GM PLUGS INTO HYBRID PICKUPS; But don't look for green models until mid-'09.(NEWS)

Byline: NATALIE NEFF

Falling truck sales haven't stopped General Motors from expanding its popular pickup lines. In this case, the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra will get hybrid variants, much as their stablemate sport-utility vehicles did before them.

GM rolled out the big hybrid SUVs last year, but sales of the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon hybrids have hardly gone gangbusters, in part because of the high price of entry and a host of fuel-savvy smaller car-based alternatives. While pickup trucks are hardly immune to the whims of the market, their workhorse nature certainly makes them more resistant.

That the Silverado and the Sierra retain their work credentials (rear-drive trucks boast a towing capacity of 6,100 pounds) while still improving their fuel economy makes them an attractive option for conscientious truck buyers.

The pickup's hybrid system is identical to that found in the SUVs. At its heart sits a hybrid transmission, called an electrically variable transmission (EVT). With two 60-kilowatt electric motors and four fixed gears, the EVT can propel the pickup up to 30 mph on its own and without the aid of the engine.

That ...