General Motors announced today that it will build a Chevrolet Impala sedan that operates on either gasoline or compressed natural gas, or CNG. It will go on sale next summer and be sold to both at retail and to fleets.
Even though the U.S. has seen a boom in natural gas production, and clean fuel sells for less than half the price of gasoline, not many vehicles that can use it have come from automakers and many CNG vehicles on the road are from private converters.
GM's product lineup now includes natural gas vans and it recently said it plans to offer bi-fuel versions of its 2015 full-size pickups.Only Honda has a natural-gas powered car on sale nationwide, a Civic.
But slick new redesigned Impala could have advantages that could bring greater acceptance. Since it will be able to use gasoline or natural gas, that mitigates worries about being stranded in places where there are no CNG stations. Also, its large trunk can hold the CNG tank and still have reasonable room for luggage.
The Bi-Fuel Impala will switch automatically to gasoline when the natural gas tank (which holds the CNG equivalent of eight gallons of gasoline) is depleted. The driver also can manually switch between fuels with a button on the dash. That approach resembles the Chevrolet Volt, which can travel on a battery charge before switching to gasoline.
The 2014 Chevrolet Impala, on sale since April, is a looker. It's the10th-generation of Impala, which was launched in 1957 as a 1958 model. General MotorsFullscreen
Impala is built on the same chassis used for the redone, smaller 2013 Malibu. General MotorsFullscreen
Impala joined the Chevrolet lineup as its new flagship for the 1958 model year. Pictured here is the 1958 Impala Sport Coupe, which broke new ground for high style in a mainstream-brand car. ChevroletFullscreen
Behind the big screen in the dashboard is a storage bin with USB port. General MotorsFullscreen
2013 Impala LTZ. General MotorsFullscreen
The 2014 Impala offers a 2.5-liter four-cylinder rated 196 hp, 186 lbs.-ft. of torque, and a 3.6-liter V-6 rated 305 hp and 264 lbs.-ft. Both use six-speed automatic.. General MotorsFullscreen
The rear seat has almost has generous leg room, as much as the front seat in many other cars. ChevroletFullscreen
The new Impala's interior is more upscale in design and materials. General MotorsFullscreen
Coming this fall for the Impala is a model with a "mild hybrid" powertrain GM calls eAssist. It's similar to what's used in the Eco model of the Chevy Malibu and in some of GM's Buicks. General MotorsFullscreen
2014 Chevrolet Impala. General MotorsFullscreen
The 2014 Impala LTZ. General MotorsFullscreenLike this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:Replay
Autopl! ayShow Th! umbnailsShow CaptionsLast SlideNext SlideThe announcement of the bi-fuel version of the redesigned 2014 Impala -- winner of the recent Cars.com-USA TODAY-MotorWeek full-size sedan challenge and named by Consumer Reports this year as the best sedan in the U.S. -- was made by GM CEO Dan Akerson at the nonpartisan Securing America's Future Energy conference looking at U.S. oil dependence 40 years after the OPEC embargo.
"We know that U.S. energy security won't come from a one-off moonshot," Akerson said. "It will flow from our systematic investment in technology and innovation... our drive to get more from existing energy sources and renewables... our commitment to conservation... and it will be assured by fully and safely exploiting our shale gas reserves."
Akerson has made increased natural gas use a key part of what the CEO sees as a cohesive national energy policy.
"Natural gas power trains are one of the areas where we have increased investment because we believe the technology can satisfy the 'green' needs of both the environment and stockholders," Akerson told the conference, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.
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