[Narg]

That statement caught my attention. From this article on the new GM Direct Injection Engines:

http://motortrend.automotive.com/98718/112-0812-gm-direct-injected-engine-future/index.html

"To give you a better idea of how significant the potential fuel savings DI helps to achieve, consider these figures compiled by GM bean counters. The General's 2009 North American lineup will use 700 million fewer gallons of fuel during the lifetime of its vehicles compared with the 2008 group. That number is expected to hit 1.1 billion gallons for 2010. Enter into the equation a price of $2 to $3 dollars per gallon, and you get a good indication of the total pump savings."

Add to that the new Volt coming out and it seems GM has the best movement on fuel economy among all car makers...

 

[gearhead]

That's some great news.
Glad to see the General getting back some of the favourable press we once took for granted.
It seems the new GM is focused on success and it's beginning to show in the product lineup offering and R&D choices they're making.

 

[NoobNox]

The technology behind direct fuel injection is hardly a new thing...and since it provides power and fuel economy benefits, why are we just now beginning to see widespread use in production vehicles?

 

[bocks]

because its more expensive than standard fuel injection..

 

[NoobNox]

because its more expensive than standard fuel injection..

Yeah, but so is dual overhead cams, VVT, CVT and various other things that have been around a while. It just seems to me that this was an obvious way to bump up across the line fuel economy, and gain a little performance as well. I would say that it's a product of the "new GM" but this sort of thing was likely in development under the old guard...just don't know why they didn't do it a decade ago or sooner.