The cloud that is GM may have found a silver lining.
GM’s Chevrolet Equinox, which is powered by a pollution-free fuel-cell, passed its one millionth mile in test drives. The firm says that the trials have been done with about 5,000 people rotating in and out of more than 100 cars over the past 25 months. The Equinox is powered by electricity which is generated by a reaction between oxygen and hydrogen
The question that GM must face is whether anyone will buy the car. GM has not said what the vehicle will cost, but if gas prices stay relatively low, buyers may not be willing to pay a large premium for the car.
GM is also up against an army of hybrids. It produces some of those itself, but the most successful models are made and marketed by Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC). GM’s fuel cell car will be entering a market which is already filled with gas-powered car alternatives.
The fuel-cell car will not be available for commercial sale for several years. GM has to gamble that its technology will be in vogue then. All of the world’s other large car companies are furiously working on vehicles that are designed for a world of dwindling fossil-fuel reserves and $5 gas. GM has to build cars that will be attractive in that universe, but it has to survive the next decade to be in the right place at the right time to capitalize on an opportunity that is likely to bring global car companies hundreds of billions of dollars in sales.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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