From the New York Times, Sept. 24, 2006:

" IF an afternoon behind the wheel of General Motors’ latest prototype hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Sequel, is any indication, automotive powertrains of the future will not feel much different from the engines that drive today’s cars and trucks.

By a seat-of-the-pants evaluation, the Sequel feels reasonably peppy; acceleration is smooth and nearly silent. And it is capable of reaching 90 miles an hour, said Mohsen Shabana, chief engineer for the Sequel program and my passenger on the test drive. "

More at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/au.../24SEQUEL.html

 

...the Hindenburg comes to mind...in safety, and also figuratively


This is great technology, but much much too far away, and as the article states ...full of caveats...

Put those lithium-ion batteries in Hybrids, PHEV, or better yet EV and the same thing can be achieved in much shorter period of time!

I applaud GM for sticking its neck out, but that "...decade away" could be the last we see of GM.

 

A nice article about an experiment.

Ok, then let's read the details.

Ok, then let's see how friendly.

There seems to an assumption that environmentalists are quite willing to ignore this 'technical detail' because the vehicles are 'clean.' Unfortunately, it demonstrates an ignorance and chauvanism that is mind boggling in scope.

Still, I look forward to the experiment running its course.

Let's see, how did the fuel economy work out:
300 miles / 16 gallons (gas equivalent) = 18.75 MPG

Still, I look forward to seeing the experiment run its course.

Still, it is good to see "Thirty-two vehicles of the Equinox fleet . . ." and next year a "a fleet of more than 100 fuel-cell-powered vehicles in the United States." Yet they remain missing from the show rooms. It is hard to make a profit on products that are not forsale in the show room. GM can just sell off and close down more plants . . . health care cost, labor costs, union avoidance costs.

Still, I look forward to the experiment running its course.

Bob Wilson

 

sounds great BUT, in addition to the HAH, I have an e85 chevy S-10 that has never even tasted e85 fuel because its not available anywhere near me in Fl. As a matter of fact, in the entire state, there is only one public e85 filling station and that is in Tallahassee.

You can bet I will be way more cautious buying my next alternative fuel vehicle.

By the way, I have had this truck since 01, its a 2002 model. The fuel still isnt here.

 

In engineering we call that 'throwing the problem over the fence. It is understandable since car manufacturers don't make e85 nor hydrogen. This is not a problem for a hybrid.

Hybrids will transition to electric power. The electric infrastructure exists and doesn't have to be built out from scratch. But if we inist on converting energy to a portable form, choose a better answer, a metal powder, not a metal gas.

Bob Wilson

 

Way to get around the annoying login:
http://www.bugmenot.com/view/www.nytimes.com

I used:
goddemmit
goddemmit

There's a plugin for Firefox users also called BugMeNot, but the Firefox Extension site is down right now - otherwise I'd link to it. It performs these silly logins for you automatically for a variety of sites.

I agree as always with everyone here: Building a car meant to be filled with Hydrogen gas is deeply misguided. Suggesting that derive that Hydrogen from a massively expensive electrical process is stupid, and guarantees a viable electric vehicle will put Hydrogen-based vehicles like this on their deathbed before they even make it to market.