Chevy Equinox Receives Green Award

The auto industry has gone green with the threat of global warming continually increasing. Automakers have started developing and manufacturing green vehicles or automobiles designed to have limited greenhouse gas emission. General Motors is one of those automakers pushing through with their promise of introducing eco-friendly vehicles in the auto market.

Recently, The Auto Channel reported that the Chevy Equinox, another green vehicle being developed by the Detroit automaker received the Green Car Vision Award from Green Car Journal. This is the first time that the said award was given. The Chevrolet Equinox was named for the award at the ongoing Washington Auto Show.

The Chevy Equinox beat four other nominees for the award. These are the BMW Hydrogen 7, the Honda FCX Clarity, the Phoenix Electric SUT, and the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. These four vehicles and the Chevrolet Equinox are classified as advanced limited production vehicles.

Ron Cogan, the editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal, said that the Chevrolet Equinox is the best vehicle out of the five to show the way forward in making the industry greener. "The Equinox Fuel Cell is visionary on many levels," said Cogan. "Zero-emission vehicles destined for our highways in the years ahead will take many forms, from small car platforms to large. Powering a popular crossover model with a future fuel such as hydrogen, and doing so seamlessly with an efficient powerplant that creates no CO2 greenhouse gases, is exemplary and Chevrolet should be commended for this."

The Chevrolet Equinox got the award thanks to its highly advanced powertrain. The said vehicle is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. This powertrain is complemented with features which consumers in the future will be seeing as standard features like StabiliTrac and OnStar. Apart from those features, the Equinox is also equipped with front and roof rail side impact airbags designed to protect the occupants of the vehicle in the unfortunate event of a crash.

The Equinox also caught the attention of the panel of judges by the fact that it is already being offered to fleets and customers to try it out. Over 100 units of the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell will be made available to consumers in California, New York City, and Washington D.C. for three months.

The Chevy Equinox receiving the award at the said motor show is further indication that Detroit automaker General Motors is serious in its promise to manufacture green vehicles with auto parts as reliable as Dodge bumpers.