General Motors committed to building the world's largest fuel cell vehicle fleet this weekend by announcing its next-generation fuel cell vehicle – the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell. GM will build more than 100 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles and will begin placing them with customers in the fall of 2007, as part of a comprehensive deployment plan dubbed "Project Driveway." A variety of drivers – in differing driving environments – will operate these vehicles and refuel with hydrogen in three geographic areas: California, the New York metropolitan area and Washington D.C. The crossover includes all the standard safety features of the regular Equinox and will operate in sub-zero conditions.

"The Equinox Fuel Cell is a real-world vehicle with real-world performance," said Ed Peper, Chevrolet general manager. "The fuel cell technology is seamlessly integrated into a uniquely styled crossover vehicle that is distinctively Chevrolet. The Equinox Fuel Cell joins Chevrolet’s family of advanced gas-saving and alternative fuel vehicles."

"General Motors is demonstrating its commitment to hydrogen fuel cells as the answer for taking the automobile out of the environmental debate and reducing our dependence on petroleum," said Larry Burns, GM vice president, research & development and strategic planning. "The Equinox Fuel Cell is powered by GM’s most advanced fuel cell propulsion system to date, and demonstrates an important milestone on our pathway to automotive-competitive fuel cell propulsion technology development."