General Motors unveiled this AUTOnomy concept, the precursor to the present-day Hy-Wire, at the 2002 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
I was sitting behind the "driver control unit" of General Motors' $5 million-plus Hy-Wire, the world's first drivable vehicle that combines hydrogen fuel-cell technology with by-wire technology. Obviously, driver control had taken a hike.
Not only were the pedals missing, there was no hood to look over because there was no engine up front. This provided a picture-window view of everything ahead, including the tarmac directly in front of the bumper, and that's where my trouble began. Instead of keeping my eyes on the apex of the curve, I glanced down at the road surface rolling under the car and lost my concentration.
But in an instant, the errant behavior of the car was corrected as my brain kicked in messages that told my left hand to squeeze the left handgrip of the driver control unit for braking, and my right hand to return the right handgrip to the neutral position to decelerate. The Hy-Wire slowed and quietly glided around the curve, then accelerated down a straight stretch on the course laid out on the decommissioned French air base.
GM is reportedly spending $100 million a year and has more than 500 scientists and engineers on three continents working to develop and bring to market affordable hydrogen-powered vehicles by the end of this decade. GM says it is poised to become the first automaker to sell one million such vehicles.
Hy-Wire is the result of a radical "what if" idea—what if you discarded everything known about designing and engineering a vehicle and started with a blank sheet of paper and no preconceived ideas. Forget about the internal combustion engine, the instrument panel, steering column, foot pedals and the myriad of other components used in today's cars and trucks. The inspiration for such a project was possible because of two emerging technologies applied to personal transportation, hydrogen fuel cells and by-wire systems.
In simple terms, fuel cells make energy through the chemical combination of hydrogen and oxygen. The energy is used to power an electric motor(s) in a car when many fuel cells are combined together in a fuel-cell stack. By-wire (also known as X-by-wire in aircraft terminology) electronically links systems such as steering, brakes and accelerator rather than by mechanical linkages.
"We started with the premise, 'What if we were inventing the automobile today rather than a century ago?'" said Rick Wagoner, president and CEO of General Motors, Corp. "What might we do differently?"
What GM did differently was come up with the AUTOnomy concept car (the predecessor of the Hy-Wire) unveiled in January 2002 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. At the close of the AUTOnomy introduction, Larry Burns, GM vice president for research, development and planning, promised journalists they would be able to drive one before the year ended. Eleven months later, almost to the day, I was in a cold sweat, praying I wasn't going to crash his Hy-Wire dream car.
By themselves, fuel cells aren't a new story. But every fuel-cell vehicle until now, including GM's HydroGen3, has stuffed the fuel-cell stack, hydrogen storage unit and electric motors into an existing internal combustion architecture. Combining fuel cell with by-wire technology allowed Burns and his group to think outside the box, driving them closer to reinventing the automobile.
The heart of the AUTOnomy and subsequent Hy-Wire is the innovative "skateboard" chassis, named for what it resembles—a giant skateboard. All of the working parts of the Hy-Wire are sandwiched in the 11-inch-thick aluminum chassis, including the fuel cell stack—about the size of a PC tower; three compressed hydrogen storage tanks; computer control module; an electric motor that drives the front wheels; an integrated, one-step planetary transmission; as well as braking and steering systems.
The steel and fiberglass body is mounted on the chassis and plugs into a single electrical port, much like a laptop computer connects to a docking station. This links all the body systems—driving controls, power and heating.
With the driver control unit, the driver operates the vehicle like an aircraft pilot via two ergonomically shaped handgrips. These are positioned vertically to the right and left of a data screen, a color monitor about 6-inches wide. Acceleration is accomplished by twisting either handgrip, braking occurs by squeezing them. Steering involves a turning action not unlike a standard steering wheel. Although either handgrip can be used for both acceleration and braking, I had chosen to use the left for braking, the right to control speed. Perhaps that had contributed to my moment of panic.
By-wire technology makes it easy to design cars with virtually any type of control interface. "We're not defining the driver control unit as the optimal way, or the way it's going to be, but this is the way it could be if a customer wanted that," said Robert Vitale, an engineer in GM's design and technology fusion group. "You can easily put foot pedals in the vehicle and control them by wire."
Since there are no mechanical connections, the driver control unit can slide across the width of the car to accommodate left or right side driving positions. Pressing a button on the driver control unit starts the vehicle. Buttons also engage forward, reverse and neutral operation.
Electric motors produce an abundance of low-end torque, so accelerating from a stop is quite spirited. The Hy-Wire prototype has a top speed of around 97 mph, though so far it has only been tested up to 60. As for the throng of journalists brought in from around the world to drive it, engineers wisely programmed the car to top out at 40 mph.
GM has recently made several significant breakthroughs in the operation of the powertrain. The elimination of an external humidifier for the fuel cell and a "buffer" battery reduces weight and mass. A most noticeable advancement is a smaller and very quiet air compressor. That results in a near silent ride, with the only sound intrusion being a slight whine of the electric motor and some tire noise.
While driving the Hy-Wire twice around the two-mile course, my attention was focused on trying to learn the driving controls. It wasn't until I sat in the rear seat with someone else driving that I became aware of the expansive interior that the flat skateboard chassis allows. Large side windows and the elimination of B-pillars (the traditional post between front and rear doors) provide a truly panoramic view. The rear doors are hinged at the back, allowing the four doors to open like gull-wing doors.
Hy-Wire's exterior styling might be best described as a futuristic sport touring sedan. Which brings up, what if you liked the styling of the equally futuristic AUTOnomy coupe? Or maybe you want a pickup? Theoretically, at least, you could be driving the Hy-wire sedan today, the AUTOnomy coupe tomorrow and a pickup the day after without ever changing the underlying chassis.
There are several major hurdles that lie in the path of bringing affordable hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to your local car dealer. But GM's Burns believes that it is possible by the end of this decade. "You will see many of the features in the Hy-Wire, such as the fuel cell and by-wire technology, placed in conventional vehicles before 2010."
And a Hy-Wire-type vehicle with the skateboard chassis? "It's very probable that a chassis of this type, with changeable bodies, could be produced between 2010 and 2015."
That gives me plenty of time to learn how to drive using the handgrips.
Larry E. Hall is editor of Northwest Auto News Service and a freelance automotive journalist based in Olympia, Wash. He has an intense interest in future automotive technology.
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