General Motors is forging ahead with plans for hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles by introducing the experimental Sequel concept, which is a completely functional cross-over type SUV. It looks good and is by far the most advanced and usable fuel cell vehicle I've seen. I'm impressed with both the capability and overall execution of the car; it actually looks (both in pictures and specs) likes something I could and would drive. The major hurdle still in front of this vehicle (and perhaps the only real problem perplexing the engineers for the last few years) is cost. I'm sure the current Sequel would have to sell for the price of a small house in order to turn any profit, so finding cost effective ways to manufacture and sell it at a competitive price will determine its fate. You may wonder about the infrastructure for dispensing hydrogen, and that's a serious problem. The Autoextremist has reported that the "oil companies" estimate the price of equipping every gas station in America with hydrogen capability to be $12 billion. They put this in perspective as only half the price of the Alaska pipeline. With that thought, I'm in agreement with The Autoextremist on this one: "eminently doable."
In another smart move, GM is also pledging to build and lease 100 fuel cell vehicles, based on the Chevy Equinox, to customers in California, New York and Washington, D.C. This is more impressive than their Sequel, being a real world application of their technology rather than a one-off piece of technological art. The only issue I see that they overlooked: I don't live in any of those markets.
Sequel coverage:
Autoblog 1, Autoblog 2, Autoblog 3
Autoextremist
Fuel cell Equinox fleet coverage:
Autoblog
Autoextremist
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment