GM's
Chevy Equinox Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle - Chevy's Best
FCV Yet.
Friday,
October 19, 2007
GM's
Fourth Generation Fuel Cell Vehicle
The Chevrolet Equinox
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle is out to prove that
American-made fuel cell vehicles are within reach in less
than a decade. And,
built upon GM's 4th generation propulsion system by many
of the same people whom also built the EV1, the Equinox is
a remarkable example of just how close to reality fuel
cell vehicles are today.
Aside from silent starts,
the Equinox is almost exactly the same as the
gasoline-powered Equinox, which means that average drivers
won't be shocked by a new way of driving. In terms of
day-to-day functionality, nothing has really changed.
Of course, the Equinox
isn't fueled by gasoline, but hydrogen and, instead of a
gasoline engine, a fuel cell stack powers this successful
exercise in advanced automotive engineering.
Yet, the 93kw fuel cell stack
in the Equinox is already old technology, developed some 4
years ago, and GM's new fuel cell stacks will be much
smaller and lighter, providing an interesting option for
GM's E-Flex
platform. Nonetheless, the 93kw fuel cell
stack, while only providing about 120 hp, is very
adequate. Sure, combined with a 94 kw electric motor and a
35 kw NiMH battery, which provides extra power only when
needed, the Equinox hits 0 to 60 in only 12 seconds.
Yet, the Equinox is
deceptively slow, feeling much quicker than a 12 second
60. More important, new fuel cell technology, in addition
to battery technology, will enable the next generation of
GM fuel cell vehicles to reach blistering face line
starts.
Still, thanks to an excellent
amount of electronically-driven torque, the Equinox's
electric drive train provides smooth, seamless acceleration,
which results in one of the smoothest rides I have
experienced thanks to a lack of transmission shifts.
Project Driveway
The Equinox fuel cell
vehicle is road-ready and expected to meet all
applicable 2007 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
The Equinox also includes many safety features such as
driver and passenger frontal air bags and roof rail
side-impact air bags; anti-locking braking system (ABS);
StabiliTrak stability enhancement technology and OnStar.
And OnStar proves
especially worthy in the Equinox since few hydrogen
stations exist in America, but all are programmed into the
system.
This feature will come in
handy for the members of Project
Driveway, a program that
will provide regular drivers with an Equinox for 3 months
to provide real world test data for GM.
Project Driveway, the
first large-scale market test of fuel cell electric
vehicles anywhere will take place on the streets of LA,
New York City, and Washington D.C., so keep your eyes
open, you might just see an Equinox fuel cell vehicle in
your neighborhood.
By the way, don't worry,
it won't explode!
Fuel cell costs
So, aren't fuel cell
vehicles, such as the Equinox, ridiculously expensive?
They have been, but the
technology is now rapidly advancing. In fact, GM believes
that if a 'hydrogen highway' was robust enough to fuel
around a million fuel cell vehicles by 2010 - economies of scale -
then GM could sell fuel cell vehicles at the same price as
gasoline vehicles.
Hopefully, there's no
voodoo in those economics.
|
