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GM Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell SUV
GM's Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell SUV, all 100 of them, are supposed
to rollout in the U. S. the first quarter of 2008. The deployment
plan is being called "Project Driveway" and the idea behind
GM's rollout is to test the marketability, including customer response
to hydrogen cars in general and the Equinox Fuel Cell in specific.
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Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell SUV |
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The Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell SUVs will be rolled out in California,
Metropolitan New York and Washington DC. Currently, California has
23 hydrogen fueling stations, New York has 2 and Washington DC has
1 station. As such, the distribution of vehicles may be weighted
more towards California, which has a larger hydrogen support system
already in place that the other two regions.
According to GM Vice President Larry Burns, "General Motors
is demonstrating its commitment to hydrogen fuel cells as the answer
for taking the automobile out of the environmental debate and reducing
our dependence on petroleum. The Equinox Fuel Cell is powered by
GM's most advanced fuel cell propulsion system to date, and demonstrates
an important milestone on our pathway to automotive-competitive
fuel cell propulsion technology development."
The Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell contains General Motor's fourth generation
fuel cell propulsion system including a 93 kw fuel cell, 73 kw front-wheel
drive 3-phase asynchronous electric motor and 35 kw nickel metal
hydride battery pack. The Equinox Fuel Cell uses 3 carbon fiber
fuel tanks, pressurized to 10,000 psi and has a range of 200 miles
before refueling. With a top speed of 100 mph, the Chevrolet Equinox
Fuel Cell accelerates from 0 - 60 mph in 12 seconds. The 5-door,
4-seat vehicle is expected to meet all 2007 U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards.
The fuel cell is being manufactured to start in temperatures from
-13 to +113F so those cold New York winters or hot summers in the
California deserts should not be a problem. Some of the other features
of the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell include OnStar with Turn-by-Turn
Navigation (for finding the sparse hydrogen stations), heated seats;
keyless entry, passenger frontal and roof rail side-impact air bags
and StabiliTrak.
The fuel cell is being manufactured with an expected life of only
50,000 miles so most likely the vehicle will be leased instead of
sold or else some other arrangement will be worked out with those
picked to drive the vehicle. General Motors of Canada in Oshawa,
Ontario will produce the 100 Equinox Fuel Cell SUVs to be sold,
leased or otherwise distributed in the U. S.
The test marketing of the Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell will serve as
a learning tool for General Motors and other hydrogen car manufacturers
to see if the public is indeed ready to accept fuel cell vehicle
technology into their lives.
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