GM Canada partnership key as Chevrolet prepares to launch the world's

largest fuel cell vehicle fleet

Publication Date:22-October-2006

12:00 AM US Eastern Timezone

Source:The Mississauga News

There was a special Canadian connection recently when General Motors

Corp. committed to building the world's largest fuel cell vehicle fleet

during the Company's reveal of its next generation fuel cell vehicle -

the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell. "General Motors is demonstrating its

commitment to hydrogen fuel cells as the answer for taking the

automobile out of the environmental debate and reducing our dependence

on petroleum," said Arturo Elias, President, GM Canada.

"We are especially proud that through partnerships with the Federal and

Ontario governments, our Canadian operations will play an important

role in the preparation of the Equinox Fuel Cell which will be powered

by GM's most advanced fuel cell propulsion system to date. This

demonstrates an important milestone on GM's pathway to

automotive-competitive fuel cell propulsion technology development."

With support from the Federal and Ontario Governments as part of GM

Canada's Beacon Project (announced in March 2005) GM's engineering

centre in Oshawa is playing a key engineering role in the conversion of

more than 100 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles to be placed with

regular GM customers in the fall of 2007.

The Chevrolet Equinox, currently manufactured in Ingersoll was the

first vehicle to be both lead-engineered and built in Canada. In

addition to final integration work for the Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell

vehicles that will be conducted at the GM Canada regional engineering

centre, special cold weather development work will be carried out for

these zero emission vehicles at GM's cold weather development centre in

Kapuskasing, Ont.

A comprehensive deployment plan, dubbed "Project Driveway", is designed

to gain comprehensive learnings on all aspects of the customer

experience and constitutes the first meaningful market test of fuel

cell vehicles anywhere. A variety of drivers, in differing driving

environments, will operate these vehicles in three geographic areas

where hydrogen refueling is feasible: California, the New York

metropolitan area, and Washington, DC.

Enabled by GM's fourth generation fuel cell propulsion system, the

Equinox Fuel Cell is a fully functional crossover vehicle, engineered

for an 80,000 km life. Importantly, the Equinox Fuel Cell is able to

start and operate in sub-freezing temperatures.

It is expected to meet all applicable 2007 US federal motor vehicle

safety standards, and is equipped with a long list of standard safety

features including driver, passenger and roof rail airbags, Anti-Lock

Braking System (ABS), StabiliTrak stability enhancement technology and

OnStar, while providing all of the environmental benefits of hydrogen

fuel cell technology.

"Ontario has worked hard to support and encourage leading-edge

investments in our automotive industry," said Joseph Cordiano, Minister

of Economic Development and Trade. "GM is leading the way in fuel cell

technology which will result in benefits to the environment and build

on the province's strengths as an innovative economy."

The "Project Driveway" market test will provide comprehensive insight

into all aspects of the customer experience, including reaction to the

exciting, smooth, and quiet performance of a fuel cell vehicle, and

refueling with clean hydrogen gas.

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