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Fuel cell hits the road

By: Jecoliah Ellis/Photographed by Jay Gardner
Updated: January 31, 2008
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P-FUELCELLCARB2008-01-31-1201825123.jpgDaniel O'Connell drove around one of the first fuel cell Chevy Equinoxes to hit the road Thursday.  What makes the SUV different is it runs off hydrogen, not gasoline.  Fuel cell technology was developed at General Motors Research Center in Honeoye Falls.

Since it gets pretty chilly in Rochester you'll see this development vehicle driving around the area the next few months for cold weather testing.  "In terms of cold testing we're looking at how the vehicle starts.  Where it's cold.  How it performs.  How the heater warms up. What the passenger compartment does and how the vehicle drives," said O’Connell, the Director of Fuel Cell Technology Service and Support at the General Motors Research Center.

All competitive car manufacturers are testing fuel cell vehicles because they say it's the wave of the future.  And that’s mainly because it ends our dependence on foreign oil.

"You have the same performance customers have known to love in cars today.  You have zero emissions so no pollution and it's twice as efficient," said O’Connell.

The fuel cell SUV has a hydrogen gage so you know when it's time to fill up.  It gets about 200 miles a tank.

You're probably wondering when the Chevy Equinox will be available on the market.  GM doesn’t yet have a date because there's still a lot of work to do.  In two weeks, 100 volunteers in New York City, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles will be given development cars to test drive for up to three months.  After GM gets feedback from the drivers, they'll look into producing the cars and setting the price.

 

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