G eneral Motors Co.'s Two Mode Hybrid powertrain, used only in trucks, will migrate to rear-drive cars in the next generation, Tom Stephens, GM's vice chairman of global product operations, told Automotive News. Two Cadillac models - ATS and CTS - are likely candidate to get the system, consultant Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics in suburban Detroit, told the subscription trade publication. Hall expects the next-generation Two Mode Hybrid system to be offered eventually on the Cadillac ATS, a rear-drive Cadillac smaller than the CTS. [1]

GM has had a hard time finding customers willing to part ways with $10,000 or more for a fully capable SUV with sedan-like city fuel economy, but that reportedly isn't stopping the Detroit, MI-based automaker from improving its hybrid formula for its next generation of vehicles. GM is said to be working on a new electric motor that will reportedly shrink in size by 25 percent while increasing power by 20 percent. [2]