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GM to Reveal Cadillac Fuel-Cell Concept at Consumer Electronics Show

GM CEO Rick Wagoner will unveil the Cadillac Provoq Concept fuel-cell vehicle tomorrow during his keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Pre-reveal speculation abounds that the Provoq will use the fuel-cell variant of the E-Flex system GM introduced in Shanghai (earlier post).

Unlike the Volt propulsion system, which is battery-dominant with a small combustion engine range extender, the E-Flex fuel-cell system shown in Shanghai was fuel-cell centric, and used a blended operating strategy to augment its range and power with a battery pack that is half the size of that in the first Volt.

The Provoq concept will then appear again at the North American International Auto Show the following week in Detroit. Also appearing in Detroit next week will be the Escalade Hybrid, based on the two-mode hybrid system.

The Escalade Hybrid begins production in mid-2008.

Comments

gr

All fine and dandy except how much will all this cost? Granted Cadillac buyers are well heeled, but what will they get for the premium? And WHERE will they get it? I have yet to see any plans for the consumer H2 highway actually implemented.

gr

And the introduction at the Consumer Electronics Show? Just another indicator that Electrification of GT is becoming the accepted path.

GARY

Just another BS PR stunt like so many others from Detroit that some how never it to production...jeez, I'm still waiting for my turbine car from the 1960's

arnold

All of the above. So what can be gleaned from a distance? Firstly try to understand that I am not inclined to knock the efforts. They Are Real.
The spin "we will", we "have the tecnology " really means diddly squat.
In the context of greenhouse,oil scarcity resource (in the full meaning land deg water habitat destruction) depletion etc this world saving fuel cell technology as it comes on stream and improves towards its vision as it will, still means diddley.
To those with money to burn, Stanley steamers will be back in vogue.
Prodigious energy consumtion cannot be solved by building more bigger or better eating from next years harvest.
So we can probably all imagine a world without fossil or liquid fuels, Who really thinks that clean coal is coming in time? Yes coal to liquid will provide people with a continually expanding economy at the risk of greenhousing the planet.
We do seem to be however on track to solving the other issue - large populations of increasingly larger consumers of energy from all sources, not a very pleasant prospect.
Fundamentally though while technology can help support civil society in the coming troubled times,
The economic model wich works so well only as long as growth is expanding (no one denies that.)
Is driving so many bad outcomes that it sweeps technology along paths that we know quite early are not acheivable or sustainable.
Bit like the freight train, we need to know but can't be half on and half off.
We can't get off, and know we can't stay on.
So while economists and tecnologists can be realistic without losing face, politicians by definition cannot bring bad news. Their job seems to be about driving spin and convincing the rest of us that its all under control "I know a bloke thats got the answer", and we vote for them, let them make decisions for us even though we know its not real (now).
But keep on beleiving that "maybe they know something I dont."
Thats not good enough these days , I dont still beleive in the possibiity of the tooth fairy, But it would make more sense than the future that some promote so 'confidently'.
Lets stop much of the fantasy and get a little bit serious about working on the real issues confronting human condition and the environment on wich we still depend.

sjc

Wagoner just said on one of the business channels today that he does not know if fuel cell cars are 5 years or 10 years away, but that GM is committed to them in a big way. We will see.

sulleny

And I'm still waiting for ANYthing of quality to come from the low cost manufacturing countries...

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