When Jackie and I learned that GM’s Project Driveway had reached 1,000,000 miles, we could not believe our ears. It was difficult to believe that so much had been accomplished in what seemed to be so little time.
I was just a little more than 18 months ago that we received Marvin into our home. Marvin, of course, is our lucky Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle - and he quickly became our best friend. For a very short three months, Marvin was our main means of travel. He took us everywhere we wanted to go. Everything from the shimmering coat of paint that adorned the body to the amazing technology that pushed us around made us VERY proud to be part Project Driveway. That first drive around the block felt a little like Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon. For us, the quote would be "That's one small trip for a man, one giant adventure for mankind!" We knew we were stepping into the future with this car. Not only is Marvin Hydrogen powered (which of course is very important), but also an electric vehicle with onboard electricity generation. It's so much more than a hybrid – so much more than any other electric car.
Marvin treated us well, every day. We never once had a problem with him. The only time he was in for scheduled maintenance, and we had a loner, was the only time we had a problem with a car (the loaner, of course, not Marvin). We love to go to Disneyland, and Marvin was glad to take us there. We visited family in Laguna Hills. We ran all over Los Angeles – on hot days and cold days – and Marvin made it so comfortable. We never wanted him to leave. He made going to the local grocery store a pleasure. And to top this all off, we knew we were traveling without generating any CO2 and without burning any fossil fuels.
The public loved Marvin. One particular story sticks out: As anyone in the San Fernando Valley knows, it's not easy to get to Downtown LA. There is a very narrow street called Cahuenga that parallels the 101 Freeway south into Downtown. We were on our way to The Grove near the part of Cahuenga that merges from two southbound lanes into one. Some guy in a car next to us was not giving the right-of-way in very heavy traffic. I looked over, and realized he had rolled down the window of his $140,000 Mercedes and was trying to get my attention. We rolled down the window to see what was wrong, and we were pleasantly surprised by what he said, "Hey! That car is AWESOME! I can't wait to get my own! Where did you get it?" Of course, we couldn't yell much over the din of the freeway and traffic, but it was a classic example of how much attention this car has drawn, and how many questions that Marvin brought us. We miss those days. A lot.
Congratulations, GM. Here's to another million!
