General Motor's Project Driveway campaign began late last year and is expected to continue on for a total of three years. A few of the participants have spoken about their experiences with the hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles, and now one of them will be blogging on Popular Mechanics regarding his ongoing experience. Fortunately for Daniel Krach, he lives close enough to a hydrogen fueling station that the hydrogen-powered vehicle's 160 mile range should not pose a problem. He says that he was selected after a rigorous few months of questioning due to his penchant for being an early-adopter when it comes to new technology. Indeed, his family considers him a nerd. We can truly feel his pain. Considering that it has gotten him the keys to a brand new high-tech vehicle, which he didn't even need to pay for, we'd imagine that nobody's laughing at him now.

So far, his journey is just beginning, and of course, we wish Daniel the best with his new ride and we look forward to reading more about the experiences he gains as he drives the new-fangled vehicle all around.

[Source: Popular Mechanics]

I took a ride this morning through downtown Detroit in a 30+ mpg Equinox. Originally, the 2005 Equinox got 25 mpg on the highway and 19 in the city. Two Michigan Technological University seniors represented their school at a ride and drive event at GM's headquarters for the Challenge X while the SAE Congress was going on down the street at Cobo Hall. Todd Cimermancic, team leader, and Doug Sarsen, who is in charge of the powertrain, have both been working on the MTU vehicle since this Challenge X began three years ago and were great guides to explain how a group of just over a dozen student (it's fluctuated through the years) has gotten a 30 percent fuel economy increase out of a 2005 Chevy Equinox for the low price of $250,000. Actually, that's how much money has been put into the SUV all together through the years and includes the $300 roof art.

The MTU team decided that reducing weight was the best way to increase mpg, and added lightweight rear seats and polycarbonate windows to shave off a few pounds. The vehicle also has a gas engine that powers the front wheels and a 55 kW electric motor on the rear wheels. With regenerative braking, the Equinox achieves a 30 percent mpg bump, one of GM's original goals for Challenge X. The MTU team has been having trouble with the emissions part of the Challenge, but Cimermancic said he was confident that they'd hit the 30 percent reduction goal with the latest iteration of the system. We'll know the final results when Challenge X ends next month in Washington, D.C. For now, check out our video of this morning's ride after the jump. These kids are pros on camera.

Virgin Atlantic announced that it has joined forces with Chevy's "Project Driveway" program. Richard Branson's airline is going to use three Chevrolet Equinox hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for its "complimentary ground transfer service for upper class passengers" for planes landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The program will last for 30 months. Virgin and Chevrolet are studying the possibility to expand this service to New York.

Branson stated that this program was one of Virgin's initiatives to reduce the airline's carbon footprint. GM's Larry Burns said that it was a perfect endorsement of GM's fuel cell technology and "an important new avenue for demonstrating the new DNA of the automobile."

The Chevy Equinox looks like a conventional production car but the ICE has been with a fuel cell system plus a nickel-metal hydride battery pack under the floor of the vehicle. It's got three compressed hydrogen storage tanks made of carbon fiber and pressurized to 10,000 pounds per square inch (psi). The tanks contain roughly nine pounds (4.2 kg) of hydrogen good for a range of approximately 150 miles (220 km). Full press release after the jump.