I’ve been watching the news on the wildfires in the west. Hearing the talk about the climate change affecting the fire potential. No matter what you want to believe about climate change I can see the effects of climate change or cyclical weather pattern here in the Midwest. There are trees dying here due to moisture and temperature changes.

My thought is that while I’m 65 and have enjoyed IC engines as much as anyone that maybe it’s time to be thoughtful. I would like to see the C8 Grand Sport come out as a hybrid. I would think the 5.3 liter engine they have could be adapted to this job easily. Should be able to get at least 400 hp from it then add 100 or more hp from electric. Should be able to get 500 to 550 combined. Use for initial acceleration say 0-10 mph to boost economy and then for hard acceleration. Think I saw where someone was using capacitors instead of batteries so weight might not be as much of a factor.

I’d sure consider buying one.

 

The only thing affecting fire potential is 40 years of mismanagement in the Department of Forestry.

I do, however, look forward to the various C8 models to come.

 

People will complain about everything that's different, and still go buy it.

 

Or if you really cared about the environment, you could just ride a bicycle everywhere.

 

Or buy a Prius and not drive a high performance car of any kind.

 

Silly reply but expected.

 

Next time you do a 500 mile trip on a bicycle do a video. It might be interesting.

 

Why? If you're that worried about "climate change" and the environment, why not actually do something that matters, not just suggest GM develop and sell a hybrid high performance car that's unlikely to happen?

 

Take a bus.

 

Oh I have done something. I’ve helped grow several million trees to be used for reforestation in my career.
And why do you think it’s unlikely to happen. It’s talked about in articles all the time.

 

This thread probably isn't going to end well for the OP.....
There is no question that climate change is happening.
The debate is about what is causing it and whether or not man can do anything about it.
I live in the northern California foothills and the area is blanketed with smoke, and has been for weeks. One of the fires is about 30 miles from me.
I grew up in a small town in the mountains of northern California where one of the main industries was logging. I saw the sawmills and logging jobs disappear firsthand.
We did not have nearly the size and quantity of fires we have now. While proper forest management will help it is not going to solve the problem.
And before you write me of as a left wing liberal know that I'm a registered Republican. While the majority of Californians are Democrats (and many of those Liberals), they are concentrated in the major metropolitan areas. Once you get into the mountains and farming districts a majority are as conservative and redneck as you will find anywhere.
My frustration is the local imposition of environmental rules like climate change is going to respect borders. If man can do something about climate change it needs to be done world wide.
So, back on topic, I think there will be a hybrid version of the C8 and I think the C9 will be electric. It is the way we are headed. And while I plan to make the C8 the last sports car I buy, if things were to happen that drove me to replace it I'd consider a hybrid or electric Corvette.

 

Good for you!

"Talked about in articles" is a tiny bit different than GM saying they're going to do it.


Edit: We lived in CO for 25 years until our recent move to FL to retire. I saw how badly the forests there are managed, and now they're burning too. Forest management by states and the Forest Service have done far more damage to forests, and caused far more fires, than climate change ever could.

 

Good luck with that.

 

The new C8 hybrid is in the same realm as the Porsche 918 or Acura NSX, and has little to do with environmental safety, and is more performance oriented. The notion of full electric in European cities and then ICE race car once outside the city is asking too much for a car that needs to be light weight. We have already entered the hybrid C8, Maserati, Ferrari, Lamborghini , Acura and any other performance oriented vehicle age. It just wont be that friendly to the environment.

 

Just wait until everyone finds out that the C8 Stingray is the outlier.

 

How to you think most of the electric used for the electric cars is generated? About 60% is from burning gas, coal, or oil, 20% is nuclear.

 

I think it would be cool if the hybrid version operated like Porsche’s e-hybrid.

 

People really have no idea about the true diversity of California. I work in Silicon Valley and live down a country road that is all trump flags. There are tons of different kinds of people here.

 

IMO, the C8 chassis was designed to accommodate a Hybrid version to be built on the same production line intermixed with the IC only versions from the beginning.

You simply install the battery pack in the present backbone of the chassis, install the electric motor drive train in the front trunk area and whatever computer and wiring changes are necessary. Can be done for the conv also. I contend that the weight and placement of components of the C8 would have been different if the chassis design didn't have to accommodate the hybrid version. Remember the battery design announced by GM can be stacked in various ways and does not require excessive wiring for control.

But you need batteries! So the introduction date is likely to be driven by battery availability. And if it is useful in impressing the financial community.

The easiest way to do the job is to leave the rest of the car alone, including the present push rod 6.2 lt engine.

 

The climate has been changing for 4.7 Billion years and will continue to do so. The planet has been through at least 5 Ice Ages. Its a cyclical phenomenon and will continue on its own. The entire continents have drifted from the mass known as Pangea to what we have today. They will continue to drift and ocean currents will change. Climate will change. The latest doomsday prediction is BS just like all the previous ones because certain peoples and scientists egos are larger then their models abilities to predict something as complex as global climate patterns.
Zealot environmentalist litigation and demands have led to incompetent land management policies. The result is hyper intense wildfires, due to 10x the typical fuel load, which destroy everything.

If brush clearing and frequent small fires are not permitted then the fuel load accumulates to the point where the fire is not controllable and so intense it levels forests, trees, and structures that may have otherwise survived.