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Emission: Impossible
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| Burbank resident Jackie Lee at the wheel of a Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle that she and husband Ben were loaned as part of Project Driveway. (Roger Wilson/The Leader) |
Burbank couple is selected by General Motors to test an emission-free SUV before it goes into full production by 2011.
By Jeremy Oberstein
Though Jackie Lee does not consider herself an avid environmentalist, her car is at the forefront of a movement to reduce the amount of foreign oil the country uses.
Burbank residents Jackie and her husband Ben Lee are part of a General Motors three-year pilot program, where 100 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicles are being distributed across five societal groups who are asked to drive the zero-emission vehicle, which proponents say is easier on the environment.
“We want to get real-world learning results from five different driver groups,” said Tim Powers, western region manager for General Motors.
The groups include mainstream members of society who drive to work, to the market and who take other normal, day-to-day trips; businesses that will use the car for short trips; a limousine company that will shuttle first-class passengers to and from Los Angeles International Airport; celebrities; and public policy agencies that use the car for official purposes, he said.
People across Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C., were invited to apply to the test program, where they would have free use of the car for three months in exchange for testimony about their experience. Glendale resident Matt Mackey is also part of the program.
For Jackie Lee, a 25-year-old executive assistant at Warner Bros., the benefits of driving the car have been two-fold.
“I’m not a tree hugger or anything, but in my own way I do what I can for the environment,” she said. “I really like that the car has zero emissions and anything I can do to limit our dependence on foreign oil is good. It has its noises and little nuances, but it doesn’t feel too different from my [regular] car.”
The couple was accepted as participants to the Project Driveway program after Ben Lee, 29, applied to the Chevy website based on his love of cars.
“I love all kind of cars, especially ones that use advanced technology,” he said. “I’ve driven different cars and hybrids aren’t different enough for me because their basic propulsion comes from a normal transmission. This is completely different. The only downside is the limited range of driving, but that pales in comparison to the multiple upsides.”
But another downside for the couple is finding fueling stations.
There are two fueling stations in Burbank and two more in other parts of Los Angeles, Powers said, but for Jackie getting to those stations have been difficult at times.
“I wish there were more stations,” she said.
Ben Lee, an information technology manager for Disney, estimates that the free use of the car has saved him at least $1,500 from not filling up with gas, changing the oil or maintaining his regular car.
While General Motors has asked the couple to share their experiences about the car, they have also become de facto spokes people for the car and the company.
“I’ll be on the freeway or on the street and people will stop behind me and check out the car and creep forward to see it,” Jackie said. “Every time we go to the supermarket or go shopping we get people asking about it. GM gave us fliers to pass out and we love talking about it. We love being able to share this with other people.”
For General Motors, the program has already been called a success.
“The feedback has been tremendous,” Powers said. “Mainstream drivers love it and people love the technology, the instantaneous torque. There is no transmission so the electric motor is powering the car directly to the wheel. It feels like a normal vehicle.”
The fuel cell vehicles emit only an invisible gas vapor and General Motors estimates that by 2011 the zero-emission vehicles will be available for mass production, according to Powers.
But for General Motors, the biggest challenge has been building fueling stations that service not just the fuel cell vehicles but other alternative forms of gas, like E85 Ethanol-powered vehicles, he said.
That struggle was illustrated by Councilwoman Anja Reinke at a Jan. 15 Burbank City Council meeting when she opposed construction of an E85 fueling station in Burbank on the grounds that there are “not a lot of vehicles that can run on” the alternative fuel, which is an alternative to fossil fuel made up of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.
“[She] was flat-out wrong,” General Motors spokesman Dave Barthmuss said. “There are more than three million cars nationally and in California tens of thousands of E85 outfitted vehicles. We don’t have stations everywhere, but it’s about communication and teaching people that E85 is the greatest chance to reduce our dependence on bio fuel.”
In April, the Lees are due to return the car and Jackie is already ruing the date she has to revert to driving her Acura full time.
“I love the car,” she said. “I’m very sad we’re going to have to give it up.”
JEREMY OBERSTEIN covers City Hall and public safety. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at jeremy.oberstein@ latimes.com.
Burbank residents Jackie and her husband Ben Lee are part of a General Motors three-year pilot program, where 100 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicles are being distributed across five societal groups who are asked to drive the zero-emission vehicle, which proponents say is easier on the environment.
“We want to get real-world learning results from five different driver groups,” said Tim Powers, western region manager for General Motors.
The groups include mainstream members of society who drive to work, to the market and who take other normal, day-to-day trips; businesses that will use the car for short trips; a limousine company that will shuttle first-class passengers to and from Los Angeles International Airport; celebrities; and public policy agencies that use the car for official purposes, he said.
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For Jackie Lee, a 25-year-old executive assistant at Warner Bros., the benefits of driving the car have been two-fold.
“I’m not a tree hugger or anything, but in my own way I do what I can for the environment,” she said. “I really like that the car has zero emissions and anything I can do to limit our dependence on foreign oil is good. It has its noises and little nuances, but it doesn’t feel too different from my [regular] car.”
The couple was accepted as participants to the Project Driveway program after Ben Lee, 29, applied to the Chevy website based on his love of cars.
“I love all kind of cars, especially ones that use advanced technology,” he said. “I’ve driven different cars and hybrids aren’t different enough for me because their basic propulsion comes from a normal transmission. This is completely different. The only downside is the limited range of driving, but that pales in comparison to the multiple upsides.”
But another downside for the couple is finding fueling stations.
There are two fueling stations in Burbank and two more in other parts of Los Angeles, Powers said, but for Jackie getting to those stations have been difficult at times.
“I wish there were more stations,” she said.
Ben Lee, an information technology manager for Disney, estimates that the free use of the car has saved him at least $1,500 from not filling up with gas, changing the oil or maintaining his regular car.
While General Motors has asked the couple to share their experiences about the car, they have also become de facto spokes people for the car and the company.
“I’ll be on the freeway or on the street and people will stop behind me and check out the car and creep forward to see it,” Jackie said. “Every time we go to the supermarket or go shopping we get people asking about it. GM gave us fliers to pass out and we love talking about it. We love being able to share this with other people.”
For General Motors, the program has already been called a success.
“The feedback has been tremendous,” Powers said. “Mainstream drivers love it and people love the technology, the instantaneous torque. There is no transmission so the electric motor is powering the car directly to the wheel. It feels like a normal vehicle.”
The fuel cell vehicles emit only an invisible gas vapor and General Motors estimates that by 2011 the zero-emission vehicles will be available for mass production, according to Powers.
But for General Motors, the biggest challenge has been building fueling stations that service not just the fuel cell vehicles but other alternative forms of gas, like E85 Ethanol-powered vehicles, he said.
That struggle was illustrated by Councilwoman Anja Reinke at a Jan. 15 Burbank City Council meeting when she opposed construction of an E85 fueling station in Burbank on the grounds that there are “not a lot of vehicles that can run on” the alternative fuel, which is an alternative to fossil fuel made up of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.
“[She] was flat-out wrong,” General Motors spokesman Dave Barthmuss said. “There are more than three million cars nationally and in California tens of thousands of E85 outfitted vehicles. We don’t have stations everywhere, but it’s about communication and teaching people that E85 is the greatest chance to reduce our dependence on bio fuel.”
In April, the Lees are due to return the car and Jackie is already ruing the date she has to revert to driving her Acura full time.
“I love the car,” she said. “I’m very sad we’re going to have to give it up.”
JEREMY OBERSTEIN covers City Hall and public safety. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at jeremy.oberstein@ latimes.com.
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