The rush is on toward vehicles running on eco-friendly alternatives that would let you drive right past the gas station. At first glance, the cars look like anything you might see on the road. But, under the hood, there’s a world of difference.

GM Environment and Energy Specialist Shad Balch spoke to the Arcadia Rotary Club on October 30th, on how GM is “Reinventing the Automobile” and explained how it is restructuring itself for long-term viability. The “new” General Motors, one that is largely owned by U.S. taxpayers, will be focused on customers, cars and culture. The new GM will be leaner, with fewer brands (going from 50 to 34 ‘nameplates’). The new General Motors is fully committed to listening to customers, and responding to consumer and market trends

The new product line of GM will feature fuel efficient vehicles. Instead of running on gasoline, they will fun on various other energy sources: E85 Ethanol, hybrids, electrical, and hydrogen fuel cells. The hydrogen fuel cells will convert the hydrogen to electricity on board. GM’s “Project Driveway” features a new vehicle called the Equanex that runs on hydrogen fuel cells. Sixty (60) of these vehicles are currently being test driven by people in California.

The main new vehicle is the electric Chevy Volt. They are calling the Volt an EREV, for extended-range electric vehicle, although it still qualifies as a hybrid. Whereas most of the current cars that use electricity for power are hybrids which are powered by both electricity and gasoline, the Chevy Volt voltec drive train is powered by an onboard generator that is run by an internal combustion engine to generate electricity. The Voltec drive train allows the vehicle to go about 40 miles with just the electric battery. The battery will be charged at home and if one can charge the battery every 40 miles there is no need for gasoline. It is expected that the efficiency of the battery will improve over the years—that batteries will be developed in the future that are smaller with more power.

Shad also mentioned that in early 2008, GM launched a test fleet of hydrogen-powered Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles. This fleet hit the streets of New York City, Washington, D.C., and Southern California. “Project Driveway” is the first large-scale market test of fuel cell vehicles with real drivers in the real world.

You can find out more about the New GM and their plans for the future at GMreinvention.com