Chevrolet Colorado-Based Fuel Cell to Debut in D.C.
Borne out of an existing development partnership between GM and the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, a Chevrolet Colorado-based hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle will debut Oct. 3 in Washington, D.C., at the fall meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army.
Demonstrations of many types of vehicles looking to win Army bids will be on display, but this is likely to be the only one with a midsize pickup truck platform.
The new powertrain is being developed for the military and is designed to explore new propulsion systems to better benefit various service branches in future support roles or combat situations. The partnership allows the military to explore options with less expensive commercial models, while GM gets to piggyback off the learning done with the more advanced (and expensive) propulsion systems.
Among the many benefits of a fuel-cell powertrain that runs off hydrogen, for example, is that it would be very quiet, have a small heat signature, could be used as an exportable power generator, provide strong low-end torque and generate usable water for troops.
No specifics have been released about the vehicle, nor is it clear if anything similar to this could ever work its way into a mainstream product for Chevrolet, GMC, Buick or Cadillac. All we have at this point is a silhouette photo that implies a relative shape. We should know more later this year.
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Comments
Fuel cell technology is more of the same 1970s thinking that flowed from the idea that we're running out of oil. There has never been a scarcity of oil, it was a hoax perpetrated 40 years ago to frighten people.
The wars of the future will not be fought with jeeps and tanks. Our enemy is going to attack us just like the guys who brought down the Trade Center towers and crashed a plane into the Pentagon.
Fuel cells and people fussing over climate change will not defeat that enemy.
The US Army buys GM, because they don't want cheap junk known to break as Ford Junk Motor Company cr@p does. GM, more US then Ford all day every day! Now that's Military Grade and Professional Grade!
http://www.american.edu/kogod/autoindex/2015.cfm
Almost looks like the prototype Blazer they are debuting in January....
This is payback for the GM bailout. What the military doesn't need is a hard to produce, hard to transport, less energy dense propulsion system. Diesel will fuel the military well beyond the next 75, at least we better hope it does.
Weapons grade stupidity.
they are using fuel cells to power forklifts and they have been a success
This has little to do with the production Colorado!
You realize all of those boxy USPS vans are a Colorado chassis also, so stop trying to make the production Colorado be something it has no qualifications, and that is a combat vehicle!
If you want a sound vehicle for combat, Toyota HiLux and LandCruiser's fit that bill more than any street queen Colorado!
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