First impressions: Hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered Chevrolet Equinox
When it comes to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, my attitude has always been "I'll believe it when I drive it."
Well, as of yesterday, I believe it.
General Motors is about to put about a hundred hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered Chevrolet Equinox CUVs into the hands of the public, and before that happens they gave a few of us journos a chance to see and drive them while putting us through a program they call Electric Drive University.
The first thing you'll notice is that GM is de-emphasizing "hydrogen fuel cell" and emphasizing "electric vehicle". Fuel-cell vehicles -- often called FCVs or FCEVs (the E for Electric) -- are basically electric cars with a hydrogen fuel cell in place of a battery. GM sees electric propulsion as the platform of the future -- the beauty being that the electricity to power these vehicles can be generated in a number of ways, be it a hydrogen fuel cell, a battery, a gasoline or diesel engine-generator set, or some combination thereof.
So how does the Equinox FCEV drive? Pretty well. It accelerates like a V6 off the line, and a 4-cyl at higherspeeds. Range is about 160 miles. The fuel cell apparatus makes a surprising racket at idle, but once on the road the Equinox is quiet and comfortable. Christine and Scott Gable -- our Guides to Alternative Fuels and the real experts -- will attend the program later next week, and will post lots more details on the About.com Alternative Fuels site.
Want to volunteer for an opportunity to drive the fuel-cell Equinox? Visit Chevrolet's fuel cell page and click on the Apply for Test Program link at the bottom. -- Aaron Gold
Photo © Aaron Gold
Comments
Hydrogen isn’t a power source it is a storage medium. Most of the Hydrogen in the US comes from Natural Gas. It is an interesting idea but not a great solution. The range is a little low and where are you going to find a filling station for it.
At home…I’m sure the first few models are meant to be commuter cars…just to work and back.Once the tecnology and public acceptance gets to the right levels, then expect a full purpose vehicle. Hey the Wright brothers didn’t start out with a multi passenger plane.
Is there enough room for a hybrid concept using batteries?
Maybe that would improve the range. 160 miles, even for city driving, is not many miles.
I love the hydrogen idea. I hope they keep working on that idea, because that will be the car of the future, in my opinion.
Wilton…would that be AAA, AA, C, OR D batteries?
I’m in the same boat with the distance limitation. Although it might make a great in-town commuter, I couldn’t possibly consider this car for longer trips. Hopefully this technology will quickly evolve. Of course, I also hope it evolves to where I can retrofit the cars I have now.
The thing is to get away from the carbon based fuels (gas & oil) if we can start with hydrogen and work on something else as time goes on.
Get Off the gas/oil merry go round first and do it as soon as possible.