoline model.