First drive: Chev Equinox is GM's fuel cell sell

GENERAL MOTORS has called on cities and governments around the world to consider developing a working hydrogen infrastructure to help pave the way for its FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) rollout over the next decade.

Speaking in Detroit to global media at January's North American International Auto Show, the executive director for GM's Fuel Cell Activities, Byron McCormick, revealed that an investment of around $US200 million is all that is needed by each city if 70 per cent of the US population is to have access at every 3.6km to a hydrogen dispenser.

In the longer term, Mr McCormick believes that a $US15 billion investment would be required to service the first million FCEVs in the top 100 urban areas in the USA. This would cover over 200,000km of highway.

As an incentive to invest in the scheme, Mr McCormick said the first city to do so anywhere in the world is likely to be rewarded with a huge groundswell of related infrastructure investment from GM and organisations related to the project – along with probably at least six other car-makers that GM is aware of that are also seeking governmental assistance.

They include Toyota, Honda, Daimler AG, Chrysler LLC and Hyundai.

“The rewards will be rich for the city that does it properly first,” Mr McCormack said.

“General Motors will go for the global city that sets it right first. It could be anywhere... it would be great for investment and great for jobs,” he added.

As a result, Mr McCormick believes that governments should strongly consider favourable tax policies to encourage the building of the factories and necessary infrastructure.

Meanwhile, GM will roll out in excess of 100 prototype FCEV vehicles for celebrity and governmental agency use over the next 12 months as part of its Project Driveway exercise.

Based on the US-market Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV (which is about the same size as the Holden Captiva Maxx), the idea is for GM to accrue real-world consumer experience with the technology.

The Equinox FCEV is currently the world’s largest fuel cell vehicle market test, with the vehicle being designed to meet or exceed all applicable US federal vehicle safety standards.

These include crash and safety development regimes, hydrogen storage and validation exercises, and onboard hydrogen operation methodology.

The Equinox FCEV is a ZEV zero-emissions vehicle powered by GM’s fourth-generation fuel cell propulsion system. It includes driver and front passenger airbags, anti-lock brakes and GM's OnStar telematics service, which will offer drivers advice on operating the cars as well as information on nearby hydrogen filling stations.

According to GM, Project Driveway aims to understand driver reactions to a FCEV’s unique ride, handling and performance characteristics expose the operator to the hydrogen refuelling process in terms of its speed, availability and access and to gain a feeling of the overall experience that the FCEV operator gains from the project.

Mr McCormack said that the learnings garnered from the experience will benefit the future development of FCEVs, as well as aid in their marketing, outreach efforts and infrastructure development.

GM promises that the Project Driveway participants will be “well cared for” with 24/7 customer service, and thorough training and information session development that will include emergency response.

Mr McCormack stressed that being first with a viable fuel cell vehicle is not enough if the infrastructure is not in place.

“GM was first with EV1 (the electric vehicle of the latter 1990s) and that was a false victory.

“Changing things is what GM is driving towards,” he added.

Drive impressions:

EXTRAORDINARILY ordinary: That is our response after driving the latest version of the GM FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle).

Unsurprisingly, GM is using a compact SUV of similar dimensions to the Holden Captiva Maxx to ascertain some real-world experience and data.

With over 100 hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Equinox FCEVs on their way to celebrities and other US notables in the coming months, the world is edging closer to a zero-emission vehicle future.

The thing is, to get the people behind the technology, it must not look, feel or seem dangerous or threatening. On the contrary, the FCEV should require no more familiarisation than an ordinary vehicle, so as to not intimidate or scare people away.

This is GM’s thinking anyway, and what better way to win over the great unwashed than with an SUV – the very symbol of American freedom.

So forget the Equinox’s pleasantly anonymous styling and same-again packaging. We can guarantee you that when GM’s FCEV concept cars stop costing a fraction of the $550,000 that each Equinox reportedly costs, it will probably be 2020 or beyond, and we’ll look back and smile at it in the future in the same way we would if we were presented with a fuel cell-powered 1996 Holden Jackaroo.

Instead, the thing to do is marvel as just how incredibly smooth the Equinox is to drive.

Since all the controls mimic a normal combustion-engine Equinox’s, opening the door, settling in and putting the T-bar shifter into drive is second nature.

But the strong thrust forward from the 100 per cent of torque available instantaneously from take-off, accompanied by an addictive turbine-like whirr that comes with the pace, is something new and extremely exciting altogether.

With the price of this technology still a huge hurdle, GM is obviously saying that its luxury fleet will be the first to eventually get this technology. And we’re saying that’s okay, because the uncanny quietness and magic carpet-like smoothness that FCEVs offer means that at least the occupants of such cars will be pampered for accordingly.

So here we are, driving between 40km/h and about 90km/h around on an island in the middle of Detroit on the Great Lakes, in the dead of winter, experiencing an FCEV in an urban streetscape that includes stop signs, gentle curves, long straights and some rough road action.

We have instantly adjusted to this Equinox’s special drivetrain, yet so benign is it that we doubt most people would even pick this Chevrolet as a hydrogen-powered test bed.

The Equinox’s 0-100km/h time is combustion-engine-competitive but not as spectacular as we expected given how eager it is off the mark. But you would not call this wonderfully calm-feeling vehicle sluggish in the midrange.

If we were picky, we’d say that GM still needs to work on the slight amount of jerkiness that comes with all that torque at take-off (although one FCEV engineer said that the Equinox is far-less prone to it than previous vehicles) and that the weight of the drivetrain coupled with the heftiness of the SUV means that you can feel the mass when you try to corner quickly, even though the suspension settings are firmer compared to the normal versions.

But these are only minor things.

If we were told that the Equinox FCEV was mass production-ready, we would believe it. This is how thorough and complete the engineering work behind this hydrogen-powered GM car feels, and it was a thrill and a privilege to drive several examples.

As we said: that the Chevrolet drove and felt better than the ordinary Equinox – while feeling completely normal – is quite an extraordinary achievement.