Comment

Comment by Robert Hofmeister on March 31, 2011 at 2:50am

All I have to say is "Remember the Hindenburg!"  LOL.  Hydrogen is much more explosive than gas.  Plus, won't it need to be in liquid form so that makes it extremely cold!

Comment by Michael Thies on March 30, 2011 at 9:00pm

Thanks Bill,

I agree that the idea of Fuel Cells if very cool even with conventional controls. The hand controls seem okay, but not very intuitive, even for video game players. :-)  They are more like motor scooter controls.

 

Hydrogen as fuel and distribution issues

Hydrogen as fuel has been around since the turn of the 20th century, though certainly taken a back seat to gasoline.  It is usually transported as a super cooled liquid as it is significantly reduced in volume that way, even with the required insulation and cooling apparatus.  NASA (National Aeronautic and Space Administration) is one of the largest consumers of hydrogen and has worked over the years to develop effective standards and safety controls. It burns really easily, at low temperatures and has no visible flame.  Small sparks can set it off, though there are simple measures to keep it quite safe.  By altering its form slightly and adding aroma, etc., it can be handled as safely as gaasoline. If you consider the flammability of gas and its truly extensive use worldwide, it has been a very safe fuel for a very long time. So could be hydrogen.

This is from a site on alternative fuels - http://www.altenergy.org

"Pipelines carrying natural gas are also capable of delivering hydrogen gas, and these two gases can even be transported together and separated at the point of use. Natural gas, labeled chemically as methane, has a greater density than hydrogen, which means it takes three times the volume of hydrogen to equal the energy in a given amount of natural gas. But at its lower density, hydrogen can be pumped through a pipeline at three times the flow rate of methane, balancing a delicate energy equation. An extensive network of natural gas pipelines have been efficiently delivering natural gas from the fields where it is collected to the refineries where it is processed for many years, and from those refineries to millions of homes in the U.S. and abroad, demonstrating that this type of transportation is safe and dependable. As long as industrial codes and safety standards are stringently followed, the same should be true of transporting hydrogen."

 

I like the spirit of personal mobiltiy that Honda espouses.  I never liked taking the bus :-)  Check this out. It is pretty cool video. 

Comment by Bill Corn on March 30, 2011 at 6:08pm

Last year at the 2010 Atlanta AJC Auto Show I was one of the lucky few to drive the GM hydrogen fuel cell Equinox. It is a very similar power plant. Fuel cell with two electric motors at the rear, but with more conventional controls. You may remember seeing it in the news. Photo below. It was a lot more powerful than I expected. GM had it available for the public to drive on both weekends of the show. During the week it had to be transported via Tractor-trailer to a facility near Washington DC to be filled up. that was the closest hydrogen to available Atlanta. Aside from it being in an Equinox "mule", it was very interesting to drive. Acceleration was surprisingly plenty satisfying (and I drive a Hemi). If they could solve the lack of fuel distribution, I could easily see this as being the next form of vehicle propulsion.

Comment by Michael Thies on March 30, 2011 at 11:53am

I have asked Susan to get it for me for my birthday! (I can just see you holding your breath for that one.) That reminds me of an acquaintance who got a fine Dino Ferrari for Christmas!  I got a razor.... and was happy with that!  :-)

Comment by Jason Cole aka Bird on March 30, 2011 at 11:48am

I think you should go ahead and buy one , and bring it up here to the strip and we'll do some testing lol ! 

P.s I'll pay for the gas......haha

Comment by Michael Thies on March 30, 2011 at 11:36am

Would they improve on 0 to 60 in 3.7 sec? :-) http://southeastwheelsevents.com/profiles/blogs/the-tesla-drive-train

Comment by Jason Cole aka Bird on March 30, 2011 at 11:33am

Gotta love the black wheels...nice touch !  but I'm a lil bias lol

Comment by Michael Thies on March 30, 2011 at 11:31am

I may just be a dreamer, but can you all imagine a Tresla Roadster without the weight of the batteries!  I want mine in white with a black tonneau cover and black wheels. :-)

Comment by Jason Cole aka Bird on March 30, 2011 at 10:59am

I know they (media) say this is needed for our future , due to lack of fossil fuels & of course no emissions. But will the conflict of our steel body or framed cars (not to mention high emissions) give the system high ground to stand on to pass a bill to remove the cars we now drive , build on and love ? It seems the integral strength of this car is the chassis...not it's removable body, I don't see a crash between this future car and say...a 69 Camaro (keeping GM here) looking to good. Call me paranoid , I'm all about our better future , but not if it means adapting to the systems "rules" and being denied the right to drive a REAL car.

Not bashing here , just speaking my mind but I currently drive a 06 GT Mustang and a 65 Ford Fairlane 500. Between the two you can say there's a big difference in mechanics, electrical parts/wires and dependability.
I can feel , hear or smell when something is wearing out or about to need repair while driving down the road , which leads me to my next concern... drive "by-wire" . That's my biggest dislike on my Mustang, it has "by-wire" for the throttle linkage...and yes, I can tell the difference. It is NOT instant response like my ol' Fairlane with the Lokar shiny chrome linkage, it's not bad but my point is I feel the difference and it takes away from the "muscle car/mean machine" feeling.

Ok...I don't need to keep rambling on here lol , my big reason for this response was just to say that I will never feel comfortable trusting my life or my family's life inside a rolling computer that relies on nothing but "wires" !

What if it gets a virus or ad-ware gets downloaded to the system , it might end up driving YOU and throwing "pop ups" on the in dash screens !!! What if a rat or squirrel chews a wire just enough to get you up to 80mph and then it finally comes apart ??? Ahh lol , I hope you know all of that was a joke haha, had to have some fun with it .
In all... I hope all turns out well for our future without sacficing what we love