Gizmodo: general motors

Video: SUV Owner Strikes Back and Tows a Tow Truck

Elaine Chow — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST

Standing by while your car gets towed is terrible. This Shangainese Chevy owner used its car's remaining two wheels to counterattack.

Note to Chinese tow companies: either get heavier trucks or remember to take them out of neutral. [Chinasmack]

GM Working On New "Cadillac One" Limo For Obama

Elaine Chow — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:30:00 EST

Now that we're going to have a new president, it's time for a new presidential limo—and GM is whipping up quite a doozy for the new Prez-elect. “Cadillac One” will be based off of the GMC Topkick, which you may remember as Ironhide from Transformers. For pretty obvious reasons, details on what exactly makes up the new limo are scarce, but it will most likely include five-inch thick glass (which can stop military assault rifles), cellphone jammers and blast-proof ceramics. But will it have backseat DVDs for watching Spongebob on? Guess only Malia and Sasha will know for sure. [Boston Globe via Jalopnik]

Laser Windshield System Keeps the Elderly Driving Longer For Some Reason

Adam Frucci — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:14:08 EDT

Which sounds like a better way to make the roads safer: rescind drivers licenses from people who are very old and have failing vision, or create a fancy system with lasers to allow them to keep driving. If you answered the latter, you're in the same camp as General Motors. They're hard at work on a fancy new windshield that uses lasers, infrared sensors and a camera to make it easier for your decrepit old granddad to see just where the hell he's going.

The system projects a laser on the windshield to highlight things that you should be noticing, like the edge of the road on a foggy day or that first grade class on the crosswalk. The system is still a long way off, thanks to the many elements that would need to be put in place. For example, a mechanism would need to track your head and eyes to make sure the lasers were properly placed.

But hey, it'll be easier than prying the licenses out of the stubborn hands of people who are no longer fit to command a dangerous vehicle, right? [CNN]

Giz Test Drive: Student-Built Challenge X Fuel-Cell Car in NYC

Benny Goldman — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:50:00 EDT

GM lugged 17 environmentally friendly cars to New York—fittingly, to Tavern on the Green. The rain-soaked occasion was a display of Challenge X contenders, nearly identical 2005 Chevy Equinoxes modded by teams from schools across the US and Canada to be environmentally friendly, fuel efficient and/or low in emissions. University of Waterloo's hydrogen powered, zero-emissions, electric SUV earned the most awe from the crowd for its ambitious yet completely safe, student-built fuel-cell power plant.

This vehicle from University of Waterloo in Canada uses a 400kg fuel cell to turn on-board hydrogen and airborne oxygen into energy that powers two 67-kW electric motors. If the SUV demands more power, it has a backup battery that is charged in part by a regenerative brake, like on today's hybrids.

They actually let me drive the thing. Here's what I thought: The ride is extremely smooth. Since the SUV doesn't have an engine, it's relatively quiet, especially when accelerating. Most of the noise comes from the oxygen intake system, but it only comes in quick bursts. The brakes are sensitive, but part of the reason for that is to use the kinetic energy harvested by braking for recharging the battery. A touchscreen computer in the center displays all the diagnostics, and shows where the vehicle is getting its power.

The truck holds about 4kg of hydrogen packed at 5000psi, which gives it the equivalent of ~25mpg. It is extremely clean, as the only emission given off by the vehicle is a bit of water, a byproduct of the fuel cell process. It tops out around 65mph, but that can be improved in the future. The main problem with the fuel cell SUV is the lack of places to fill up the tank. Hydrogen fueling stations are a long way from the mainstream, and the team said there are only two locations where they can reload on the way to Washington, DC, their final destination on this tour. Hopefully this will change soon, because a clean, abundantly available fuel source seems like a pretty good option to me. [Challenge X]

OnStar Slams the Brakes On Car Thieves

Wilson Rothman — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 12:24:57 EDT

Sorry, dudes—I just had to write that headline. But it's true: the 2009 OnStar systems in about 20 GM models will be able to access the brakes to stop a perp in his tracks. First, there would be a verbal warning, where the car, hopefully voiced by William Daniels, will tell the thief that it will slow to a stop. The thief has the option of pulling over to the side, or of course wheeling into oncoming traffic to go down in a blaze of glory. OnStar will also pop on the hazard lights and call the fuzz to report the car's whereabouts. Owners can opt out of the feature, presumably in the fear that cops or an angry spouse could use it on them. [AP] UPDATE: I AM AN IDIOT. IN MY ZEAL TO WRITE A CORNY HEADLINE, I OVERLOOKED THE TECHNICAL EXPLANATION. YOU ARE RIGHT, OAKCITYMIKE, IT'S NOT THE BRAKES, BUT THE ENGINE ITSELF, THAT SLOWS THE CAR DOWN.

GM to Build Plug-In Hybrid?

Charlie White — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 14:20:08 EDT

As we keep you posted on the latest developments in hybrid vehicles, we can't help but notice that General Motors has been lagging behind, and has even discontinued building promising cars that run on anything but internal combustion engines. But now, our greasemonkey brothers at Jalopnik tip us off about how the me-too suits at GM might be thinking about building a plug-in hybrid, according to "someone familiar with the company's plans."

Such a plug-in car would give drivers a choice of running on electricity only, or also having an internal combustion engine to kick in when the batteries run out. We're thinking the timing is pretty fortunate that such a story would leak out, what with the GM- and big-oil-critical documentary just about to be released, Who Killed the Electric Car. – Charlie White

GM Planning Plug-In Hybrid? [Jalopnik]

Working Prototype: GM Hy-Wire Concept

Charlie White — Wed, 10 May 2006 13:58:57 EDT

General Motors has been toying with hydrogen fuel cells and the drive-by-wire concept for many years, but take a look at the video below and you'll notice that the company actually has a working prototype. GM calls this Hy-Wire vehicle the first drivable concept car to use hydrogen fuel cell and by-wire technology.

Maybe now that the Detroit behemoth's SUV sales have gone down the shitter, it will get serious about designing some sensible vehicles for a change. But let's be sensible about being sensible: the thing's turtle-slow, going from zero to 62 mph in 16 seconds.

GM Hy-Wire automobile [AutoMotoPortal]