Edmunds: 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV Full Test and Video

[Bartek Sikorski]

72 Hours With GM's Million-Dollar Fuel Cell Prototype

Not an hour after my chat with Tom Williams, another driver of a 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV as part of GM Project Driveway, he leaves a message on my cell phone:

"When I drove up to downtown L.A. from Orange County today, I got 60 miles to the kilogram. I don't know about you, but I love that."

It's the kind of excitement I'm used to hearing from truly motivated Prius owners. By any standard, the hydrogen-fueled Chevy Equinox fuel cell electric vehicle qualifies as alternative-fuel exotica, as rare and fascinating as it is expensive and impractical.

You can call it the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV (FCEV as in fuel cell electric vehicle), but this is no production vehicle. Only General Motors knows what it costs to build these SUVs, but each of these prototypes is probably worth the equivalent of 10 Tesla Roadsters.

For the next 72 hours, though, I'm going to drive our Chevrolet Equinox FCEV test vehicle like it's an ordinary, $30,000 Chevy Equinox LTZ. Of course, the FCEV's 150-mile range prevents me from leaving the green dreamland of Southern California. A Chevrolet dealership will probably never be more than five miles away, and specially trained OnStar advisors are waiting to take my call.

As a participant in the hydrogen-powered GM Project Driveway, I even have my own Driver Relationship Manager. She tells me I can call her cell any time, day or night. Not even my mom wants to talk to me that often.

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