Twelve or more. That’s what General Motors executives claim will be available “in time” (translation – don’t try to pin them down with any pesky sales dates). To date, GM’s gas/electric efforts have focused largely on the transit bus market, with an extremely mild approach taken with its full-size trucks. That changes with the 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line, a full-fledged hybrid that made its debut at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Like competitors currently available, the 2007 Vue Green Line features an electric motor that works with a regular gas engine to provide power. In this case, that engine is a 2.4-liter four-cylinder mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. A battery pack is located under the rear cargo floor. The hybrid technology allows the gas engine to shut off during deceleration and while the Vue is sitting idle, regenerative braking is used to capture what is usually wasted energy, and electric motor supplements the engine’s power during acceleration. That added boosts helps the 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line to reach 60 mph one second quicker than its gas-only counterpart. The official word from GM is that this hybrid powertrain in a way that makes it “virtually transparent to the consumer.” That’s good news, as is the Green Line’s reported fuel economy, which is expected to be 20 percent better than the regular Saturn Vue. That translates to 27 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway, pretty good numbers for an SUV.

If those numbers are indeed realistic, drivers of the 2007 Vue Green Line can expect to save some money at the pump, just like they did when buying their new Saturn. Unlike many other hybrids, the Green Line includes a premium of only $2,000, resulting in a base price that hovers just below $23,000. Expect this environmentally-conscious SUV to get plenty of attention when it hits dealers’ lots during the summer of 2006.

Photos courtesy of Saturn