GM Unveils Photos of 'Skateboard' Fuel Cell Vehicle

boston.com ^ | 08/14/2002 | Ed Garsten A.P. and other...

[DoughtyOne]

The body is connected to a skateboard-like chassis that contains most of the vehicle's working parts.

General Motors Corp. revealing the first pictures Wednesday of the fuel cell powered vehicle, called the Hy-wire.

It's the first drivable version of a concept the automaker unveiled during January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit under the name Autonomy as its attempt to reinvent the automobile.

[WyldKard]

Neat!!!

But..I don't think I saw the article explain what happens if you lose all your electrical power...and suddenly, you know, you can't steer or brake....

[Petronski]

Dream hot rod for the algore set: Blech!

[NewHampshireDuo]

I don't see where you attach the trailer hitch or roof racks.

[visagoth]

what happens if you lose all your electrical power...and suddenly, you know, you can't steer or brake....

You then need to do the 'Fred Flintstone' and drag your feet.

I like that GM is starting to push the edges of the envelope on vehicle design and engineering - but they need to keep practicality in mind as well. I don't think this skateboard will do too well here in Michigan where we tend to get snow for 4 months of the year.

[WyldKard]

Dream hot rod for the algore set: Blech!

So just because a car is more modern, and uses a new power system that is less polluting, in your mind it is automatically a bad thing? A liberal thing?

This is good old fashioned American ingenuity at it's finest! It's cars like this that are going to permenantly cut our dependance on the Middle East, and allow us to finally say "Bu-bye!" to those a-holes living in Saudi. And best of all, the free market is the one coming up with the solutions...

I can't think of anything more Conservative than this...

[WyldKard]

Yeah, the skateboard design is a little..."too" radical. It would work well in some places (California, Arizona, Nevada, etc.) In other places, you should have more "ruggedized" and traditional framed fuel cell vehicles, for more intense weather conditions...

[Illbay]

...but they need to keep practicality in mind as well.

They are. They are keeping in mind the practical understanding that if they don't throw money at stuff like this, the politicians will scapegoat and villify them just as they have the tobacco companies, the oil companies, the snack food companies, the meat packing industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the....

[toddst]

This is good old fashioned American ingenuity at it's finest! . . . And best of all, the free market is the one coming up with the solutions...

I can't think of anything more Conservative than this...

10-4 on American ingenuity & free market development. This design approach is very innovative and clearly can be scaled up to whatever body size is wanted.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

What about punctures to the undercarriage?

[arthurus]

This type of design innovation is an admission that these things are weak. It is tiny and must be made to reduce wind resistance to the minimum.Scaling one up for a family of 4 will price them with Lamborghinis.

[DoughtyOne]

And then there's the familiar announcement, please make sure your cell phones are off, your chairs are in the upright position, your carryons are placed safely under the seat in front of your and all serving trays are stowed away.

Good question about the power down safety measures. I'd like to know that before I thought about a purchase.

[Petronski]

This is good old fashioned American ingenuity at it's finest!

No, it's more like those body kits that once were sold for the VW bug. You could make your bug a Rolls-Royce or a German Staff Car or even a Jaguar, as I recall.

No matter what you did, on the inside, it was still a friggin' beetle.

This is the future dream car of the internal-combustion-hating, immasculated, tree-hugger set. I bet when it hits production it will have a speaker that can play electronic engine noise, to simulate the real car experience.

[DoughtyOne]

Heh heh heh. Troublemaker! LOL

[DoughtyOne]

I can see an aversion to it, but I like the idea. Having two or three chassies around to swap out with one drive train sounds nice to me. Sometimes you feel like a truck, some times you don't.

[Petronski]

I just can't picture jacking this thing up in the back yard with my teenage son (if I had one) for a little father-son bonding/repair.

I can't see it as anything but a future of "We're from the government and we're just hear to hep you."

If these vehicles were so desirable, it wouldn't take a looming threat of CAFE limit increases to 'encourage' (read: force) their production.

If you ever see me tooling around in one of these things, please, just shoot me.

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

It's cars like this that are going to permenantly cut our dependance on the Middle East, and allow us to finally say "Bu-bye!" to those a-holes living in Saudi. And best of all, the free market is the one coming up with the solutions...

My understanding is that the favorite source for Hydrogen - the fuel fuel cells burn - is... gasoline. I'm sure the Saudis would be more than happy to sell us the oil so that we could make the gasoline from which we could extract the hydrogen for fuel cells. And the Japanese could sell us the cars, of course.

Seriously, given that the H2 comes mostily out of traditional fuels, why would it be better to use it. Can you get more miles out of the H2 coming out of a mile of gasoline than you would by simply burning the gas in a traditional car? And is there an estimate of how many more miles? Or is it fewer miles but making H2 out of gasoline is cleaner than burning the gasoline in the car? I am trying to understand.

[livius]

The first gasoline powered automobiles looked exactly like - carriages without horses. This phenomenon is now called the "horseless carriage syndrome." People automatically design things for a new technology based on how they looked for the older technology, and it takes a while to adapt to the fact that a totally new design is needed.

[Petronski]

Oh, by the way, anyone notice the '42 volt electrical system?'

Most automotive alternators now put out about 14 volts. In the near term (10 years), the automakers anticipate a three alternator car with brakes, steering and power train operated electrically.

This makes the automobile completely power-independent. The powertrain, brakes, steering, etc. all are standardized to 42 volts, and care not from where the 42 volts may come. Later, the engine can be banned, and replaced with a fuel cell or battery.

The problem is that electric cars are about as fun as dental work, like the difference between making love with a woman and getting it on with a vibrator.

[decimon]

Should do a nice job of gutting deer.