The Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (EFCEV) is going prime time tomorrow night on a new ABC Family TV sitcom called Ruby and the Rockits. The sitcom made its debut July 21, 2009 and is produced by former teen idol Shaun Cassidy. The show ironically is about another former teen idol and his niece, Ruby.
General Motors has provided a sneak peek of the episode that airs at 8:30 / 7:30 Central. What is striking is that the Equinox is both unusual and usual at the same time. It is presented to the family as a hydrogen car and there are only 100 of them in the world.
And, of course the teenagers want to drive it for the weekend (who wouldn’t?). In a way this reminds me of General Motors’ product placement advertising in the movie Transformers where practically all vehicles were made by GM.
But, on the other hand, instead of placing the Equinox in a science fiction setting, GM has chosen to show off the hydrogen SUV in a mainstream family TV show. This normalizes the car (as it should be) showing the public this vehicle is like every other car except that it runs on hydrogen.