GM’s Grand Plan For Solving America’s Oil Dependence
General Motors says they’re committed to ‘diversifying away from petroleum.’ That sounds like something President Bush would say, but reducing our nation’s dependence on oil was a message repeatedly proffered to me by GM officials throughout the course of the auto show. I’m calling it GM’s grand vision for U.S. transportation energy independence, they call it their ‘Advanced Propulsion Roadmap.’ Either way, GM plans to implement this by investing in a range of new and diverse technologies. It looks something like this:
Increasing Engine Efficiency
The first step is to increase vehicle efficiency and improve emissions by continued advances to the internal combustion engine (ICE). Believe it or not the ICE is still a work in progress. Take ‘cylinder deactivation’ for example, which drops a V6 to a V4 when the extra capacity is unnecessary. One potentially notable technology coming out of the auto show was Ford’s ‘Ecoboost’, which uses gasoline-turbocharged-direct-injection (GTDI) technology to increase fuel efficiency up to 20%. These are diesel engine principles—which are typically 30% more efficient—now being applied to gas models.
Everyone loves new technology, but what about a most basic consideration: vehicle size? This doesn’t seem to be on the radar for several auto manufacturers. It’s not listed on GM’s chart either, even though the Hummer brand announced it will be following that trend (see earlier post on the ‘2nd Greenest Hummer on Earth’).
I've been a doubter of fuel cell technology for a very long time. Commercialization has always seemed just "over the next hill" with promises of "we're almost there" silencing the eager in the backseat. Before going green was cool, and when gas purchases didn't require a second thought, a hydrogen economy seemed too expensive, too laborious, and not worth the investment or effort. My, how things have changed. 
Something tells me that General Motors is not willing to play second fiddle on next generation vehicles. Toyota pretty much slapped them upside the head with the Prius and other fuel-efficient vehicles and the Detroit automaker is taking the lesson to heart with hydrogen. GM announced earlier this week that it has moved 500 fuel-cell engineers and scientists from the laboratory side of the company into the chain of command that actually produces cars.
Grabbing a cold one may soon do more than just quench your thirst. It also might help power your entire home. Ah, the power of beer. 