The key design feature of AUTOnomy´s electrical system is a connection, or “docking port”, at the center of the “skateboard” chassis. The docking port creates a quick and foolproof way to connect all the body systems – controls, power and heating – to the rolling chassis, thus making the vehicle body light and uncomplicated.
With all of its propulsion and control systems contained within the six-inch-thick chassis, the vehicle body is freed from traditional design requirements. There is no need to design around exhaust, steering and braking systems.
Drivers would not have to sit in the traditional left-hand location. They could move to the center of the vehicle, or much closer to the front bumper, or further back. This freedom from conventional configurations should lead to the development of customized bodies that are easy to switch.

GM was the first automaker to demonstrate a driveable fuel cell vehicle in the late 1960s.
In 1998, the Global Alternative Propulsion Center (GAPC) was established with GM and Opel facilities in Rochester, New York; Warren, Michigan and Mainz-Kastel, Germany to intensify research and development on various aspects of fuel cell propulsion. The GAPC team in Warren is responsible for the basic system research while the crew in Rochester focuses on fuel cell and component development.
In 2001, GAPC made several major advances towards volume production of fuel cell vehicles. HydroGen1, a fuel cell prototype based on the Opel Zafira, set a total of 15 international records for fuel cell cars. At the “Michelin Challenge Bibendum”, an international competition for environmentally friendly vehicles, the Opel concept was the only fuel cell passenger car to master the 350 kilometers from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.