General Motors gave consumers a double-whammy yesterday. The same day they introduced the GMC Yukon Hybrid in a Super Bowl commercial, they also announced plans for an improved hybrid pickup truck.

Plans for the 2009 GMC Sierra hybrid will be officially unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show later this week, but GM is providing a sneak preview of the vehicle. The Sierra hybrid will have 50 per cent better fuel economy than a standard pickup truck of comparable size and feature the same two-mode hybrid system the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon boast. The new models of the Chevrolet Silverado will also feature this hybrid system, which runs on just electricity at low speeds and contributes more power at higher speeds, making the vehicles with the technology more suitable for towing than the single-mode currently utilized by Toyota and Ford. Both the Sierra and the Silverado are expected to be available on the market in late 2008.

It will be interesting to see if pickup drivers embrace the concept of hybrid trucks. The new Sierra hybrid will only have a 6,100 pound towing capacity as opposed to the 10,500 pounds of the regular version of the truck, plus the initial cost will be higher than that of a gas-fueled truck. However, the initial money spent on the hybrid model will easily be recovered after a short time driving with significantly improved fuel efficiency.

» MSNBC Environment