The Equinox Fuel Cell is a hydrogen-powered vehicle that is currently in the test phase. This year, as a part of "Project Driveway"100 of these vehicles will go out to consumers in Washington, D.C.; New York City; and Los Angeles. The fourth-generation fuel-cell propulsion system achieves zero-to-60-mph times of 12 seconds and has a top speed of 100 mph.
It looked like any other vehicle. And it drove like one, too.
That’s what blew me away.
Here’s this vehicle completely powered by hydrogen, and you probably wouldn’t bat an eyelash if you saw it driving down the road. It’s not chugging along with an underpowered engine. It doesn’t have an odd egg-shaped design. And it doesn’t make any weird sounds. Actually, it doesn’t make much of a sound at all.
It was a Chevrolet Equinox, like any other Equinox, except that it was powered by hydrogen rather than gasoline.
This fuel-cell-powered vehicle is just one of the things Chevrolet has on tap in the race toward fuel solutions that will wean our dependency off gasoline.
Fuel cell solutions
This Equinox with a fuel cell is about one step away from real, honest-to-goodness production. In fact, this year Chevrolet is launching a 30-month program called “Project Driveway,” where 100 of these Equinox Fuel Cells will end up in the garages of hundreds of real consumers living in Washington, D.C.; New York City; and Los Angeles. Each driver will have the Equinox for three months and report their thoughts and opinions back to Chevrolet. Once the test period has concluded, all the data will aid the creation of a production vehicle.
What these driver’s will experience with the Equinox Fuel Cell is something very similar to what they’d get with a regular gasoline-powered vehicle. Only kind of different.
The overall shape of the fuel cell vehicle will completely mimic the regular Equinox, though the special paint job and raindrop badging on the back will identify the vehicle as something different. There won’t be anything on the inside that will immediately distinguish the vehicle as a fuel cell either. Unless you look in the cargo area. Then, you’ll see funny bump in the back that contains two of the three hydrogen fuel tanks.
The most visible difference will be observed when the driver goes to fuel the tank. There is still a flip cover on the side that contains a hole for a fuel nozzle, but the circular hole is about half the size of one you’d see for gasoline. The most audible difference will be heard when turning on the vehicle. There are no cylinders to fire up, no engine to make a vroom sound. Instead, there’s a quiet hum that’s similar to the way a hybrid vehicle sounds when operating in electric-only mode.
Otherwise, the Equinox Fuel Cell drives just like a regular Equinox. And that’s incredibly impressive in its unimpressiveness. I’ve driven previous-generation fuel cells, and they did look funny, sound funny and drive funny. They plodded along slowly, and there were buttons and knobs instead of a gearshift. Plus, you needed an engineer in the co-pilot seat to explain how to drive it. Literally.
So, though the underpinnings are technologically advanced, the driver’s experience will be utterly usual.
Hydrogen motivation
When you begin talking about fuel cell vehicles, the terminology gets a little unfamiliar. If I said that the Equinox Fuel Cell has three compressed hydrogen storage tanks made of carbon fiber that are pressurized to 100,000 psi and that they contain roughly 9 pounds of hydrogen, it doesn’t make much sense to the average person. But, if I said that the fuel tanks will be able to take in 4.2 kilograms of hydrogen in the form of compressed gas and 1 kilogram is roughly the energy equivalent of 1 gallon of gasoline, then that means something in relatable terms. Furthermore, these three tanks of compressed hydrogen will allow the vehicle to travel 150 miles before needing to refuel.
The power behind the Equinox Fuel Cell will be equivalent to 126 horsepower, and zero to 60 mph in about 12 seconds, which is about 4 seconds slower than the gasoline-powered Equinox. This number is deceiving, however, because the 236 pound-feet of torque supplied by the fuel cell is brilliant for quick acceleration. I would have thought the zero-to-60-mph times were faster based on first-hand testing.
While the Equinox Fuel Cell won’t be race-car quick … or even gasoline-model quick … that’s not the point. The point is zero emissions. The only byproduct is distilled water.
Fuel cell safety
I don’t know about you, but when I think of a moving object powered by hydrogen, I have an immediate vision of a flying burning bubble called the Hindenburg. And I bet there are a lot of people out there who have the same vision. Thus, the folks at Chevrolet are going to have some re-educating to do.
It cannot be disputed that hydrogen is highly flammable. However, hydrogen is 14.4 times lighter than air and escapes at a rate of 45 mph. So, if there was a puncture or leak in the hydrogen tank of the fuel cell vehicle, it dilutes quickly into a non-flammable concentration if allowed to diffuse into the air.
You might point to the Hindenburg again, but keep in mind 9 pounds of hydrogen is miniscule compared to what filled the Hindenburg. Not to mention the fact that it is widely believed that it was the flammable surface of the Hindenburg itself that caused and fueled the fire, not the hydrogen. And, for the record, only two of the 35 people who perished in the accident died from fire-related causes. The other 33 died because they jumped out of the airship. Sixty-two others rode the Hindenburg to safety.
If you want more reassurance, Chevrolet has been working on that, too. The idea is to make the tanks virtually indestructible. During testing, the tanks have been shot and dropped out of airplanes among other things to ensure overall safety.
Electrifying
While the fuel cell is in much more realistic state, Chevrolet is also exploring another viable fuel solution: electric vehicles. Anyone who follows cars has, at this point, heard of the Volt concept. First launched at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Volt is powered by the E-Flex System, GM’s next generation all-electric propulsion system.
Also known as a “plug-in,” the Volt can be charged by a 110-volt outlet for about 6 hours. This will enable the car to travel up to about 40 miles purely on electricity. Should the battery deplete, the vehicle has a 1-liter, three-cylinder turbocharged engine that will create enough electricity to provide triple-digit fuel economy.
Still in its early stages, Chevrolet been showing various engines and motors in the Volt that will help create additional electricity to extend the range of the vehicle. Options thus far have included an E85 capable engine, bio-diesel engine and a fuel cell.
Hybrid hype
While plug-ins and fuel cells are the future of vehicle motivation, hybrids are happening now. Toyota has long been the undisputed leader in hybrid technology, but General Motors is ready to give the Japanese automaker a run for its money. GM will roll out their first full hybrid when the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid hits the streets early this year.
With the Tahoe, we’re talking about a behemoth vehicle that has a 6.0-liter V-8 and a 6,200-pound towing capacity. Yet this vehicle with GM’s new 2-Mode system offers 50 percent better fuel economy than its gasoline sibling in city driving, and 30 percent better fuel economy in highway driving. EPA estimates city/highway fuel economy at 21/22 mpg for the 2WD model and 20/20 mpg for the 4WD model. And, we’re talking about vehicles that weigh more than 5,000 pounds. A typical 2WD and 4WD Tahoe gets 14/20 mpg and 14/19 mpg, respectively.
I’ve had the chance to drive this vehicle a couple times briefly, and each time I’ve been impressed with the quality of the hybrid system. It is much quieter than the Toyota systems I’ve tested recently, and the switch between gas and electric is almost imperceptible.
The last time I drove the Tahoe, there was a bit of a contest involved. A group of auto journalists were employed with the task of getting the best gas mileage possible. During a two-hour trek filled with both city and highway driving, the economy numbers were impressive amongst a group of drivers who usually vie for worst gas mileage. My driving partner and I managed 22.3 mpg in a 2WD model with fairly normal driving (i.e. we used our air conditioner and didn’t crawl around to keep the vehicle in the electric motor the whole time). We were beat by another 2WD pair who got 23.9 mpg.
All of us, however, got smoked by a couple of drivers in a 4WD model that averaged 24.3 mpg. This pair closed its windows in a hot climate, drove with the windows up, tucked in the side mirrors to make it more aerodynamic and crawled whenever possible.
In addition to this new 2-Mode system, which will also be rolling out in the Silverado as well as other GM vehicles, GM has a mild hybrid similar to the Honda system currently in place. This system, ups the mpgs by about 2 mpg in city and highway driving. So, in a vehicle like the Malibu city/hwy estimates go from 22/30 mpg in the gasoline model to 24/32 in the hybrid model. In the mild hybrid, the engine can shut off at idle and gets some electric boost during acceleration, both of which aid in fuel economy.
Mass consumption
But, the hybrid, plug-in and fuel cell are only a part of the Chevrolet fuel solutions story. Taking all the new fangled technology out of the equation, Chevrolet has six non-hybrid models that get 30 mpg or more in highway driving. They include the Aveo (manual and automatic); Aveo5 (manual and automatic); Cobalt (2.2-liter and 2.4-liter, manual and automatic), Malibu (2.4-liter automatic); HHR (2.2-liter manual and automatic) and HHR Panel (2.2-liter manual and automatic).
Chevrolet also offers more E85 capable models than any other brand. These vehicles can run on fuel that contains anywhere from 100 to 15 percent gasoline. The rest of the mixture is ethanol, which is made from a biomaterial such as corn. For 2008, the Impala (3.5-liter and 3.9-liter V-6s); Avalanche, Express, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe (5.3-liter V-8) and Uplander (3.9-liter V-6) are all E85-capable.
Consider all this, and you’ll see a brand that is most definitely turning a solid shade of green. Chevrolet already has a lot going on, but even a cursory glance at their future plans, including the Equinox and the Volt, will show you they’re far from done.
So, stay tuned as Chevrolet follows its new slogan, moving its vehicles from ‘gas-friendly to gas-free.’
DriveLive around Chicago in a VW Eos
