Cadillac Escalade Adds FlexFuel Capability for 2009

ATLANTA – All models of the 2009 Cadillac Escalade will be able to run on either ordinary gasoline or E85 ethanol, or any combination of the two, General Motors announced Friday.

And customers will have the fueling choice at no additional cost.

The Escalade, Escalade EXT and Escalade ESV as well as the GMC Denali, join the previously announced 2009 Chevrolet HHR, Buick Lucerne and Hummer H2 and H2 SUT as additions to GM’s industry-leading flex-fuel lineup .

“The success of E85 as an alternative fuel depends on having the fuel readily available and having a range of cars and trucks that can use it,” said GM Vice President of Environment, Energy and Safety Policy Beth Lowery . “We will offer more than 15 flex-fuel capable models for 2009 compared with 11 this year.”

The latest E85 product announcements coincided with the opening of a dozen new E85 fueling stations in the Greater Atlanta area this week.

“We continue to believe that ethanol used in high blends like E85 offers the best near-term solution to offset increased oil demand,” Lowery said. “There are more than 7 million vehicles today that can use E85. We need significantly more stations that offer the fuel.”

E85 ethanol (a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline), is a cleaner-burning alternative fuel that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 23 percent compared with gasoline.

GM has committed to make half of its US production flex-fuel capable by 2012 providing the infrastructure is in place. GM built more than 1 million flex-fuel capable vehicles worldwide last year. It is committed to helping to speed sustainable ethanol to market via its alliances with Coskata Inc. and Mascoma Corp., two next-generation ethanol startups that can make ethanol from a range of non-grain sources.

General Motors Corp. , the world’s largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.