DETROIT, MI – Despite rising gasoline prices, General Motors (GM) quietly has dropped the hybrid versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, according to Automotive News. GM’s next hybrid pickups are due in about 18 months.

The Silverado Hybrid sold for $30,040 including shipping, about $3,000 more than a V-8 powered Silverado with the same size engine and same trim. The Silverado Hybrid and the more upscale Sierra Hybrid were launched in late-2004. They were GM’s first gasoline-electric hybrids and the industry’s first hybrid pickups.

The total production run of both trucks was about 3,000. The trucks were phased out when production of the classic version of the Silverado and Sierra stopped in December. GM officials decided not to launch a new version of the hybrid trucks using the previous model’s GMT 800 powertrain on the current GMT 900 platform. Instead, new hybrid versions of the Sierra and Silverado are scheduled to be launched in late-2008. The trucks will be equipped with a two-mode hybrid system that GM is developing with DaimlerChrysler and BMW, according to Automotive News.