Hy-wire is GM’s concept car for their new line of fuel cell vehicles. The “Hy” in Hy-wire stands for hydrogen (as anyone who has taken chemistry could have guessed), the standard fuel for a fuel cell system. Not only are Hydrogen cells more environmentally friendly1, but the electric motor is significantly smaller and more decentralized than conventional mechanical motors which siginificantly reduces the size of the engine compartment (IE: it is in the 28 cm thick aluminum chassis along with the fuel tank). In addition to this, the car uses a Drive-By-Wire system which means that the passenger compartment of the vehicle can be removed and replaced. IE: If you want to switch from a sports car to a Van, you don’t need a new car, you just need a new passenger compartment. This is very similar to the old Volkswagen Beetles.
1: Hydrogen Cells are more environmentally friendly to run, but a major hurdle for this type of car is figuring out energy-efficient methods for producing, transporting and storing hydrogen for the onboard fuel-cell stacks. With the current state of technology, actually producing the hydrogen fuel can generate about as much pollution as using gasoline engines, and storage and distribution systems still have a long way to go. This, of course, is just the tip of the challenges ice berg (so to speak). Many more must be overcome. See this, this, and/or this.
The following is summarized from How Stuff Works:
The gaseous hydrogen fuel needed to power this system is stored in three cylindrical tanks, weighing about 75 kilograms total. The tanks are made of a special carbon composite material (apparently much safer in a crash then conventional gasoline w/ steal combinations) with the high structural strength needed to contain high-pressure hydrogen gas. The tanks in the current model hold about 2 kg of hydrogen at about 350 bars. In future models, the Hy-wire engineers hope to increase the pressure threshold to 700 bars, which double the car’s fuel capacity to extend the driving range.
At the chassis level, the computer controls all aspects of driving and power use. The computer connects to the body’s electronics through a single universal docking port. This central port works the same basic way as a USB works for a (personal) computer.
The driver’s control unit, dubbed the X-drive, is a lot closer to a video game controller than a conventional steering wheel and pedal arrangement. The controller has two ergonomic grips, positioned to the left and right of a small LCD monitor. To steer the car, you glide the grips up and down lightly — you don’t have to keep rotating a wheel to turn, you just have to hold the grip in the turning position. To accelerate, you turn either grip, in the same way you would turn the throttle on a motorcycle; and to brake, you squeeze either grip. Buttons on the controller let you switch easily from neutral to drive to reverse, and a starter button turns the car on. Absolutely everything is hand-controlled, you can do whatever you want with your feet. The best feature of the X-Drive? It can slide to either side of the vehicle.
The 5.8-inch (14.7-cm) color monitor in the center of the controller displays all the stuff you’d normally find on the dashboard (speed, mileage, fuel level). It also gives you rear-view images from video cameras on the sides and back of the car, in place of conventional mirrors. A second monitor, on a console beside the driver, shows you stereo, climate control and navigation information.
The big concern with drive-by-wire vehicles is safety. Since there is no physical connection between the driver and the car’s mechanical elements, an electrical failure would mean total loss of control. Systems similiar to these are currently used in jet fighters and commercial aircraft, but they are a relatively new concept for automobiles.
General Motors says it fully intends to release a production version of the car in 2010, assuming it can resolve the major fuel and safety issues. But even if the Hy-wire team doesn’t meet this goal, GM and other automakers are definitely planning to move beyond the conventional car sometime soon, toward a computerized, environmentally friendly alternative. In all likelihood, life on the highway will see some major changes within the next few decades.