This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Reinventar la industria del automóvil

In Detroit, General Motors presents a vehicle designed specifically for fuel cell

Reinventing the automobile industry

Marta Torres01/02/2002

A few weeks ago the US firm General Motors introduced a vehicle incorporating a stack of fuel (or hydrogen fuel cell) as a source of energy. This data would not be a novelty, but outside because it is a vehicle specifically designed to incorporate this stack, already have been integrated to vehicle fuel cells sometimes although it was always cars of normal production and vehicles not designed from the outset for this.

This model combines further stack fuel with the electronic transmission, which avoids the mechanics in controlling systems such as the address or the brakes and other mechanisms. In the model presented in Detroit cable transmission system has been developed by SKF signature of Sweden.

The vehicle presented by General Motors in the international lounge of the Detroit Auto (United States) is called AUTOnomy and seeks to apply this concept to its design, both in its manufacture and use.

On its website, the company through Larry Burns comes to ensure that this concept (AUTOnomy) "could reinvent the automobiles and the entire industry (automotive)." AUTOnomy is not simply a new chapter in the history of the automotive industry. It is the second part, while the first hundred years are the first. "The twentieth century was the century of the internal combustion and the century ventiuno will be the century of the fuel cell."

Is this possible? No doubt a vehicle that emits water vapor is quite attractive but so far has been considered that hydrogen (the source of energy of this system and the most abundant in the universe element), is rather more expensive than current gasoline, at least for now.

This factor does not seem to discourage those responsible for General Motors who defend the AUTOnomy under the premises that it is a socially responsible choice (does not emit polluting gases), adaptable and easily "saleable" around the world. Added to this is a vehicle design freedom unknown up to now.

Squaring the circle

According to the Vice President of research, development and planning of the company, Larry Burns, the result is a completely new architecture, which will make it possible to build different models of cars on the basis of a limited number of chassis designs.

Everything that makes work this new vehicle should be in a frame in the form of "monopatin". The fuel tank is located (in this case, hydrogen), propulsion system, brakes or the direction, just to mention the most important.

The vehicle is equipped with four wheel drive engine. Mechanisms have been removed and he opted for the electronics. The pedals, the instrument panel and steering column have been removed. In other words: driver can sit where you want and for he bring the vehicle, will be something similar to lead an outboard or a snowmobile. In the absence of steering column, the guide of address could be mounted on a swivel arm fixed to the floor of the center of the vehicle. The driver could sit where I would like to.

The lack of restrictions also makes it easier to increase the safety of the vehicle. This is ñade that the "skateboard" of General Motors has a center of gravity unusually low, thereby also gains in stability.

In addition, the same model of cahsis can be equipped with various models of scenes, from a single-seater to a monovolúmen and it allows the possibility to even be able to change the frame needs or fashions, while it retains the same chassis.

But by the time General Motors designers have not gone so far and in the fair of Detroit have submitted a model only. It's a two-seat vehicle that has a part of motorcycle and one of the design of a military aircraft and which was reportedly inspired by a model developed by GM in the early 1950s (Firebird) was trying to imitate the design of post-war aviation.

Reinventing the industry

In addition to the addressed environmental advantages, the chassis, the truly important part of the vehicle, is designed to last for quite some time. With such period of life, avoiding "made in vain" and facilitates material recovery and recycling. The only party likely to be changed more frequently, the rack, can be made entirely from recycled materials.

To make this concept a reality industrial General Motors speaks even of how organizing production. The chassis or "skateboards" (skateboards for GM) making large scale to reduce costs, while the frames would be made in small satellite workshops (outsourcing for example) that work the design to the needs of each market segment. The industrial process bet on the modular Assembly.

Though 20 years of life for a chassis is perhaps too long for the automotive industry, GM engineers say that it is a flexible concept that if more power is needed at any given time, only the number of dishes should be increased.

So easy to enunciate represents a turnaround for today's industry from the car and a catalyst for what in some circles is called the "hydrogen economy". Whether or not near utopia, General Motors has already registered 24 patents in one way or another connected with the AUTOnomy concept.