What is it?
GM Autonomy
What's special about it?
With increasing concerns about finite petroleum resources and environmentally harmful emissions come increasing interest in fuel-cell vehicles. GM is investing lots of money and brainpower into making a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle viable, and the Autonomy is its current state of the art.
Resembling a large, futuristic skateboard, the Autonomy chassis is just 6 inches thick, yet incorporates all its propulsion and control systems. One of the many benefits of such an efficient design is that it allows the body to be virtually anything from a sport coupe to a pickup truck. Another advantage is that it allows the driver and passengers more room, as there is no engine, transmission and driveshaft(s) impinging on the cabin. A central "docking port" on the chassis' top surface connects all controls by wire, from steering and braking to climate system.
Details were unavailable as far as specific output and range, but increasing power would simply involve adding "plates" of fuel cells, and a fuel-cell vehicle should provide over twice the fuel economy of a comparable gasoline-powered counterpart. Other amazing facts for this fuel source are that the only byproducts are water vapor and heat and that hydrogen is the most abundant element known to man.
Why should you care?
Like it or not, we need to work on finding fuel sources other than gasoline. GM is giving this endeavor a great effort (they have obtained hundreds of patents in this area) and believe that fuel-cell vehicles will be on the road before this decade is over.
