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2005 Detroit Auto Show: New Car Reviews

The GM Sequel Hydrogen Vehicle

by Jason Rzucidlo

AmericaJR@AmericaJR.com

 

 

The GM Sequel is a Hydrogen fuel cell sport utility vehicle. It is based on the chassis of the GM AUTOnomy and Hy-wire introduced for the first time in 2002.

The Sequel does not take any gasoline at all. It runs entirely on battery and Hydrogen gas. One day, you will be able to fill up your car at the gas station with Hydrogen. It is considered a full hybrid because it is better for the environment. A regular hybrid combines the gasoline with a battery and this is not one of those.

Matthew Erdey is a spokesman for General Motors. He said, "There should be a prototype by the end of 2005. You can get 300 miles per fillup. The chassis alone costs $34,000 so the overall cost would be between $60,000 to $70,000 today."

He said there is no engine in the front under the hood. It is used entirely for storage space. The engine is on the bottom undernearth the entire vehicle. Each passenger has their own radio knobs so you can listen to two different radio stations.

A hydrogen vehicle sounds good but what are the negatives? It emits only water not harmful vapors from vehicles on the road today. The only problem is getting ydrogen at gas stations. The hydrogen is plentiful on earth but you cannot get it from a gas station yet.

The performance of the hydrogen vehicle is expected to be just as good as those cas on the road today. The inspiration for a hydrogen vehicle came as gas prices are going up. Each year, there are expected to be millions more drivers on the road. The Earth's atmosphere is taking a beating right now.

A hydrogen car will be more Earth friendly. Instead of harmful emissions, there will be water vapor. The cost to build these right now is too high. GM expects that by the year 2010, they will be producing them in large quantities. The cost will be lower at the time.

The Sequel is about the same size as the Cadillac SRX. You can go 300 miles without having to fill up. Most hydrogen fuel cells made today can only go between 170 and 250 miles before they need a fillup. It can go from 0 to 60 mph in just 10 seconds.

A Rear View of the GM Sequel concept.

 

Last Updated 1.13.2004

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