GM's improvements in emission technology and fuel economy

North America

• Since the mid-1960s, vehicle tailpipe emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) have significantly decreased. In the United States and Canada, HC, CO and NOX of passenger cars have decreased by 99 percent, 96 percent, and 95 percent, respectively. See details in GM's 2000-2001 Sustainability report.

• Each gallon of gasoline results in about 9 kilograms of carbon dioxide when burned. The emissions of CO2 from our cars and light trucks have decreased significantly since the mid-1970s as fuel efficiency has increased. CO2 per kilometer from new U.S. vehicles has been reduced 56% for cars and 44% for light trucks since the mid-1970's. Since 1990, CO2 per kilometer has been relatively constant, as consumers have chosen larger vehicles with more features and more powerful engines, thus offsetting much of our fuel economy gains. See details.

• In the United States, the average fuel economy of our new cars and light trucks has increased 130% and 75%, respectively, since 1974. Since 1990, new vehicle fuel economy has been relatively constant as consumers chose larger vehicles with increased performance and more features. See details.

Europe:

Despite the introduction of new test procedures in Europe in 1996 and 2000, which resulted in effectively increased fuel consumption figures, GM Europe has been able to reduce fuel consumption by approximately 10 percent since 1995.

Refined aerodynamics and the highly efficient ECOTEC 1.0-liter engine (43 kW/58 hp), combined with the innovative Easytronic transmission, are the two key factors that made the Corsa Eco the first gasoline-powered car in its class to break the five-liter barrier, consuming only 4.9 liters per 100 km. The low CO2 emissions of 118g /km match the standard set by its successful diesel brother, the Astra Eco 4. Launched in April 2002, the Corsa Eco achieves this high fuel economy without making any compromises on comfort, safety or driving enjoyment.

The Opel / Vauxhall Easytronic transmission is an automated manual gearbox with no clutch pedal which leaves it up to the driver to decide whether to adopt an active driving style, changing gears himself, or to relax, leaving the gear changes to the electronic brain of the transmission — and saving fuel at the same time. For the Corsa Eco, the automatic mode has been programmed in such a way that the engine always runs in the lowest fuel consumption range, but in certain situations like overtaking, a kick-down function immediately releases the engine's full power. The somewhat wider spread of the five gears also has a favorable effect on consumption.

The second decisive factor for the more than 10 percent reduction in consumption compared with the standard Corsa is aerodynamic improvement. The designers have succeeded in lowering the drag coefficient from 0.32 to a remarkable 0.29. The main contributing factors to this were the use of paneling for most of the underbody and the engine compartment, a roof spoiler, smooth wheel covers and reduced airflow through the engine compartment. Other minor alterations have also played a role, such as tires with optimized rolling resistance and lowering of the body by about 15 millimeters.

Twinport Technology Improves Astra's Economic & Environmental Performance

Latin America:

GM do Brasil (GMB) leads Latin America in the development of advanced emission technologies. Current engine control technologies employed by GMB include: single port electronic fuel injection (EFI), multi-port fuel injection (MPFI), multi-port sequential fuel injection (SPFI), and central multi-port sequential fuel injection (SCPI).