Detroit Reinvents the Automobile: Hybrid Cars and Hydrogen Power

Jan. 29, 2003

Imagine a car that runs on hydrogen and emits only water and heat instead of pollution. Now imagine that this car could double or triple the number of auto sales worldwide, helping to provide universal transportation around the world along with record auto profits and help decrease global warming to boot.
That car -- the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle -- was a hit at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last week, with crowds packing the area around prototypes such as GM‘s new Hy-wire.
Also waiting in the wings is a new generation of hybrid cars which will offer dual gasoline/electric engines that will double the miles-per-gallon of your car or truck. For the standard SUV, that could mean 30 mpg in the city and 50 mpg on the highway.
The potential combination of profits and technology has got the top brass at a number of auto companies talking like “Save the Planet“ environmentalists, hooked on a future in which sustainable power is harnessed to solve the world‘s pollution problems... while making truckloads of money.
In a joint speech on January 6 at the Auto Show, General Motors President and CEO Rick Wagoner, and Tom Stephens, vice president of GM Powertrain vowed to offer hybrid power systems on virtually every car, truck and SUV in GM‘s fleet by 2007, starting with its full-size Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pick-ups in 2004 and the Saturn VUE in 2005.
And beyond that? Hydrogen-powered cars which will reinvent the automobile.

THE CHALLENGE
The auto industry faces three hurdles before the sustainable future rolls down your street, however.
“First, we have to offer products that customers really want to buy, not have to buy,“ Wagoner said. “If no one buys your products, your technology has no real impact.“
Another problem is producing the new cars at a price the public is willing to pay. Currently, Wagoner said, hybrid gas/electric-powered vehicles cost several thousand more than those which offer conventional powertrains. “In today’s market, demand for hybrid vehicles is low.“
But GM anticipates that interest in hybrid vehicles will increase over the next few years, driven by factors such as the price of gasoline and improvements in the vehicles along with lower prices. GM plans to gradually introduce a variety of hybrid systems to meet public demand over the next few years.
“Starting with our hybrid full-size pickups, which will be available in the fall of this year, GM will offer consumers three different hybrid propulsion systems, on three vehicle architectures, representing more than a dozen of our most popular models,“ Wagoner said.
GM cars and trucks will be available with standard powertrains as well as the new hybrid systems. “If consumers were to select the hybrid option on all of the models included in our multi-year plan, we would be capable of providing more than one million hybrid vehicles per year,“ Wagoner said.
Don‘t expect the new hybrid cars to be small compacts such as Honda‘s Insight. GM is specifically targeting small to mid-sized SUVs which are popular with suburban-dwellers.
“We‘ve focused our efforts on developing a range of hybrid systems that addresses the American market in two key areas,“ Stephens said. “The first is the preference of Americans for larger and more powerful vehicles and the second is that these vehicles travel more on the open road than in tight urban environments.“
Stephens added that GM has an aggressive program underway to be first among U.S. automakers with hybrid technology.
“In fact, General Motors will be the only manufacturer to cover the entire range of vehicles with hybrid technology, from midsize four-wheel-drive cars to pick-up trucks to SUVs to commercial vehicles and buses,“ he said.

BEYOND HYBRIDS
Wagoner and Stephens are bullish on hybrids in GM‘s future, but even more excited about the potential of hydrogen fuel cell cars.
“Looking at the long-term picture, we believe the hydrogen fuel cell is the big answer,“ Wagoner said.
GM engineers spent the past year creating the company‘s first driveable hydrogen fuel cell car, debuting the Hy-wire at the Paris Auto Show in September. While the Hy-wire drew plenty of interest at the auto show (see sidebar), Wagoner notes that there is still much to be done before it goes into production, especially in regard to making it affordable.
Nonetheless the company plans to invest heavily in their development, and sees its upcoming line of hybrid cars as a bridge to fuel cell technology.
GM will see an immediate benefit in marketing its new technology by providing a new diesel hybrid military pickup truck to the U.S. Army which will be equipped with a fuel cell auxiliary power unit. The truck “could become the model for the Army‘s new fleet of 30,000 light tactical vehicles by the end of the decade.“
“The diesel hybrid improves Army fuel consumption by 20 percent over conventional diesels, reduces emissions and provides troops with clean, reliable electrical power,“ states a GM news release. “These are crucial elements in helping to transform the Army into a lighter, more mobile military unit. And with fuel transportation costs reaching up to $400 a gallon depending on training or battlefield operations, the taxpayer savings could run well into the millions of dollars.“
Reinventing the automobile couldn‘t come at a better time, considering the growing unease over gas-guzzling SUVs.
In a speech to the Automotive News World Congress on January 14, Robert Lutz, head of product development for GM, noted at the automakers that succeed are those which “swiftly adapt to all sorts of market conditions.“
“The current attack on SUVs is a good example,“ Lutz said. “The anti-SUV factions are turning the issue into one of religious zeal and national security. And while we may find their arguments absurd, the best way to respond is to keep a cool head. The irrefutable fact is there are more vehicle choices in the market than ever before, and the highly intelligent, American public is choosing what they want from this broad array.“

LOOKING AHEAD
In terms of numbers, hybrid and fuel cell cars constituted a very small part of the auto show. Other than GM, there were only a handful of hybrids in evidence, including Honda‘s Insight and Civic Hybrid; Toyota‘s Prius and all-electric RAV4 EV; the Ford Th!nk and Ranger EV and the DaimlerChrysler GEM.
Even GM, which is hoping to lead the charge into the future of sustainable power, hedged its bets with a hefty range of gas-guzzlers, such as the Cadillac Sixteen, a 16-cylinder, 1,000-horse throwback to what Lutz called the “Golden Age“ of the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘50s when such cars were cultural icons.
But Lutz also predicted a new Golden Age of cars which will lift the industry out of its slump with sustainable technology, and noted that other manufacturers are on the same track as GM. “Many manufacturers are researching hybrids, diesel technology, fuel cells, and embracing the philosophy of responsible powertrains because it‘s good common sense.“


(SIDEBAR)

(photo chassis) The chassis for Honda‘s FCX fuel cell car reveals the hydrogen power source and “engine“ contained in the floor of the car.

First Look at a hydrogen fuel cell car

Look under the hood of GM‘s new Hy-wire concept car and you‘ll find something missing. There‘s no engine. No battery, spark plugs, radiator, distributor or carburetor -- nothing.
In fact, there‘s not even a hood, because the Hy-wire‘s hydrogen fuel cell power source and engine are built into the floor of the car underneath the driver and passengers.
Another thing missing in the Hy-wire is pollution, because the vehicle emits only water and heat as byproducts of its hydrogen fuel cells, which are capable of a range of about 200 miles.
In a sense, this is a car that runs on water from which hydrogen is created.
Here‘s a description from GM on how the Hy-wire power system works:
“The fuel cell is the heart of Hy-wire‘s powertrain. Within each cell, the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen forms water and generates electricity. When many fuel cells are connected together in a fuel cell stack, the electricity that is generated feeds and electric motor which provides enough power to propel a car. The only emission from the tailpipe is water!“
GM currently has 500 engineers and scientists working on fuel cell technology. At this point, however, the Hy-wire looks like something E.T. would drive: there‘s no instrument panel, no brake or accelerator, and no room for your legs in the prototype.


(SIDEBAR)

(Photo of Hybrid Civic): The Honda Hybrid Civic looks like any other car, but is virtually silent when it switches to its electric mode.

The Hybrids are Coming...

Hybrid cars use a combination of gasoline and electric engines working together to get great mileage. The Honda Civic Hybrid, for instance, gets up to 51 mpg, while its Insight model gets highway mileage of 68 mpg -- the best in America.
The Civic Hybrid generates electrical power from its gasoline engine; it never has to be “plugged in“ to recharge its bank of nickel-metal hydride batteries. A computer automatically switches from the gas engine to the electric motor, as power permits, to ensure the highest mileage.
When accelerating, the electric motor helps boost the car‘s horsepower. When braking, “the motor turns into a generator to automatically recharge the battery pack.“