RideLust

A few weeks ago at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Honda released the FC Sport, a three seater sports car based on the same hydrogen fuel cell technology that powered the FCX Clarity. There’s an interesting interior layout in the McLaren style with the driver in the middle of the car and the two passenger seats set further back on either side. As of right now, it’s only a design concept, but we’re hoping they at least put together one functional version, for fun.

Honda’s goal was to develop a light, high-performance vehicle with a low center of gravity. The key to the design was the distribution of the fuel cells, which allowed them to balance out the weight while at the same time increasing interior space. It’s low to the ground and extremely aerodynamic, which also ads to the vehicles efficiency. Check out the official press release and some images:
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Diesel automobiles have traditionally been poor sellers in the United States, but that may be about to change. They already account for more than half of new car sales in Europe, but have been hovering down near 1% of all car sales here in the States. The green movement could spark a new trend, especially since the diesel-powered 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI was named Green Car of the Year this past Thursday, the first time a diesel has won the annual award given at the L.A. Auto show.

The Jetta wasn’t the only diesel on the list either, the BMW 335d was also nominated, along with two hybrids (Ford Fusion hybrid and Saturn Vue 2 Mode hybrid) and the trendy Smart ForTwo. But the judges said the TDI “epitomizes what the Green Car of the Year is all about.”
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It may be a bit of a stretch, but if (and it’s a big if) Mazda’s plans to bring a hydrogen-fueled car to fruition are successful, the criteria necessary for that vehicle’s successful production would lend itself well to a car that may be the next generation RX-7, if not in name, at least in spirit.

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Hydrogen fuel cells are about 60% efficient, that’s double the efficiency of an internal combustion engine. And they don’t pollute, their only byproduct is water. Lovely right? The problem is getting the hydrogen.

Electrolysis, where you use electricity to separate out oxygen and hydrogen from water, is crazy inefficient. But researchers at the Oregon State University College of Engineering have found a better way. They discovered a method for producing hydrogen from different types of biowaste, including municipal sewage (aka poo).
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Honda Home Fuel Station

For the conspiracy theorists among you, a not-so-suprising story has emerged from Edwin Black’s book, “The Plan: How to Save America When The Oil Stops-or the Day Before,” which highlights the perceived stalling Honda appears to be doing with its own Hydrogen program.  A car company deliberately undermining alternative fuels is not much of a stretch anyway, but logic, and Black’s book both seem to support the fact that a mass produced hydrogen vehicle from Honda should already be here.

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This is a very difficult time for automakers, and they’re realizing these are the lean times, the make or break times; they’re realizing they need to take drastic measures to get their customers back. They need to make big promises.

Mercedes says it wants to stop using petroleum in it’s cars by 2015. That’s a pretty steep goal. 2015 may sound like the setting of a Ray Bradbury book but it’s only about 7 years away. They’re doing one of three things right now: either working their asses off to make this a reality, hoping the technology will just fall into line by the time 2015 rolls around, or simply making empty promises to generate buzz. Or maybe it’s all three.
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Last month, the House passed the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act, which is essentially just another big tax. One of the interesting parts of the bill though is buried in the Miscellaneous Provisions section. It says, essentially, that every gas station owned by a major gas company has to add at least one alternative fuel pump by 2018. If they don’t comply, they’ll be fined $100k per station.
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With gas prices on everyone’s mind these days, government regulators are pushing for better fuel efficiency in vehicles over the next few years. The thing is, hybrid, electric, and hydrogen cars aren’t the short term answer, it’ll be a while before they become mainstream. Car companies need something they can use now to modify their traditional engines during the interim.

That something is turning out to be turbochargers.
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Leaked Volt image or Perry Ellis Casual Collection from J.C. Penny; you decide

In advance of the official “unveiling” of the Chevrolet Volt next week, official pictures of the production Plug-in Hybrid car have surfaced on the internet.  Apparently Robert Novak is also in charge of GM’s press materials.  Although obscured by various GM officials posing as if in the next print ads for the Mens Wearhouse, the concept has a more muted design than was on display when first presented at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2007.

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Hydrogen could be the fuel of the future, if someone can help bring the price down.

Hydrogen’s obtained by splitting water into it’s two parts, oxygen and hydrogen. Right now, the only method for doing the splitting involves platinum as a catalyst. Platinum is expensive, and that’s the main reason for the high cost of hydrogen as a fuel. But some researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology may have more cost-effective solution.
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