Autosavant Drives the Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell Vehicle

[69Firebird400]

Last week I had a chance to drive an Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle for about 20 miles with an engineer riding shotgun with me. The link to the full preview is below the quoted text.

We also spoke with them about possibly getting one to test for a longer (weeklong, hopefully) loan to write a full review of the vehicle. That'd be cool, although I would not be the staff member driving it, since I'm not close enough to the test area.

In my supervised drive, which lasted about 25 minutes, my chaperone handed me the key (which is just a standard GM key) and asked me to start the Equinox. I put it into the ignition module and turned it past the start spring, then released. He told me that he was impressed that I didn’t keep it engaged, since there’s no cranking sensation as part of the startup routine. It really wasn’t anything more impressive on my part than being used to our own vehicles (and many other new ones) that require only a brief trip to the start area of the ignition key’s travel, while the engine will continue cranking until it starts. Upon “starting up” the vehicle, there isn’t much sound or vibration, just a few mechanical-type sounds that occur as the vehicle’s systems boot up and do their diagnostic checks.

I dropped it into gear and headed out. I say “gear” not only in reference to first gear, but because - like the Tesla Roadster - there isonly one forward gear. That gear is high gear, low gear, and every gear in between. The torque of the electric motor makes any additional gears unnecessary; in fact, the motor’s torque is reduced via software from what its peak would otherwise be simply to keep the vehicle easier to drive and to manage wear on drivetrain components.

I wouldn’t call the Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle quick, but it’s also not a sloth. From the seat of my pants, it felt like it probably had a 0-60 time similar to a four cylinder Saturn Vue, although at higher speeds (such as a quarter mile from a standing start, or passing on the highway), even the four-banger Vue could probably trounce it thanks to the Fuel Cell vehicle’s lower horsepower rating. There were a few unusual sounds emanating from the engine compartment and beneath the vehicle, but many of them are obvious only because there is no engine sound and only the faint whir of the electric motor. Steering feel was somewhat detached because it’s an electric power steering system, but it’s no worse than the EPS in a Cobalt LT, for example. The biggest complement I could pay to the Equinox Fuel Cell is that after a few minutes on the road, I would get wrapped up in conversation with the engineer who was riding with me and forget that I was driving a 100-of-a-kind prototype vehicle, powered by the same fuel that doomed the Hindenburg, and was emitting nothing more than water vapor from the tailpipe.

Full article here: http://www.autosavant.com/2008/09/16...-cell-preview/

[Ghrankenstein]

What a great opportunity, and a great read as well!

Ghrank

[cyclone]

GM needs to stop focusing on 10 million different fuel alternatives how about focusing on 2 or 3 not so much.

[baby-vortec2900]

Hydrogen fuel cell will power the cars of the future-without a doubt. I knew when the Prius came out that we were not doomed to that if we wanted efficiency. Now, here is the real answer in the form of hydrogen fuel cell 0 emissions vehichle. Great going GM, now go ahead and get the bugs ironed out so you can bring this thing to the market before the asians beat us to another one.

[pyropanda]

i like how GM is using an average vehicle to use fuel cells with and not an odd looking prototype. although the use of fuel cells is a little in the distance (since H-fuel cell stations will need to be built all over the country, costing taxpayers billions), it is a great thought of an alt-energy source.

[69Firebird400]

The only obstacles really at this point are cost and infrastructuure. Cost is probably less of an obstacle at this point, because the components are getting cheaper all the time. Infrastructure is a bigger concern, but one thing that's been suggested to GM is to allow dealers to act as hydrogen fueling stations. Several dealers have approached GM with that suggestion, and they are looking into it. The problem with hydrogen at this point is that it's not regulated consistently like gasoline and diesel fuel are, so different municipalities might have different rules concerning its storage and transport. Or so said the engineer who I spoke to, at least.