General Motor's Hy-wire: Car of the Future? by Peter Verhoeff

Simplicity is the keyword in General Motor's futuristic, biofriendly vehicle, the Hy-wire. For starters, they eliminated the internal combustion engine and replaced it with four small electric motors, one for each wheel. Not only did that dispose of a big, heavy and bulky engine, but also the supporting equipment that goes with it: gearbox, transmission, starter motor, generator, oil pump, water pump, and so on.
In essence, what you need from an automobile is a way to move the vehicle and a way to control its speed and direction. In the past this used to be done mechanically. You had the engine, gearbox and transmission to move the car forward. You had a steering wheel that activated a rack and pinion to twist the front wheels in the desired direction. You had brakes that slowed down or stopped the car and an accelerator pedal that controlled the speed via the carburetor.
With an electric vehicle, such as the Hy-wire, things get much simpler. The electric motors turn the wheels; they receive power from fuel cells, whose fuel consists of hydrogen stored in pressurized tanks. Speed and direction are controlled electronically using the built-in computer. An important advantage of using hydrogen-powered fuel cells is that the only combustion by-product is water.
The result of all this simplification is a much different looking car. The bottom part of the Hy-wire looks like a skateboard. In fact, it is constructed in such a way that the top part can be detached and you could turn a car into a van, for example, using the same chassis, which contains the fuel cells, the fuel and the computer.
The interior of the Hy-wire looks quite striking and very roomy. For example, there is a floor-to-ceiling windshield that gives a panoramic view of the environment. The floor is flat, giving lots of legroom to the occupants. There is no steering wheel and no brake and gas pedals. Instead, there is a joystick-like device for controlling both speed and direction via the on-board computer system.
Instead of rear-view mirrors, it has closed-circuit video equipment. The video monitors also take over the functions of traditional gauges, such as speed and fuel level. The car is capable of speeds up to 100 miles per hour and currently has a driving range of 80 miles.
The current model is a prototype, but there are some unresolved issues. For example, an interruption in electrical power could have catastrophic results and fail-safe protection needs to be incorporated. Also, there is currently no existing infrastructure for the distribution of hydrogen gas, nor have large-scale production facilities been established. Nonetheless, these obstacles can be overcome and General Motors is planning to make production models commercially available by 2010.
In the not too distant future, we can expect some radical changes in automotive design. With the Hy-wire, General Motors has provided one approach to creating a cleaner, more biofriendly planet. Biofriendly Corporation is another company making an important contribution in this regard. Their liquid fuel catalyst, Green Plus® provides a cleaner, more linear burn in internal combustion engines, with a resulting improved fuel economy, increased torque and reduced harmful emissions. For more information about Green Plus visit the Biofriendly website at www.biofriendly.com.
About the Author
Author, Peter Verhoeff, contributes articles on environmental issues for Biofriendly Corporation. More information on these and other topics can be found on the Biofriendly site.