The last time we reported on the Two Mode Saturn Vue Green Line was in March, 2008. Since then, there hasn’t been much news…until recently. In November, GM spokesman Brian Corbett announced that the decision had been made to re-time the launch of the 2-mode Vue from December, ‘08 to sometime during the first quarter of 2009. While no explanation for the delay re-time was given, Corbett added that GM regularly reviews the status of vehicle launch programs. In any case, a 3 month delay was welcome news when compared to Chrysler announcing they would discontinue the Aspen and Durango hybrid SUVs.

As we now enter February, it stands to reason that the new Vue should reach dealers in the next 60 days (unless it is re-timed again, in which case we’d likely be watching for the 2010 model). This might be the only hybrid vehicle released during Q1 of 2009, and if it wasn’t for the troubles being felt by GM and the rest of the auto industry we’d likely see it in a Super Bowl commercial later today.

This green SUV will have a 3.6-liter V6 under the hood to garner 260 horsepower, zero to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds, all while boasting a 3,500-pound towing capacity. It will also include GM’s first front-wheel-drive two-mode transmission and a total driving range of more than 500 miles per tank of gas. Boasting a 50% improvement in overall fuel economy (when compared to the Vue XR V6 model), we fully expect this to be a big hit, especially if gas prices begin creeping back up in preparation for the upcoming driving season. This figures out to roughly 28 miles per gallon in the city and 31 mpg on the highway.

In terms of MSRP, the estimates have been all over the board. Edmunds was told to expect it to be a bit less than $33,000, so we’ll stick with that until we hear otherwise. We will be back in a few weeks to update this update with a full review. Until then, here is a nice one at EVLiving.com. And, until we can find one a bit more exciting and less out of focus - here’s a brief video to hold you over.