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To drive off, you simply turn the key in the conventional manner, then press a drive selector button. It's self-explanatory: forward for forward, reverse for reverse. We select forward and instinctively go to release the nonexistent handbrake. Our minder from General Motors explains that the handbrake is electrically controlled. Better described with the US term 'parking brake', it still operates on the rear wheels, but has to cut in automatically, because there's no creep function with a fuel-cell stack. That wouldn't be a problem on our flat test-drive route, but on a hill it would make smooth and safe progress impossible, so we're glad this task is taken care of automatically.
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We prod the accelerator pedal and the HydroGen 1 whooshes away - and whoosh is the word. With no moving parts in the fuel cell and a nearly silent electric motor, the only noise comes from the compressor that forces air into the fuel cell at high pressure and it sounds a bit like a jet engine. It's a curious noise, and slightly disconcerting as it doesn't change pitch as the accelerator is pressed and released. GM is aware of this problem, and is preparing to engineer the HydroGen 1 with its own distinct noise.
But it's easy to settle into driving the car. According to GM, the motor produces 258 lb ft of torque (pulling power), which is about the same as a 2.5-litre turbo-diesel. It certainly feels like there's plenty of urge; on a short straight we exercise the cell to its maximum and the speed builds incredibly smoothly. With no gearchanges to disturb our equilibrium, we surge forward. The lack of aural sensation is unsettling, though - my brain is telling me that we're coasting with the engine off.
GM knows there are niggles to be sorted, but it definitely has the basis of tomorrow's transport. When fossil fuel reserves are exhausted, somewhere in the middle of the 21st century, the fuel cell offers the kind of personal mobility the internal combustion engine gave to the inhabitants of the 20th century. And for that we should be grateful.
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