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Non-Tech : IMPCO Technologies (IMCO), formerly AirSensors (ARSN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Oravetz who wrote (276)	1/8/2002 10:17:29 AM
From: Jim Oravetz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 298

By Carlos Osorio The Associated Press General Motors thinks this structure, shown Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, may be the foundation for the reinvention of the automobile. web.thesunnews.com DETROIT \| It looks like a giant skateboard: 6 inches thick, 14 feet long, just over 6 feet wide, with an array of odd-looking ports and markings, all sitting on oversized tires. General Motors Corp. believes this thin, flat, almost featureless structure just may be the foundation for the reinvention of the automobile. In fact, the skateboard amounts to a docking station/chassis, to which a body would be attached to form a vehicle GM calls Autonomy. Shown publicly for the first time at the North American International Auto Show on Monday, Autonomy combines fuel cell propulsion with what's known as "drive-by-wire" technology. "This concept provides the vision of the coming hydrogen economy, a world of truly sustainable mobility," said Rick Wagoner, GM president and CEO. The Autonomy is powered by a hydrogen-fueled fuel cell system that is shoehorned into the 6-inch thick chassis. It powers four small motors, one mounted on each wheel, supplanting the traditional front- or rear-mounted engine and transmission. "This could be the biggest thing in the last 50 years," said David Cole, director of the Center for Automotive Research. Using drive-by-wire, steering, braking and other systems are operated electronically, instead of mechanically, eliminating the need for heavy, bulky components. It also eliminates the need for engine oil, transmission fluid or brake fluid. All the wiring is stuffed into the chassis. It creates, on a much larger scale, the same type of docking station one might use to connect a laptop computer to a company's system. A hand-operated steering guide called the X-drive replaces the steering column. Accelerator and brake pedals and instrument panels would also be eliminated, with their functions incorporated into the X-drive, which could be mounted on a swivel arm connected to the floor in the center of the vehicle. "People could literally sit wherever they are comfortable," said Wayne Cherry, GM's vice president of design. Using 2020 as a target year for producing a vehicle based on Autonomy's technologies, Burns said considerable obstacles stand in the way, namely cost, safe, onboard hydrogen storage, a hydrogen refueling infrastructure and safety testing.