With the debut of the Sequel concept car, General Motors has reiterated its intention of reinventing the car and, by extension, itself as a car company.
According to GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, it's called Sequel because it's the ''sequel to the first 100 years of the automobile.''
GM's desire to leapfrog such stop-gap technologies as hybrids and diesels is evident in Sequel, since it uses such things as fuel cells, drive-by-wire controls, and wheel hub motors and is meant to wean society entirely of its dependence on fossil fuels. On top of that, Sequel uses technology that is available today, so nothing needs to be invented.
There are considerable hurdles to be cleared, of course, including the issue of doing this at a price that people can afford, so all of this may or may not happen. Indeed, this is why Wagoner called it ''our moon shot'' at the car's unveiling at the North American International Auto Show. But it's certainly interesting to see a car company with a plan that goes beyond the next month's sales statistics, let alone the end of this decade.
GM wants to be the first company to sell a million fuel cell-powered vehicles, and does not really care if those purchasers live in Canada or the United States. In face, GM would probably prefer it if the bulk of those buyers lived in China, since that country is the future of the automotive industry and is just now putting up an infrastructure to support that. So it might as well build a system that delivers hydrogen to customers, rather than gasoline. This, at least, is GM's thinking, using the example of China's decision to skip land-line phones and go directly to cellular service.
Sequel is the successor to the AUTOnomy and Hy-wire concept cars of recent years, and while it follows the same principles it is much ahead of those models technologically.
Indeed, the technologies embodied in Sequel have developed so fast that GM has been able to double the range and halve the 0-100 kmh acceleration time of current fuel cell vehicles in less than three years, says Larry Burns, GM's vice-president of research and development and planning.
Three years ago, says Burns, Rick Wagoner ''challenged us to completely rethink the automobile. The AUTOnomy and Hy-wire concepts were the outgrowth of that challenge -- a revolution in how vehicles would be designed, built and used in the future. But they were concepts. Today, with Sequel, the vision is real -- not yet affordable, but do-able."
Sequel embodies GM's vision of reinventing the automobile with a fusion of technologies that includes advanced materials, electronic controls, computer software and advanced propulsion. According to Burns, it's an ''exclamation point for GM's comprehensive global advanced technology strategy that is addressing efficiency and emissions, from today's engine and transmission technology to hybrids and, eventually, fuel cells as the ultimate answer.''
Burns explains that GM's goal ''is to design and validate a fuel cell propulsion system by 2010 that is competitive with current internal combustion systems on durability and performance, and that ultimately can be built at scale affordably.''
According to GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, it's called Sequel because it's the ''sequel to the first 100 years of the automobile.''
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There are considerable hurdles to be cleared, of course, including the issue of doing this at a price that people can afford, so all of this may or may not happen. Indeed, this is why Wagoner called it ''our moon shot'' at the car's unveiling at the North American International Auto Show. But it's certainly interesting to see a car company with a plan that goes beyond the next month's sales statistics, let alone the end of this decade.
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Sequel is the successor to the AUTOnomy and Hy-wire concept cars of recent years, and while it follows the same principles it is much ahead of those models technologically.
Indeed, the technologies embodied in Sequel have developed so fast that GM has been able to double the range and halve the 0-100 kmh acceleration time of current fuel cell vehicles in less than three years, says Larry Burns, GM's vice-president of research and development and planning.
Three years ago, says Burns, Rick Wagoner ''challenged us to completely rethink the automobile. The AUTOnomy and Hy-wire concepts were the outgrowth of that challenge -- a revolution in how vehicles would be designed, built and used in the future. But they were concepts. Today, with Sequel, the vision is real -- not yet affordable, but do-able."
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Burns explains that GM's goal ''is to design and validate a fuel cell propulsion system by 2010 that is competitive with current internal combustion systems on durability and performance, and that ultimately can be built at scale affordably.''