Goodbye, Prius?

[C6 CRUZR]

Goodbye, Prius? Japanese carmakers drop battery
electric-car development
Japan is backtracking on battery electric-car development, as even Nissan’s vice chairman, the so-called “father of the Prius,” announced plans to copy Toyota and pursue fuel-cell cars that convert hydrogen to electricity.
“Because of its shortcomings — driving range, cost and recharging time — the electric vehicle is not a viable replacement for most conventional cars,” said Nissan’s vice chairman, Takeshi Uchiyamada, in a Reuters report. “We need something entirely new.”
Toyota Motor Co. — the world’s largest hybrid
manufacturer, Reuters reports — recently announced
a plan to drop pure electric-car development, also.
The announcement follows a White House decision
last week to reduce its goal of 1 million electric cars
on U.S. roads by 2015, Reuters said.
Japan has been trying to develop electric cars
for 100 years, Reuters said.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ectric-car-de/

[Chris Draper]

I called hydrogen as the future of the industry 4 years ago. It's so obvious, I don't know why no one realized it sooner.

Converting hydrogen to electricity for vehicles seems like an unnecessary complication though. Just use hydrogen as the fuel.

[Chris Draper]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmxUsGiGp3w

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmxUsGiGp3w

[Vette_Newb]

Originally Posted by Chris Draper

I called hydrogen as the future of the industry 4 years ago. It's so obvious, I don't know why no one realized it sooner.

Converting hydrogen to electricity for vehicles seems like an unnecessary complication though. Just use hydrogen as the fuel.

[HardcoreABN]

The only problem with going to a new source of fuel is infrastructure. We have spent 100 years building the gasoline/diesel fuel infrastructure. It would probably take decades to build enough infrastructure to make it practical for anyone outside of a few select major cities.

We would also need to retrain almost all of our technician fleet to repair these new systems- it is hard enough finding someone to work on a gas-electric hybrid as it is.

[Chris Draper]

Originally Posted by HardcoreABN

The only problem with going to a new source of fuel is infrastructure. We have spent 100 years building the gasoline/diesel fuel infrastructure. It would probably take decades to build enough infrastructure to make it practical for anyone outside of a few select major cities.

We would also need to retrain almost all of our technician fleet to repair these new systems- it is hard enough finding someone to work on a gas-electric hybrid as it is.

We have to start sooner, rather then later. There are some stations in CA that already have hydrogen.

[HardcoreABN]

I agree, soon as possible- but it will take decades for it to become mainstream. Until then, the cost of it will be prohibitive for the average person.

[Vette_Newb]

Originally Posted by HardcoreABN

The only problem with going to a new source of fuel is infrastructure. We have spent 100 years building the gasoline/diesel fuel infrastructure. It would probably take decades to build enough infrastructure to make it practical for anyone outside of a few select major cities.

We would also need to retrain almost all of our technician fleet to repair these new systems- it is hard enough finding someone to work on a gas-electric hybrid as it is.

All the hydrogen solutions I have seen work with a basic internal combustion engine. Finding people to fix a battery powered car is a trick, finding people to fix an internal combustion engine isn't so hard.

[RTGordon]

The only real problem is finding a way of isolating the hydrogen that is not as energy intensive. It is really only a bandaid to make people feel better. You are still burning fossil fuels to produce the hydrogen because the solar fairy won't provide enough energy and our country is too scared of nuclear power.

Hydrogen is just a different storage mechanism.

[Texdentist]

Originally Posted by Chris Draper

I called hydrogen as the future of the industry 4 years ago. It's so obvious, I don't know why no one realized it sooner.

Converting hydrogen to electricity for vehicles seems like an unnecessary complication though. Just use hydrogen as the fuel.

I'm pretty sure hydrogen ends up being an expensive fuel. There is a lot of it in water, but it takes electrolysis (energy) to separate it from the oxygen. It also is a flammable gas that must be kept under pressure. For limited projects like space flight, that is a small obstacle. For the prospect of millions of vehicles that are likely to be in collisions, it's another thing entirely. I do agree that hydrogen plays in a future energy source for vehicles, but I'm not sure what form that might take.

[Chris Draper]

.....I wonder what people thought back in the days before gasoline was mainstream....

"You mean you have to drill into the earth and somehow contain the crude oil, then somehow process it into a viable fuel to use? Then we need to come up with a machine that burns the fuel and turns it into energy???? This is going to cost us millions! This will never work! Lets just use our horses until they die, then get new horses. "

Obviously it's not going to be easy, or it would already be done.

[Texdentist]

Originally Posted by Chris Draper

.....I wonder what people thought back in the days before gasoline was mainstream....

"You mean you have to drill into the earth and somehow contain the crude oil, then somehow process it into a viable fuel to use? Then we need to come up with a machine that burns the fuel and turns it into energy???? This is going to cost us millions! This will never work! Lets just use our horses until they die, then get new horses. "

Obviously it's not going to be easy, or it would already be done.

It's not like no one has thought about this. Engineers have been working on ways to make hydrogen part of our energy solution for decades. But the hurdles are steep, and so far it has not become practical. I think all of us are for more research, and hope a breakthrough occurs. But as technology stands right now, hydrogen is not a practical solution for anything more than exprimental purposes.

[Vette_Newb]

Originally Posted by Chris Draper

.....I wonder what people thought back in the days before gasoline was mainstream....

"You mean you have to drill into the earth and somehow contain the crude oil, then somehow process it into a viable fuel to use? Then we need to come up with a machine that burns the fuel and turns it into energy???? This is going to cost us millions! This will never work! Lets just use our horses until they die, then get new horses. "

Obviously it's not going to be easy, or it would already be done.

It's not all that hard.. but there are powerful forces working against it.

Here are some folks who are ahead of the game..

http://www.switch2hydrogen.com/h2.htm

[C5 Dude]

I like electric cars like the Chevy Volt. It has a 50 mile range on the battery and thats way under what my wife drives.

Its just too expensive right now. A gas vehicle is still more feasable. If they made one that was 20K, Id buy one.

[HardcoreABN]

Originally Posted by C5 Dude

I like electric cars like the Chevy Volt. It has a 50 mile range on the battery and thats way under what my wife drives.

Its just too expensive right now. A gas vehicle is still more feasable. If they made one that was 20K, Id buy one.

this. So we will get a Cruz Eco for the wife instead.