14 DAY TRIAL // Customers interested in a commercial pick-up truck that runs on compressed natural gas (CNG) will soon have the opportunity to choose from a broader range of such vehicles offered by General Motors.
The American auto giant, which currently offers the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana CNG cargo vans, announced a new CNG bi-fuel commercial pickup truck is to join its product line early in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The conversion will be done by GM’s Tier-One supplier for integrating the CNG bi-fuel delivery and storage system into the pickups alongside the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana CNG-dedicated cargo vans, IMPCO Automotive, at their facility in Union City, Ind.
“Customers want a choice when it comes to fuel because it helps them manage their business costs,” said Brian Small, general manager, GM Fleet and Commercial Operations. “We listened and we are going to move fast to bring a bi-fuel CNG product to market to meet our customer’s needs.”
“GM’s original equipment is engineered, validated and warranted which makes the decision to purchase our bi-fuel pick-up trucks easy,” said Joyce Mattman, director, GM Commercial Product and Specialty Vehicles. “Like our CNG vans, this turnkey product will be the best solution in the market and makes good business sense.”
The company did not, however, disclose which model will be converted to run on the alternative fuel source, but our money is on the GMC Sierra and the Chevrolet Silverado.
Whatever the model, the compressed natural gas bi-fuel commercial pickup trucks will be covered by the automaker’s three-year, 36,000-mile new vehicle limited warranty and five-year, 100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty.
In addition to that, they will meet all Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) emission certification requirements.