Meet the Sequel

Danny Hakim reported in the NYT last week about the GM Sequel. The article is all over the place, but I agree that the Sequel is totally cool. More details can be found here and here.

What GM has shown is that at least some of the obstacles associated with the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCVs) can be overcome. The 300 miles range is impressive and so is the under 10 second 0-60 time. The accelaration performance indicates that the Lithiom-Ion battery in the vehicle is quite good and has been integrated nicely in the concept. The critical issue is of course the cost. In the NYT article, the chief engineer behind the Sequel Chris Borroni-Bird was quoted as saying that the vehicle is 10 times too expensive. I take it that the cost is anywhere between $250,000 to $500,000. Tom pointed out a CSM article that states that the Sequel costs more than a million dollars. The CSM article also notes that the refueling time for the vehicle is about 10 minutes. clearly, the Sequel is far away from being market ready any time soon. Never the less, it will be remembered as an important landmark, should GM be able to deliver a market ready FCV in 2015.