Engines of Change?
GM's Work on Fuel-Cell Cars Could Cause Major Design Shift
By Frank Swoboda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 8, 2002; Page E01
It has the chassis of a skateboard and a control system worthy of the Jetsons. And if it works, it would be the first major change in car design and manufacturing since the automobile was invented more than a century ago.
General Motors Corp. today unveiled the Autonomy, a snap-together concept car fueled by hydrogen cells and powered by small electric motors in each of its four wheels. The car has no pedals and no dashboard. Controls are on a computer stalk that allows the driver to sit in the left, center or right seat.
Software provides the car with a drive-by-wire control system, eliminating the need for mechanical systems traditionally used to steer, power and brake. Without the mechanical systems, you don't need motor oil or brake or transmission fluid.
GM President Richard Wagoner, introducing the car at the North American International Auto Show, said its radical new approach to design and manufacturing came from a single question that was raised a year ago: "If you were to invent the car today, what would you do?"
"We really feel we're rewriting the rules of automobile design," said Larry Burns, GM's vice president of research and development and planning. But Burns acknowledged that it is still early in the process. "We're in a marathon and we're only five miles into the race," he said.
The new design has significant hurdles to overcome before it can be sold to the public. First, automobile companies have to develop viable and low-cost fuel-cell systems, which currently cost far more than an internal combustion engine.
In addition, a whole new infrastructure to support hydrogen cars must be developed. An extensive system of service stations for refueling hydrogen cars has to be built throughout the country.
GM officials say they hope to develop a surge of demand -- and an infrastructure -- for hydrogen fuel cells, by persuading large institutions, such as hospitals, governments and bus systems, to adopt the technology. Stationary fuel cells could be used to heat and cool large buildings, they said.
Fuel-cell systems use hydrogen and create electricity through a chemical reaction. In the GM model, the electricity is sent to the four motors in each wheel.
Major car companies around the world have been spending billions to develop fuel cells. GM, Chrysler Corp. and Ford Motor Co. have been working together under the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, put together under the Clinton administration, to encourage the development of hydrogen-fuel-cell technology to improve the environment and lessen dependency on foreign oil. The only tailpipe emission from hydrogen propulsion is water.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham will announce on Wednesday plans by the government to spend more money on developing hydrogen-powered fuel cells, according to Bloomberg News.
GM's manufacturing concept goes well beyond what the other companies have been working on, according to GM officials. The concept basically commits GM, the nation's largest automaker, to hydrogen-cell technology, they said.
GM said it would have a working version of the Autonomy by the end of the year, and it expects to have fuel-cell vehicles on the road within 10 years.
"This could be the biggest thing in the last 50 years," David Cole, director of the Center for Automotive Research, told the Associated Press. "It will redefine the industry in terms of manufacturing and suppliers."
Michael Schmall, managing partner at Planning Edge in Farmington Hills, Mich., which does analysis for automakers and suppliers, told Bloomberg News, "Given GM's leadership in fuel cells, this is very likely a workable technology but something that's five, six or seven years out."
GM officials said the new design will allow automakers to adjust to a world where they have several different brands and are only able to sell several hundreds of thousands -- not millions -- of each type of car.
The Autonomy would accommodate customers' changing tastes by allowing them to buy a basic chassis, the six-inch-thick platform with the fuel cells and the wheels and electric motors, and then choose what kind of body they want. When they tire of one body style, they can simply go to the dealer and trade in the old body for a new one.
"You could purchase body upgrades through out the expected 20-year life of a chassis," Burns said. You could go from a coupe to a sport-utility vehicle to a minivan or sedan, all on the same platform.
The new design eliminates the mechanical equipment that now fills the inside of a car, starting with the engine and including a fixed steering column, pedals for the brakes, clutch and accelerator, and the gearshift lever. All of these functions are directed by computer software controlled by the driver from a single control stalk rising up from the floor of the car. Much of the technology and design is straight from the aerospace industry.
Because there are fewer components, GM officials contend the car will eventually be cheaper to manufacture and operate than conventional cars. The absence of mechanical parts also makes them safer, according to GM officials.
Burns also said that the design will enable it to reduce the number of platforms (chassis) from 14 to three, an enormous savings in an industry striving to use as many common parts as possible to save money.
In addition, Burns said it will be harder for the new car to roll over because much of the weight is in the chassis, not higher up in the fiberglass body, and there is much more room to put safety guards and crash protection inside the cabin. GM officials also assert that hydrogen is safer than gasoline, because hydrogen is lighter than air and quickly dissipates after a crash.
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